Com. v. Chester

• Decision Date: 08 January 1963
• Citation: 410 Pa. 45,188 A.2d 323
• Parties: COMMONWEALTH v. Leo J. CHESTER, Appellant.
• Court: Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Page 323

188 A.2d 323

410 Pa. 45

COMMONWEALTH v. Leo J. CHESTER, Appellant.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Jan. 8, 1963.

Rehearing Denied March 9, 1963.

J. I. Simon, James A. Danahey, Harry A. Kramer, Pittsburgh, for appellant.

Edward C. Boyle, Dist. Atty., George H. Ross, William Claney Smith, Asst. Dist. Attys., Pittsburgh, for appellee.

Before BELL, C. J., and MUSMANNO, JONES, COHEN, EAGEN, O'BRIEN, and KEIM, JJ.

COHEN, Justice.

At approximately 10:00 a. m. on January 24, 1959, Harold Walker was found dead lying in bed in his second-floor apartment at 1104 Sheffield Street, Pittsburgh. The pathologist attributed death to shock following contusions of the head, face, neck, back, and chest with multiple fractures of the ribs. He testified that the injuries producing the shock could have come from repeated blows to the body.

Charles Ross, James Houlihan, and Leo Chester were indicted for the murder of Walker. The Commonwealth's theory was that the three men had participated in a plan to rob Walker, a known bookie, and had inflicted a beating upon him during the attempted felony which resulted in his death. After separate trials, Ross was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. His conviction was affirmed by this court. ¹ Houlihan was convicted of voluntary manslaughter but did not appeal. Chester was found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. His appeal from the lower court's denial of his motions in arrest of judgment and for a new trial is now before us.

At Chester's trial, the Commonwealth relied heavily upon the testimony of Albert Tschudie who occupied an apartment down the hall from Walker. Tschudie testified that about 7:30 p. m. on January 23, he saw three men coming up the stairs to the second floor with Chester in the lead. Chester asked him if a party named Hale lived in the rooming house. Upon receiving a negative response, the three men and Tschudie walked down the stairs and out onto the porch where Tschudie asked Chester if one of the other men was not Charlie Ross. Chester said no and the three men departed.

Tschudie returned to his apartment twenty minutes later and was aroused by a noise in the hallway. He looked out into the hallway and saw Chester and Ross standing outside of Walker's door with a third man standing at the top of the stairs. Tschudie stated that Chester was carrying what looked like a gun in his hand and that he pulled a handkerchief over his face. Tschudie closed the door and a few minutes later heard things being thrown around in Walker's room. Tschudie thereupon went down to get the landlady, Mrs. Kramer, and the two of them went back to Walker's room. Mrs. Kramer was dragged into the room and beaten while Tschudie was chased down the stairs and out onto the street. ² At this point the three men made their escape. Tschudie subsequently gave the police a detailed description of Chester and later identified his photograph.

The other occupants of the rooming house testified that they found Walker lying on the bed with his arms and legs tied behind him, that his room was thoroughly disarranged, that he had bruises on his face and neck, and that he complained about pain to his ribs and was having difficulty breathing. In response to inquiries as to what had occurred, Walker replied 'they wanted more money' and 'they tried to kill me.' ³ Walker, however, apparently did not want the police to learn of the incident since he directed that his room be straightened and told the police when they did arrive that he had fallen down the stairs.

A doctor was called and arrived around 11:00 p. m. that evening. He was told that Walker had fallen out of bed and diagnosed Walker's condition as fractured ribs. Walker refused to go to a hospital and the doctor bandaged his ribs, spending about twenty minutes on the task. Surprisingly, he saw no evidence of any injuries to Walker's face or neck although he did state that the room was dimly lit. Walker spent the remainder of the evening watching television with several of the other boarders who finally left him at 3:00 a. m. He was found dead by Mrs. Kramer at 10:00 a. m. the next morning.

Chester took the stand in his own defense. He testified that on the day in question he was asked by Houlihan to accompany him to collect a debt from Ross--whom Chester had never met before--because Houlihan was afraid of Ross. When they encountered Ross, the latter said he would get the money from a bookie he knew and Houlihan invited Chester to go along. Chester admitted seeing Tschudie when they first walked up the stairs but denied talking to him. When they returned to the rooming house the second time, Chester testified that he accompanied Ross and Houlihan to the second floor and entered a bathroom next to Walker's room where Ross and Houlihan engaged in heated conversation. Because he feared that the loud voices would cause the people in the building to call the police, Chester told Houlihan that he was leaving and Houlihan replied that he would be right out. Chester testified that he waited on the porch for ten or fifteen minutes and then went back upstairs to tell Houlihan that he was leaving. When he arrived upstairs, he was dragged into Walker's room by Ross, heard Mrs. Kramer scream, saw the topsy-turvy room, and decided to leave by the fastest available exit which was an open window. Chester denied seeing Walker on the day in question. He did, however, admit that when he left Pittsburgh on February 1, 1959 he knew from reading the newspapers that Ross had been apprehended and that he himself might be involved. ⁴

In this appeal, defense counsel raises five contentions: (1) the Commonwealth did not sufficiently prove an attempted robbery; (2) the Commonwealth did not sufficiently prove that Walker died as a result of injuries received in the alleged robbery; (3) the trial judge erred in his charge and confused the jury with regard to the different degrees of homicide; (4) the trial judge committed prejudicial error in refusing one of defendant's requests for charge; (5) the trial judge summarized the evidence in a manner which prejudiced the defendant's case. After carefully reviewing these contentions as well as reviewing the record for other possible error, we are of the opinion that the conviction should be affirmed.

The first two contentions raise the question of the sufficiency of the evidence. In a homicide case, the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that (1) a death has occurred, (2) that the death resulted from criminal agency, and (3) that the defendant is legally responsible for the death. ⁵ See Commonwealth v. Gardner, 282 Pa. 458, 128 A. 87 (1925). The Commonwealth, however, is not restricted to direct proof of these elements but, on the contrary, circumstantial evidence alone may suffice so long as the inferences arising therefrom prove the fact in question beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Saunders, 390 Pa. 379, 134 A.2d 890 (1957); Commonwealth v. Kloiber, 378 Pa. 412, 106 A.2d 820 (1954).

As to proof of the felony, there was no eye-witness who saw Chester and his companions attempt to rob Walker in his room. However, we do have the following circumstantial evidence: the res gestae statements of Walker that 'they wanted more money' and 'they tried to kill me'; the fact that Chester was seen entering the room with a mask on his face; the discovery of Walker tied-up and beaten; and the disarranged condition of the room. From this evidence the jury could properly infer beyond a reasonable doubt that the men entering the room had attempted to obtain money from Walker by the use of force.

A more difficult problem confronts us as to the sufficiency of the evidence that Walker died as a result of injuries received during the attempted robbery. According to the pathologist, the shock causing Walker's death was brought on by repeated blows to the body. Walker's face showed discoloration around the nose and cheeks indicating some of the blows were directed at that part of the body. The Commonwealth's theory was that Walker had been beaten in an attempt to force him to reveal where he had hidden his money. The possible weak links in the Commonwealth's case on this point are these: (1) the fact that Walker himself told the police and the doctor that he had received his injuries in a fall; (2) the fact that a doctor who examined decedent some three hours after the alleged beatings saw no evidence of shock nor any injuries except the fractured ribs; (3) the fact that Walker was still alive at 3:00 a. m. and might not have died until 10:00 a. m., some fourteen hours after the alleged beatings. Defense counsel suggests that between 3:00 a. m. and 100:00 a. m....