Commonwealth v. Weiss

Citation130 A. 403
PartiesCOMMONWEALTH v. WEISS et al.
Decision Date27 June 1925
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
130 A. 403

COMMONWEALTH
v.
WEISS et al.

Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

June 27, 1925.


130 A. 403

Appeal from Court of Oyer and Terminer, Mercer County; J. A. McLaughry, President Judge.

Michael Weiss and John Girsch were convicted of murder of the first degree, and they separately appeal, the appeals being argued together. Affirmed, and records remitted for execution in both cases.

Argued before FRAZER, WALLING, SIMPSON, KEPHART, SADLER, and SCHAFFER, JJ.

George Mashank, of Sharon, and Benjamin H. Marks, of Farrell, for appellants.

L. R. Rickard, Dist. Atty., of Mercer, for the Commonwealth.

SADLER, J. One Turner conducted a gasoline station in Mercer county, and, on the night of March 1, 1924, was murdered, four bullets having been fired into his body from the outside, as the jury has found. Shortly thereafter two young men, the present appellants, boarding in the same house at the time, were charged with the crime, and later convicted of murder of the first degree. It seems that, for some time prior to the , assault on the deceased, the defendants had been watching his place of business, with the idea, as appears by their own confessions, of committing a robbery. From the statements of the prisoners to be found in the record, this was the third or fourth time the two had gone to the station for that purpose. They left their residence in an automobile, and parked the car at the back of the gasoline station on the night of the killing, waiting until the deceased came out and prepared to close his store. Girsch, one of the defendants, stayed in the auto, stationed a few feet away, while Weiss went in, and the latter was apparently met by Turner, whom he then killed. After the first shot was discharged, Weiss fired again three times. The two started back to Wheatland.

130 A. 404

On the road they met one Desanno, a tailor, with whom they were acquainted, and assaulted him, taking from his person such money as he had. Having secured funds with which their flight could be continued, they packed their suitcases and went to, Youngstown, Ohio, hiring a taxicab for this purpose. They desired to return to Beaver Falls, but the expense was so great as to make this impossible, and it was decided to go to Cleveland and secure work, which purpose was carried out. They were arrested in the latter city, and the confessions as to their participation in the crime followed. It is insisted that these statements were the result of threats, but this question was...

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