Edmonds v. United States

• Decision Date: 10 December 1959
• Docket Number: No. 15207.,15207.
• Citation: 273 F.2d 108,106 US App. DC 373
• Parties: Jim B. EDMONDS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — District of Columbia Circuit

106 US App. DC 373, 273 F.2d 108 (1959)

Jim B. EDMONDS, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.

No. 15207.

United States Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit.

Argued September 30, 1959.

Decided December 10, 1959.

Mr. Edward J. Skeens, Washington, D. C., for appellant.

Mr. Carl W. Belcher, Asst. U. S. Atty., with whom Messrs. Oliver Gasch, U. S. Atty., and William W. Greenhalgh, Asst. U. S. Atty., were on the brief, for appellee.

Before PRETTYMAN, Chief Judge, and EDGERTON, WILBUR K. MILLER, BAZELON, FAHY, WASHINGTON, DANAHER, BASTIAN and BURGER, Circuit Judges, sitting en banc.

WILBUR K. MILLER, Circuit Judge.

On May 10, 1957, Jim B. Edmonds was found guilty of murder in the second degree under the first count of an indictment which charged him with first degree murder in that on or about November 18, 1956, he "purposely and with deliberate and premeditated malice, murdered George P. Lefebvre by means of strangling him with a pillow case and with his hands." He was also found guilty under the fourth and last count of the indictment which charged that on the same day he stole Lefebvre's automobile.¹ Edmonds appealed, and on September 15, 1958, this court by a 6-3 vote reversed the convictions and remanded the case for a new trial.²

The District Court on November 10, 1958, ordered Edmonds to be retried for second degree murder under the first degree count. At the second trial, which ended November 26, 1958, Edmonds was tried only for murder in the second degree under the first count and was again found guilty, and was also found guilty of grand larceny under the fourth count. He appeals.

The facts are these: on November 27, 1956, the badly decomposed body of George P. Lefebvre was found on the floor of his Georgetown apartment, clad only in underwear, with a pink pillow case twisted about the neck. An autopsy revealed that death caused by strangulation had occurred about ten days before. Fingerprint experts examined various articles in the apartment and found on a saucer a fingerprint which was identified as that of Jim B. Edmonds. Police searched the area for a 1955 Chevrolet convertible known to have been owned by Lefebvre but failed to find it.

In the meantime, on November 26, 1956, a police officer of Dougherty County, Georgia, investigating an automobile accident which had just occurred there, found a 1955 Chevrolet convertible overturned and badly damaged. The driver, who proved to be the appellant, had already been removed to a hospital in nearby Albany and was immediately interviewed there by the investigating officer. Asked as to the ownership of the automobile, Edmonds said it belonged to a friend of his and exhibited a District of Columbia registration certificate or identification card in the name of George Lefebvre. He stated he had borrowed the car and was home on leave, and that he had deliberately wrecked the vehicle in an effort to kill himself.

It developed that Edmonds was an enlisted man in the U. S. Marine Corps and was absent without official leave from his duty station at the Marine Barracks in the District of Columbia. Marine Corps officials took him into custody at the hospital on November 26, and held him in the brig at Albany, Georgia, until December 1, when he was turned over to Sergeant George R. Donahue of the homicide squad of the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police.

Cecil M. Franklin, a special agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, then stationed at Albany, Georgia, testified that shortly after 9:00 a. m. on November 30, 1956, he and Sergeant Donhue interviewed Edmonds at the Marine Corps brig in Albany. At the outset, he said, Edmonds was advised by Donahue "that he didn't have to tell us anything; he didn't have to talk to us; anything he did tell us could be used against him and that he had the right to consult an attorney before making a statement." Franklin was then asked, "And having been so advised, did the defendant indicate that he wished to talk about this case?" The reply was, "Yes, sir, he did." At this point, counsel for Edmonds renewed his pretrial motion to suppress any oral or written statement made by him. The motion was denied.

We quote from the testimony of Agent Franklin given on direct examination:

"Q. Will you proceed and tell His Honor and the Jury what the defendant said about this case?

* * * * * *

"A. The defendant, Mr. Edmonds, told us that on the 17th of November, he had been assigned to the Marine Corps here in Washington, D. C. in the barracks, and on that date he decided — well, prior to that time some of the individuals at the base had learned about an unfortunate incident in his earlier life, and had commenced to kid him about it. He had talked to his Lieutenant and have been — and the Lieutenant had suggested to the Captain that he be afforded a psychiatric examination in Arlington. He was afforded this examination and from what he told us, the doctor recommended no treatment. Anyhow, on the 17th of November, he decided he was going AWOL and go back to his home.

"His father had recently returned home and he was a little concerned about the safety of his family down there. On this night he met a friend of his, Jack Price, here in Washington, D. C., and I believe that was at Guy\'s Place. They stayed there for a while and they went and had something to eat.

"Thereafter, he left Jack Price and went to see a girl friend of his out in the neighborhood of 31st and M Streets, here in Washington. When he arrived at her home he found that she was not there, so he went back to the corner of 31st and M in order to catch a cab.

"Q. Did he tell you what time it was, or approximately what time it was when he left his girl friend\'s house and went to 31st and M to catch a cab?

"A. It would have been about — after one or two o\'clock on the morning of the 18th. The morning of the 18th. While he was standing there waiting to catch this cab, or trying to catch a cab, he noticed an individual, a single man, drive by four or five times in a 1955 Chevrolet convertible automobile. This car was red and white. After a short time, the individual parked the car on 31st Street and approached him on the corner of 31st and M.

"This man stood and stared at Mr. Edmonds for a short time, and then asked him if he would like to have a cup of coffee. Edmonds asked him what his angle was, and the man told him nothing. Then he asked him where they were going to get coffee at that time of the morning, and the man said in his apartment.

"So they proceeded to an apartment in the immediate neighborhood, and as they went in this man turned the radio on and Mr. Edmonds sat down in the front room. The man returned after putting the coffee pot on, apparently, and sat and stared at Mr. Edmonds some more. They drank the coffee and got into conversation. The man asked Edmonds his name. He told Edmonds that he had been in the army for ten or twelve years himself. Then he asked Edmonds if he would like to rest a while before going back to the barracks. Edmonds said that he would, took off part of his clothing.

"Q. Who took off the clothing?

"A. Edmonds took off his shoes and tie, I believe it was, and laid down on the sofa in the front room. After he had laid down, this individual, the other man, came — turned off the lights, and came over and sat on the edge of the bed. He commenced making advances of a homosexual nature towards Edmonds. Edmonds told him to stop and pushed him away. The individual came back and at that time he engaged in a struggle. Edmonds pushed the man to the floor and put his hands around his throat and choaked sic him. The man stopped struggling, apparently. He then started to get up. He reached up on the couch and obtained a piece of cloth, or obtained something, and wrapped it around the man\'s throat, and pulled on that for a little bit.

"After the man was quiet, he got up, put his clothes back on and went to the closet and got the car keys, eight or nine dollars in money from the man\'s trousers, and then went and got in the car where it had been parked on 31st and M, drove the car from there down to West Virginia, spent the night there, and drove on down to Albany. He stayed around Albany for several days."

Sergeant Donahue's testimony concerning the statements made by Edmonds on November 30, 1956, was similar to that given by Agent Franklin which has just been quoted.

Jack Price, the friend of Edmonds referred to in Franklin's testimony, was a witness for the Government. He said that, pursuant to an appointment, he met Edmonds in a bar at about 9:00 p. m. November 17, 1956. They went immediately to a dance in nearby Maryland, and returned shortly before midnight, stopping at a restaurant on the way. Then, with Edmonds driving Price's car, they went 30 or 40 miles toward Warrenton, Virginia, to find a place recommended by appellant. Price finally asked him to stop the car, saying he did not want to go any further. Edmonds suggested that, as they had gone that far, they should proceed to Charleston, West Virginia, but Price declined because the car belonged to his employer. Edmonds suggested they return and get Price's personal car and then go to Charleston. Upon their return to Price's apartment where they had food, Edmonds continued to insist they go to West Virginia, but Price refused. He gave Edmonds money for cab fare and told him to go to Bolling Air Force base and get a "hop," i. e., a free plane ride to West Virginia. Edmonds left Price's apartment about 2:30 or 3:00 a. m. on November 18, 1956.

The appellant took the stand at the first trial and testified rather fully concerning the details of the killing. At the second trial, as a part of the Government's case in chief, the prosecuting attorney read to the jury certain excerpts from appellant's testimony at the first trial as constituting judicial admissions. This was done over the objection of Edmonds. In an appendix to this opinion, we reproduce the...