Honeycutt v. State

• Decision Date: 13 June 1900
• Citation: 57 S.W. 806
• Parties: HONEYCUTT v. STATE.
• Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

57 S.W. 806

HONEYCUTT v. STATE.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.

June 13, 1900.

Appeal from district court, Shelby county; Tom C. Davis, Judge.

J. A. Honeycutt was convicted of murder in the first degree, and appeals. Reversed.

I. O. B. Richardson and E. B. Wheeler, for appellant. Robt. A. John, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

DAVIDSON, P. J.

Appellant was convicted of murder in the first degree, and his punishment assessed at death.

Cooper, a witness for the state, testified: That he was at home, about 100 yards from the scene of the homicide, about 8 o'clock at night, when he heard the cries of women at appellant's residence. That he started in that direction, and met some of the children about halfway, and returned with them to his house. While returning he saw defendant, alone, entering his yard. That, at the muzzle of his Winchester rifle, he forced appellant to retire outside the yard, and said to him, "Now, if you have anything to say to me, say it there." Up to this time nothing had been said by either of them. This occurred about 5 or 10 minutes after he had first heard the outcry. Josephine Honeycutt had testified in behalf of the state that she and her brothers and sisters had defendant down on the floor at the time of the outcry, and during the difficulty, before letting him up; that, as soon as they let him up, he at once went in the direction of Cooper's residence. Appellant then proposed to prove his statement to Cooper "that his [defendant's] family had tried to kill him that night, and that he had done what he did in self-defense, and to keep his family from killing him, and that he feared he had killed his daughter Rosa, and requested witness to go back to his house with him, and that he then and there went back with him." Exceptions were reserved to the rejection of this testimony. This was admissible as res gestæ.

We do not purpose reviewing the various criticisms of the charge. Two theories were sharply presented under the evidence. For the state it is contended: That defendant armed himself with an ax and a knife of a deadly character, and entered the room where his family were congregated after supper. That as he entered he shut and "thumb-latched" the door. On entering he placed the ax by the side of the door, and took his seat on the opposite side of the room, near his wife, in front of the fireplace, and immediately by the side of his little daughter, and began a conversation, which finally became unpleasant and caustic, in regard to an absent son, whose picture was hanging on the wall, over the fireplace. His wife remarked that, if the picture annoyed him, she would remove it, whereupon he arose and advanced upon her with drawn knife, evidently for the purpose of assaulting her. While advancing he fell over a rocking-chair, and his children at once laid hold of him, and held him on the floor. Just how the ax got into the difficulty is not explained by the evidence. Still, it was there, and was used by deceased,—his eldest daughter. During the altercation he was struck two or three times with the ax by deceased. He finally stabbed the girl, causing her death. During the trouble the wife left the room, and when deceased was stabbed all of the children fled to Cooper's residence; defendant following in that direction. His theory was that when he entered the room he thumb-latched the door because it would not otherwise remain closed; that he had no recollection of carrying the ax into the room, and knows positively that he did not remove it from beside the door; that while sitting in the chair, and during the conversation, he was struck a very severe blow upon the head, followed immediately by a second lick, which felled him to the floor, and all the children immediately seized him, his deceased daughter using the ax; and that in defense of himself against this attack he stabbed his daughter. It is an undisputed fact that there were two wounds on...