Mills v. State
| Decision Date | 12 November 1941 |
| Docket Number | 13899. |
| Citation | 17 S.E.2d 719,193 Ga. 139 |
| Parties | MILLS v. STATE. |
| Court | Georgia Supreme Court |
On February 3, 1941, H. H. (Homer) Newton, George Turner, and Theodore Mills were jointly indicted in Tattnall County for murder of G. F. (Fred or Fed) Flanders, by shooting him with a shotgun. On February 5, 1941, Mills was put on separate trial, and on February 7 the jury returned a verdict finding the defendant guilty with a recommendation to mercy. A motion for new trial on the general grounds and several special grounds was overruled, and the movant excepted. The following narrative is gleaned from evidence admitted without objection, and from the defendant's statement before the jury, though there was contradictory evidence to certain parts of the evidence. Flanders lived with his wife and children in an apartment in the second story of 'the Gore House' in the town of Collins, and worked at Hinesville in Liberty County. He had been so engaged for about three months, and had been accustomed to go and come from his work with Ula B. Kennedy who carried him and several other neighbors in an automobile. They would leave between five and six o'clock in the morning. In approaching the house Kennedy would blow a signal and pass beyond, picking up his other passengers and returning in about ten minutes for Flanders. The house was about seventy yards from the railroad depot. A porch about three feet above the ground was on the outside of the house, and at the outer edge of the porch were certain railings. A glass window in the house was screened by wire on the outside. Opposite the window was a stairway inside the house, leading up to the second story, so that a person descending the stairway would be facing the window through which he could be seen by a person on the ground at the outer edge of the porch, a distance of about ten or twelve feet from the foot of the stairway. In the early morning of December 31, Flanders prepared to leave for his work. Between five and six o'clock (before daylight) Kennedy approaching the house blew a signal, and went on for his other passengers. Flanders, after a few remarks to his wife and child, left his apartment and proceeded down the stairway. Mrs. Flanders heard the discharge of a gun, and ran to the scene. Kennedy, returning with his passengers, saw the flash and heard the shot as he was approaching the Gore house. Flanders had been mortally wounded near the bottom of the stairway, and died in about five minutes.
The perpetrator of the crime disappeared without being seen, and his identity required resort to circumstantial evidence. Tracks were found at the edge of the porch, and a hole in the wire screen and another in the window glass, indicating that the shot had been fired from the outside at close range. Gun-wads were found, one in the clothes of the victim and one under the window, indicating that the shot had been fired from a sixteen-gauge shotgun that would chamber twelve number one buckshot. Examination of the body disclosed that twelve number one buckshot had entered the body. Mills, the defendant on trial, had a sixteen-gauge shotgun. An old slab-pile was near the Collins and Glenville Railroad, about four hundred yards from the Gore House. Tracks of an automobile were found at that place, as were also certain human tracks that led in the direction of the house. Previously George Newton, son of defendant Homer Newton, had been killed. Flanders had been tried in October for murder of young Newton. Lawton Powell testified, that, just after the hearing of Flanders for shooting Homer Newton's boy Newton called the witness Powell out of the store, and 'commenced cursing me and telling me what they had done to his boy, about Fred murdering his boy, and he said that he knowed damn well that he didn't have but a little while to live, and he was going to have revenge out of Fred and out of me; and he said there was one more, but he didn't mention the name.' Bruce Murphy testified, that, between the time of the preliminary hearing and the regular trial of Flanders for the murder of the boy, W. F. Chappel testified: J. K. Hill testified:
George Turner as a witness for the State testified that he had previously made statements that were contradictory to certain portions of the testimony that he was giving; but in part he testified substantially, that Homer Newton 'spoke of Fed Flanders on one or two occasions, and said something about wanting to get Fed, or wanting to see Fed's blood up to his elbows'; that sometime in November Newton told witness to see Elton Purcell and Sammy Mann and find out if they would kill Flanders for a thousand dollars; that about half past four o'clock in the morning of the homicide Newton came to the witness's room and said to go with him. 'We first went to Mills' house, and Mills came to the window, and I asked him did he want to go hunting, and he said he would, and he come and got in the car. About the time Mills got in the car * * * Newton asked me would I have the guts to kill Fed [Flanders]. I answered that if I had anything against him I might have. I don't remember just what Mills said, but it was something like 'we ought to get him' or house. When he came back to the can he had the shoes in his hand and he got in and we pulled in back of widow Harvey's house. * * * [Newton] stepped out and said 'Give me my shoes and get rid of these, and take the rifle out and go back to Dessie's and pick up Mills and go hunting. * * * I went back * * * and found [Mills] on the old Reidsville road. He had his shotgun with him, and when he got in the car he said, 'There is a car pulling in back of us, and you had better step on it and get out of here.' * * * He said he felt all right about it now that we got out of town, * * * and he asked me did I reckon small shot would take the buckshot sign out of a gun, * * * and he shot it out the window, and I threw the shell out. * * * We finally decided to go to Purcell's house; and I woke him up. * * * He came out to the car, and I told him something had happened in Collins that morning and if anybody asked him about it * * * to tell them that we got there about an hour earlier than we did. We took him by his daddy's to get a gun, and then * * * went out in the swamp. Somebody * * * said it would be a pretty good alibi if we could carry some squirrels back. * * * We stayed down there about an hour and a half, and when we started to leave we left a pair of my shoes with Purcell--the ones [Newton] had told me to hide, a pair of overalls, a piece of black cloth about the size of a flour-sack, and a 30-30 rifle. I didn't know anything about the black cloth until Mills got it out of the foot of the car and told Elton to take it, too, and get rid of it. Mills wanted to swap shotguns with Elton, but Elton said that he and his father owned the gun together, and so Mills told him to keep his [Mills'] gun for a few days. * * * When we started to leave Elton's place Elton said, 'You boys know how to keep your mouth shut, don't you?' and Mills said, 'I will die with it in me.''
Elton Purcell, testified: 'I didn't know Theodore Mills until * * * he came to my home with George Turner, on Tuesday, December 31st. They got there just before daylight and Turner called me and told me that a man had happened to some trouble, and for us to go down to the swamp. On the way to the swamp one of them said they wanted to kill some squirrels. I took them to the best place I knew to kill squirrels. * * * I suggested that we build a fire and warm, and we sat by it and talked for something like an hour. George told me that he wanted to trade shoes with me, and we exchanged shoes there. We called Mills and started back to the car and met him about half way to the car. Mills had...
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