People v. Archerd

• Decision Date: 10 December 1970
• Docket Number: Cr. 13053
• Citation: 91 Cal.Rptr. 397,477 P.2d 421,3 Cal.3d 615
• Parties: , 477 P.2d 421 The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. William Dale ARCHERD, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: California Supreme Court

Page 397

91 Cal.Rptr. 397

3 Cal.3d 615, 477 P.2d 421

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. William Dale ARCHERD, Defendant and Appellant.

Cr. 13053.

Supreme Court of California In Bank.

Dec. 10, 1970.

Ira K. Reiner, Los Angeles, for defendant and appellant.

Thomas C. Lynch, Atty. Gen., William E. James, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Philip C. Griffin, Deputy Atty. Gen., for plaintiff and respondent.

McCOMB, Justice.

Defendant was charged by indictment with three counts of murder and with a prior felony conviction. Trial was by the court. The prior (conviction of possession of morphine sulphate (Health & Saf.Code, § 11500) and service of a term therefor in a state prison) was found to be true. Defendant was found guilty on each count of murder in the first degree-murder by poison and willful, deliberate, premeditated murder. On each count he received the death sentence. This is an automatic appeal. (Pen.Code, § 1239, subd. (b).)

Count I charged defendant with the murder of Zella A. (Winders) Archerd on or about July 25, 1956; Count II of Burney Kirk Archerd on or about September 2, 1961; Count III of Mary Brinker Post Arden on November 3, 1966. Evidence of other offenses was introduced to show common plan or scheme, namely, the murder of William Edward Jones on October 12, 1947, of Juanita Archerd on March 13, 1958, and of Frank L. Stewart on March 17, 1960; also a fake hit and run accident involving defendant on October 10, 1960.

The lapse of time between the various offenses and the indictment of defendant on July 27, 1967, is considerable but is adequately explained by the record. The murder weapon in each case was unique, insulin. The deaths of each of these victims were initially attributed to causes other than a criminal agency. Suspicion of insulin and of defendant as the person administering the insulin was not aroused until the death of Zella in 1956. It was not until years later, after much painstaking and persistent investigation by law enforcement officers, and the discovery of advances made in medical knowledge and techniques, that sufficient evidence could be accumulated to charge defendant with these deaths. Unfortunately, by then other of defendant's victims had lost their lives. This is the only known reported case of murder by insulin poisoning in the United States. Only one other, reported world-wide, occurred in England in 1956.

Following a judgment of guilt we must review the record in the light most favorable to the People (People v. Teale, 70 Cal.2d 497, 502, 75 Cal.Rptr. 172, 450 P.2d 564). The test on appeal is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the finding of the trier of fact (People v. Hillery, 62 Cal.2d 692, 702, 44 Cal.Rptr. 30, 401 P.2d 382). The record is voluminous, consisting of 5476 pages of reporter's transcript, much of it relating to medical evidence because of the unusual nature of the case. It would unduly burden this opinion to recite the evidence in any detail, particularly the medical evidence. Review of the record, however, indicates that the evidence in support of the findings of guilt on the counts charged was substantial. It also indicates that the evidence offered of other offenses, introduced to show similar plan, was substantial and supported the court's conclusion that they, too, were proved beyond a reasonable doubt although only preponderance of the evidence was the proof necessary.

Preliminarily it may be stated that each of the victims was closely associated with defendant. They included three of his wives, the ex-husband of another wife, a nephew and a friend. Each of the wives seemed to have been deeply in love with him, and the nephew and friend to have trusted him. Each became an unwanted burden to defendant. In each instance a pecuniary motive was present. The defendant was experienced in the technique of administering insulin and had knowledge of its symptoms and effects. In addition to the unique method of murder utilized, the circumstances surrounding each death reveal marked similarity. He had access and opportunity in each instance and in the case of his deceased wives, Zella, Juanita and Mary, he was the only person with them at the time when, according to the experts, the insulin injections were given and he remained with them and deliberately kept them from entering a hospital until it was too late. In the case of his friend and his nephew, the evidence was that they were injected both before and after they entered the hospital, and in each instance the injection of insulin was part of a plan to 'fake' an accident and consequent head injuries. Much of the evidence was circumstantial but some of it was direct and all of it was substantial. It was the opinion of fifteen experts at the trial, including attending physicians, autopsy surgeons and experts in the fields of diabetes and hypoglycemia, pathology, insulin and research and its relation to pathology and insulin shock therapy, that all six of the victims died from hypoglycemia caused by an injection or injections of insulin, none had any prior history of hypoglycemia, none had ever evidenced or complained of any of its symptoms.

Hypoglycemia is a state in which the blood sugar is lowered below normal levels. Some forms have never been reported as fatal. Among the forms that may result in death there are two classifications. The first are those causes which are obvious and readily recognizable either by the physician or autopsy surgeon. These include liver disease which cause obvious changes; non-pancreatic tumors which are never reported less than the size of a grapefruit and cannot possibly be overlooked by an autopsy surgeon; more rare types of cancer of the adrenal glands, stomach, cecum and lungs, which are also of obvious size. As a general rule each is accompanied by prolonged period of progressive symptoms; a person is not normally healthy one day and dead of hypoglycemia the next. The major remaining cause of severe hypoglycemia that may be more obscure in manifesting its origin relates to the pancreas, and is always accompanied by a long period of progressive symptoms of hypoglycemia before severe symptoms result. History of these symptoms, and of weight gain over a period of time (the afflicted person learns that increased caloric intake can alleviate the symptoms) are important. A further condition, called hyperplasia of the islets of the pancreas might have the same symptoms as the islet cell tumor but is obvious to the pathologist on examination of the pancreas cell.

Endogenous hypoglycemia may be caused by failure of the adrenal or pituitary glands, but this is always accompanied by symptoms such as a prolonged history of weakness, weight loss, loss of appetite, changes in texture and color of the skin, headaches, with episodes of low blood pressure, prolonged periods of no food and anatomical changes that will not be missed by an autopsy surgeon. Post-alcoholic hypoglycemia is rare, usually responds quickly to small amounts of glucose, and where death occurs the patients have usually had additional nutritional deficiencies. The major exogenous (introduced into the body) cause of hypoglycemia is insulin.

Defendant was employed as an attendant on the insulin shock ward of the Camarillo State Hospital between 1939 and 1941. While there he was trained as part of the ward shock team, consisting of two physicians, two registered nurses and four attendants. He had the opportunity to give injections of insulin, under supervision; was trained to observe danger signals while the patient was under insulin shock and to give necessary therapeutic measures to protect the patient; and was allowed to give injections of glucose to bring patients out of shock. He frequently discussed the happenings on the ward with a neighbor and fellow-worker. On two occasions while there he injected fellow workers so that they would know what it was like. At the trial he admitted injecting himself, and some of his wives, for migraine headaches, but denied ever injecting any of them with insulin.

Dr. Grace Fern Thomas, a psychiatrist and an expert in insulin shock therapy, and director of the insulin shock department at the time defendant was at Camarillo, testified as to the procedures on the ward. A precise dosage of insulin was measured for each person at a particular time. At a specific level that patient would go into shock in approximately two hours after the injection. Patients do not progress at the same level. Careful watch must be kept of the pulse, Color, blood pressure, general condition, and neurological signs, such as pupillary changes and body motions. When a patient is going into progressive stages of coma he sweats very profusely and breathes very heavily. Saliva is secreted in large amounts, mucous flows freely and mixes with the saliva, and the patient must be carefully watched, turned, or assisted so that he does not aspirate the fluid into his lungs. Otherwise bronchopneumonia may develop, leading to death. The gag reflex and the cornea reflex are lost. Convulsions may occur, and medication is given to prevent this. The extremities may stiffen. At a relatively deep level of coma the Babinski test (scratching the sole of the foot in a certain manner) will cause a reflex known as the Babinski response (toes fan out). The patient must be brought out of the coma within 10--15 minutes thereafter. This is done by administering glucose through gastric tubes, and if this is not effective, glucose is administered intravenously to raise the blood sugar. If the brain is deprived of blood sugar for a prolonged period irreversible brain damage and death may result. As soon as a patient is fed glucose he awakens and is hungry. Only regular insulin was used in the ward because it was the only insulin where the time of coma could be calculated for therapeutic use. Injections began with small doses, very gradually increased over a three week period.

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