People v. Corder

• Citation: 137 N.E. 845,306 Ill. 264
• Decision Date: 08 February 1923
• Docket Number: No. 14860.,14860.
• Parties: PEOPLE v. CORDER.
• Court: Supreme Court of Illinois

306 Ill. 264

137 N.E. 845

PEOPLE

v.CORDER.

No. 14860.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

Dec. 19, 1922.

Rehearing Denied Feb. 8, 1923.

Error to Circuit Court, Vermilion County; John H. Marshall, Judge.

John F. Corder was convicted of murder, and brings error.

Affirmed.Jones & Levin, of Danville, for plaintiff in error.

Edward J. Brundage, Atty. Gen., John H. Lewman, State's Atty., of Danville, George C. Dixon, of Dixon, and I. Ray Carter, of Chicago, for the People.

THOMPSON, C. J.

Plaintiff in error, John F. Corder, was convicted in the circuit court of Vermilion county of murder and sentenced to imprisonment in the penitentiary for a period of 40 years. He prosecutes this writ of error to reverse the judgment of conviction on the grounds that the indictment is insufficient; that the petit jury was not legally drawn; that the state was permitted to call witnesses not included in the list furnished him under a rule entered on arraignment; that the name of deceased was not proven as laid in the indictment; that the court improperly admitted a statement of deceased as a dying declaration; that the court erred in its rulings on the admission of evidence and giving of instructions; and that the evidence does not show the guilt of plaintiff in error beyond a reasonable doubt.

Plaintiff in error shot Jane Hardy, deceased, at her home in Danville, November 11, 1921, and she died at a local hospital 6 days later. Prior to that time he had for about 6 years been general yardmaster of the Big Four and New York Central lines at the Danville terminal. He was then 40 years old, had a wife and a 17 year old son living in Danville, but was not living with them. Deceased was 28 years old, had been married,but was not living with her husband, and was then, and for 4 or 5 years had been, living with her sister, Margaret Marple, The Marples leased the house in which they lived from Thankmar Langner, who reserved for himself the front bedroom on the second floor. The house contained six rooms. On the first floor were a living room across the front or west end of the house, a dining room immediately back of that, and a bedroom and kitchen immediately east of the dining room; the kitchen occupying the northeast corner of the house. On the second floor were two bedrooms and a bath, the front bedroom being over the living room and the back bedroom being over the dining room. The stairway rose along the east wall of the dining room. The lower landing was in the northeast corner of the dining room, and there was a doorway at that point leading into the kitchen. The main entrance to the kitchen from the dining room was a passageway under the stairway, entering the southwest corner of the kitchen. In the southeast corner of the kitchen was the sink.

Plaintiff in error and deceased became acquainted about 3 1/2 years before November 11, 1921, and for the last 2 years he had been in her company practically every evening. During this time they had quarreled on more than one occasion, and about 2 months before he shot her plaintiff in error in anger said he was going to kill her, his wife, and himself. On the evening in question Harry Snyder called to visit Mr. and Mrs. Marple. Marple, who was a railroad fireman, was not at home, but Mrs. Marple, Langner, and deceased were there. The four of them began playing cards. About this time plaintiff in error called at the house to see deceased. He was invited to join them in the card game, but replied that he preferred to read the evening paper. About 8 o'clock Langner went upstairs to bed. Plaintiff in error was again invited to join them in the card game, but replied that he did not care to play cards. Mrs. Marple, Snyder, and deceased continued the game for a while longer. After the game was over, Snyder went upstairs to the bath room, and Mrs. Marple's little daughter called to him to bring her some bread and butter. The women went to the kitchen to prepare the bread and butter, and Snyder came down and got it and took it up to the child. Mrs. Marple went to the sink to wash some cups and saucers, and deceased remained in the kitchen talking with her. Plaintiff in error came through the passageway into the kitchen, wearing his coat and hat. He asked deceased to come and tell him good night. Up to this point, except as to minor and unimportant details, there is practically no conflict in the testimony. There are four occurrence witnesses. Mrs. Marple testified that plaintiff in error walked into the kitchen, wearing his hat pulled down, and asked deceased to come and bid him good night; that deceased was standing in front of the gas stove, and he was standing in front of her; that deceased made some reply, which she did not hear; that she started to the dining room, and just as she came close to them he pulled a revolver from his right-hand overcoat pocket and shot deceased in the neck; that he turned the revolver on witness, and that deceased grabbed his hand and pulled it down so that the bullet hit the floor; that she and deceased rushed upstairs; that near the top they met Snyder coming down; that he turned and went upstairs with them, and that when he saw that deceased was shot he rushed downstairs.

Snyder testified that he was upstairs giving the child her bread and butter when he heard three shots fired; that he started downstairs, and met the women coming up; that he returned with them, and saw that deceased had been shot; then he rushed downstairs; that he looked for, but could not find, plaintiff in error; that he called a physician, and assisted in getting deceased to the hospital. In a statement made at the hospital, and which was admitted as a dying declaration, deceased said:

‘I was standing by the gas stove, and Margaret was at the sink washing a couple of saucers. Corder said to me, ‘Come on, and go over to the Big Four with me for some sandwiches.’ I said, ‘No, Jack; I do not feel able to stand a beating to-night.’ He said, ‘Well, you gave him the bread, didn't you?’ I said,‘Oh! you are always so jealous; that is the trouble with you.’ He had his hat and overcoat on, and then he said, ‘Come on in here and tell me good night.’ I said, ‘No, you tell me good night here; I am afraid to go there in the dark.’ Then he pulled his right hand out of his overcoat pocket and he had a revolver in it. He pointed the revolver at me and fired. The bullet struck me in the neck. Then he pointed the gun at Margaret. I rushed over and struck the gun, so that it pointed toward the floor. He fired, and the bullet struck the floor. About this time Snyder came downstairs, and Corder pointed the gun toward the stairs and fired. All three of us, Margaret, Snyder, and I, ran upstairs and locked the door of the room.'

Plaintiff in error testified that Snyder poured what appeared to be grape wine from a jug into a glass, and then poured some white liquor from a bottle into it and persuaded him to drink it; that he drank it and then went to the kitchen to get a drink of water and a match with which to light a cigarette; that Snyder followed him, and handed him another glass full of wine, and asked him to drink it; that as he was drinking it deceased came down the stairway into the kitchen; that she said, ‘Oh, God! I didn't think you were going to drink anything!’ that he said, ‘I did not intend to drink anything,but Harry insisted, and I drank it to get rid of the glass;’ that Mrs. Marple sliced some bread for her daughter and Snyder took the bread upstairs; that in the meantime he walked back into the front room and sat down; that he felt a severe pain in his stomach; that he stood up, but on his overcoat and hat, and went to the kitchen door and said to deceased, ‘Come, tell me good night;’ that she said, ‘You aren't going, are you?’ that he said, ‘Yes; I don't feel good; I have had no supper;’ that she said, ‘All right, then,’ and told him good night but did not go to the door with him; that he left the house and did not return; and that no shooting occurred while he was there. Mrs. Marple and Snyder testified that no one drank any intoxicating liquor in the house that night, and that there was no liquor there. Langner testified that there was no liquor in the house, that he was asleep in the front bedroom at the time of the shooting, and that he did not hear the reports.

The police officers arrested plaintiff in error at his room about midnight. He was then intoxicated, and they found some moonshine liquor in his room. They searched his room for a gun, but found none. He denied any knowledge of the shooting. They visited the house where the shooting occurred, and found a 32-caliber leaden bullet on the floor near the sink, and another bullet of the same character in the door leading from the kitchen to the stairway. The bullet that was removed from the neck of deceased at the autopsy was a 32-caliber leaden bullet. On the Monday preceding the shooting plaintiff in error borrowed a 32-caliber hammerless Iver-Johnson revolver from the night ticket agent at the Big Four station. This revolver has not been returned to the ticket agent, and plaintiff in error claims that he left it in his desk at his office. He denies having it in the home of deceased on the evening of November 11. The revolver was not found.

Omitting the formal part, the first count of the indictment charges that plaintiff in error did--

‘make an assault upon one Jane Hardy, then and there a human being then and there in the peace of the people, and a certain pistol which was then and there loaded with gunpowder and divers leaden balls, and by him, the said John F. Corder, had and held in his hands, he, the said John F. Corder, did then and there willfully, unlawfully, feloniously, and of his malice aforethought shoot off and discharge at, against, and upon the said Jane Hardy, thereby and by thus then and there striking the said Jane Hardy with one of the leaden balls aforesaid, inflicted on and in the neck of the said Jane...