People v. Gerndt

• Decision Date: 04 December 1928
• Docket Number: No. 130,June Term.,130
• Citation: People v. Gerndt, 244 Mich. 622, 222 N.W. 185 (Mich. 1928)
• Parties: PEOPLE v. GERNDT.
• Court: Michigan Supreme Court

244 Mich. 622

222 N.W. 185

PEOPLE

v.GERNDT.

No. 130, June Term.

Supreme Court of Michigan.

Dec. 4, 1928.

Error to Circuit Court, Berrien County; Charles E. White, Judge.

Arthur O. Gerndt was convicted of murder, and he brings error. Affirmed.

Argued before the Entire Bench, except POTTER, J. John J. Sterling and I. W. Riford, both of Benton Harbor, for appellant.

William W. Potter, Atty. Gen., and George H. Bookwalter, Pros. Atty., of Benton Harbor, for the People.

NORTH, J.

The defendant in this case was convicted of murder in the first degree, the charge being that he poisoned his wife, Bertha Dean Gerndt, by giving her arsenic. The deceased and her foster mother, Alice Dean, had lived in Benton Harbor for many years. The defendant, Arthur O. Gerndt, in former years had resided in the city of Chicago. His second wife died in December, 1923. He met Bertha Dean in October, 1926; a courtship followed, and they were married June 15, 1927. After their wedding trip, which lasted about six days, they returned to Benton Harbor and resided in the home which Mrs. Gerndt had theretofore occupied with her foster mother. Mrs. Gerndt at the time of her marriage was 49 years of age, and seems to have been a person of rather extraordinary good health. She was taken ill on the 4th of July, 1927, but she recovered to the extent that she was able to do some of her housework, and a few days later made a visit with her husband to the home of some friends. Thereafter she continued in failing health, and her death occurred on the 24th of July, 1927. Incident to this sickness she was first attended by Dr. Taber on the 8th of July, and again on the 14th, and his last call was on the 18th of July. In the meantime Mr. Gerndt called at the doctor's office in regard to Mrs. Gerndt's condition. When the doctor attended Mrs. Gerndt on the 8th of July, she stated to him that she could not sleep, and that her stomach bothered her; and on the 18th she complained to the doctor of having ‘an awful headache, severe pain in the back, and was very nervous.’ Her condition on July 24 was such that she was attended by Dr. Spawr three times during the day, and she died about 9 o'clock that evening. During her sickness the personal wants of Mrs. Gerndt in the home were looked after for the most part by her husband; no other help having been secured until very shortly before her death. Because of certain transactions relative to the property of Mrs. Gerndt and of her foster mother, the details of which will be hereinafter recited, some suspicion as to the cause of Mrs. Gerndt's death seems to have been aroused, which resulted in the disinterment of the body of the deceased on the 13th day of August, 1927. In autopsy was held, and distinct traces of arsenical poisoning were discovered. The body was again exhumed September 22, and upon further examination it was found that the small intestines contained 8.7 grains of arsenic. The undisputed proof is to the effect that there was no arsenic in the embalming fluid used on the remains of the deceased, and the doctor testified that there was no arsenic in any of the medicines prescribed by him.

Arthur O. Gerndt was substantially of the same age as the deceased. It is the theory of the prosecution that, in marrying Bertha Dean and in bringing about her death by arsenical poisoning, the defendant was carrying out a plan by which he hoped to possess himself of her property and also that of her foster mother. Prior to the marriage, Alice Dean was the owner of the residence which these parties occupied. It was substantially of the value of $7,000. She had mortgages aggregating $7,800, and the deceased had money invested in mortgages to the amount of $10,000. These two women also had in savings deposits over $1,300. The record discloses that about the 1st of March, 1927, the defendant obtained possession of a will which Mrs. Dean had made. He caused another will to be prepared by a Chicago attorney, by the terms of which Mrs. Dean provided that her property, with the exception of $100 to her brother, should be left to Bertha Dean Gerndt and Arthur Otto Gerndt. This will purports to have been executed on the 14th of June, 1927, although the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Gerndt did not occur until the 15th. Also, on or before the 14th of June Bertha Gerndt executed a will, which the defendant had brought with him from Chicago, by the terms of which he was made the sole beneficiary. The defendant also made a will in which his wife was named as his sole beneficiary. And on June 14, 1927, Alice Dean, a lady then 80 years of age, executed a deed by which the residence occupied by these people in Benton Harbor was conveyed to the defendant and his wife, Bertha. A life lease back to Mrs. Dean was executed at the same time. Also on June 14, the day before their wedding, the defendant and Bertha Dean went to the Benton Harbor State Bank and made an arrangement whereby the defendant shared with his prospective wife the rights of a safety deposit box, which contained all of the securities of both Bertha Dean and Alice Dean. Within a week after returning from the wedding trip, the defendant rented a safety deposit box in the American National Bank, and he and his wife caused all of the papers theretofore deposited in the Benton Harbor State Bank to be transferred. This seems to have been done without the knowledge or consent of Mrs. Alice Dean. Bertha Dean Gerndt was buried on the 27th of July, 1927, and on the 3d of August, 1927, Mr. Gerndt caused the savings accounts which had theretofore stood jointly in the names of Mrs. Dean and his wife to be changed to the joint account of himself and Mrs. Dean. Incident to this transaction, he obtained the signature of Mrs. Dean to an identification card; and two checks were used which purport to have been signed by her, but she denied the genuineness of these two signatures. The day after the funds in these savings accounts were deposited jointly to the credit of Mr. Gerndt and Mrs. Dean, she caused them to be withdrawn and placed in a certificate of deposit in the name of herself and a Mr. Miller. At the time the defendant had the joint savings account opened in the name of himself and Mrs. Dean, he had brought about a condition by various manipulations whereby he was either the prospective legatee or had become actually possessed of all the property formerly held by both Mrs. Alice Dean and Miss Bertha Dean, with the exception of the life estate which Mrs. Dean had retained in her former home. As noted above, the aggregate value of this property was substantially $26,000.

At the close of the examination held before the magistrate a motion was made in behalf of the defendant that he be discharged, on the ground that there was no evidence that a murder had been committed, or that he was guilty of the crime charged. This motion was denied, and the defendant was held for trial in the circuit court. Upon arraignment he stood mute. Later a motion was made to quash the information, and again it was urged in behalf of the defendant that the testimony taken before the examining magistrate was not sufficient to justify the determination that there was probable cause to believe the deceased had been murdered, or, if so, that the crime had been committed by the defendant. The circuit court's denial of the defendant's motion to quash is now urged as a ground of error. The testimony taken before the examining magistrate is contained in the record filed in this court. A careful reading of the same convinces us that the ruling of the circuit judge was correct. At the examination the death of Bertha Dean Gerndt was admitted. The testimony of Charles E. Weaver, a toxicologist, that in his opinion sufficient arsenic was found in the body of the deceased to cause her death was undisputed. Dr. Taylor, who was present at the autopsy performed on the body of Bertha Gerndt, testified that, so far as he ascertained from the examination he made, the vital organs of the deceased appeared to be in a healthy condition. No other cause of death than arsenical poisoning was disclosed. There is no ground for asserting that there was lack of proof of the corpus delicti. Testimony was also taken disclosing the opportunity which the defendant had to administer the poison, and as to the property manipulations hereinbefore recited, which were indicative of a motive on the part of the defendant for committing the crime. There was also testimony of statements made by him, before the results of the examination of the body were known, which strongly tend to indicate that he anticipated he would be suspected and charged with the offense. He stated he supposed he would need a bondsman and that he had employed an attorney. No testimony was developed which in any way indicated that the death of Mrs. Gerndt was accidental or suicidal; nor was there any indication of a motive for any other person than the defendant administering to her the poison which caused her death. It has been so often stated it seems unnecessary to repeat that the only requirement as a condition to holding one to trial for the commission of an alleged crime is that the testimony taken before the examining magistrate shall be such as justifies him in concluding the crime charged has been committed and that there is probable cause to believe the accused is the guilty party. People v. Rice, 206 Mich. 644, 173 N. W. 495. The testimony taken before the examining magistrate measured up to this requirement.

The appellant has also presented and urged the contention that the proof at the trial in the circuit was not sufficient to justify submitting the case to the jury, it being particularly stressed that there was no evidence tending to show the defendant possessed any arsenic, or that he administered any to the deceased. This contention was made incident to the defendant's motion for a directed verdict, and also incident to his motion for a new...