Reid v. Com.

• Decision Date: 11 October 1965
• Citation: 144 S.E.2d 310,206 Va. 464
• Court: Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: Linwood REID v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia.

Page 310

144 S.E.2d 310

206 Va. 464

Linwood REID v. COMMONWEALTH of Virginia.

Supreme Court of Appeals of Virginia.

Oct. 11, 1965.

Robert D. Powers, Jr., Donald G. Wise, Portsmouth, for plaintiff in error.

William G. Boice, Sp. Asst. to Atty. Gen. (Robert Y. Button, Atty. Gen., on brief), for defendant in error.

Before EGGLESTON, C. J., and SPRATLEY, BUCHANAN, SNEAD, I'ANSON, CARRICO, and GORDON, JJ.

EGGLESTON, Chief Justice.

Linwood Reid, indicted for the murder of Sophie Harding, was tried and found guilty by a jury of murder in the second degree and his punishment fixed at confinement in the penitentiary for twenty years. Through the same court-assigned counsel who defended him in the court below he has appealed. In his assignments of error he contends that the lower court erred in these respects:

(1) In admitting in evidence his purported confession without first hearing his testimony that it was not voluntary;

(2) In admitting in evidence the confession 'without independent proof beyond a reasonable doubt of the corpus delicti';

(3) In its rulings on the instructions to the jury; and

(4) In not setting aside the verdict of the jury on the ground that it was contrary to the law and the evidence.

Viewed in the light of the verdict, the evidence on behalf of the Commonwealth showed that on the early morning of September, 5, 1964, a fire occurred at 1361 Watson street in the city of Portsmouth. Responding to a call, members of the fire department went to the premises where they found the bedroom and bed on fire. Sophie Harding was found to have been severely burned and in a critical condition. She was taken to a local hospital where she died on September 15 as the result of the burns which she had received. At the time of the fire the premises were occupied by Sophie Harding and the defendant Reid who were living there as man and wife, though unmarried.

Investigators for the state and local fire departments testified that the mattress on the bed was burned and that the heavy charring of the floor near the bed indicated that the fire had started there. They found no defects in the electrical wiring or other evidence that the fire had been caused by accidental means. Indeed, a deputy state fire marshall testified that from the obvious situation 'the fire couldn't have been caused by accident.'

While there is no evidence that the defendant Reid was present at the house at the time the police and members of the fire department responded to the alarm, a neighbor testified that at the time of the fire he saw the defendant running down the street calling for help. Later the defendant told an investigating officer that when he arrived home he found Sophie's clothing on fire, that after attempting to extinguish the flames he became scared and 'left the scene.'

A detective who had participated in investigating the fire testified that the defendant was picked up at his place of employment and brought to police headquarters on September 14. He further testified that after having been interrogated the defendant signed a written statement or confession. The defendant objected to the admission of this statement or confession, on the ground that the corpus delicti and particularly the defendant's connection with the alleged occurrence had not been established. The lower court overruled this objection.

In the absence of the jury, the court heard the evidence on behalf of the Commonwealth as to the circumstances under which the statement or confession had been obtained from the defendant. The detective testified that the statement was 'purely voluntary,' without the premise of 'any reward or leniency,' and was given after the defendant had been told that he need make no statement unless he so desired and that anything he said might be used against him.

After such evidence had been heard counsel for the defendant asked the court to hear his testimony which, they said, would indicate that the confession was not voluntarily given. The court declined to hear this proffered evidence by the defendant at this time, stating that later during the trial he would be given an opportunity of presenting such evidence. Without hearing the defendant's evidence on this issue, and over his objection, the court then ruled that the confession was voluntary and should be admitted in evidence.

The trial was resumed before the jury and the written statement or confession was introduced and read to the jury. The substance of the confession was that the defendant and Sophie Harding had visited 'Mary Brown's house' on Chestnut street where they drank whiskey together; that they returned home and engaged in a fight; that she picked up a gallon jug of kerosene and tried to strike him with it; that he grabbed her, threw her on the bed, and took the jug from her; that some of the oil spilled on the bed and on her clothes; that he struck a match and threw it on the bed which caught on fire; that Sophie's dress also caught on fire; and that he carried the woman to the porch where he eventually extinguished the fire on her clothes. Frightened by this situation, he left Sophie sitting on the porch and ran away.

Before the jury the defendant took the stand, repudiated the confession, and testified that he had not made the statements therein contained. Moreover, he said that he did not sign the purported confession voluntarily, but because the detective told him that he would not be permitted to leave the room until he had done so.

The defendant further testified that there had been no difficulty between him and Sophie on the night preceding the fire. He said that after they had visited several friends together they parted 'on good terms.' He went to a dance while she went home; that when he retuned home, about 5:00 o'clock the next morning, he found that the fire had occurred and that Sophie had been badly burned. He then 'went down the street, hollering for help.' He denied that he was at home when the fire occurred, that a fight had occurred between them, or that he had struck a match and set her clothing on fire, as indicated in the purported confession.

We agree with the defendant's position that the lower court committed prejudicial and reversible error in admitting in evidence his alleged confession before first hearing his proffered testimony that it was not voluntary.

In this State the determination of the admissibility of a confession is the function of the court. Its credibility, weight and value are for the jury. It is the duty of the court...