State v. Casey

• Decision Date: 27 June 1931
• Docket Number: 195.
• Citation: 159 S.E. 337,201 N.C. 185
• Parties: STATE v. CASEY.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

159 S.E. 337

201 N.C. 185

STATE v. CASEY.

No. 195.

Supreme Court of North Carolina

June 27, 1931

Appeal from Superior Court, Lenoir County; W. A. Devin, Judge.

Herman Casey was convicted of murder in the first degree, and he appeals.

No error.

Where evidence justifies charge on manslaughter, court's failure to give such charge is error.

The defendant, Herman Casey, was tried upon a bill of indictment charging him with murder in the first degree of James C Causey. A verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree on the bill of indictment was returned by the jury, and the defendant was thereupon sentenced by the court below to death by electrocution.

The evidence was to the effect that James C. Causey was from Suffolk, Va., but was living in Goldsboro, N. C., prior to July 3, 1930, and was working for the Atlas Plywood Corporation. It had bought out the Utility Manufacturing Company, and he was in charge of the logging operations in the woods. Causey drove a Hudson coach, belonging to the company. The defendant Casey knew Causey, and who he was working for. Defendant Casey was hauling some hogshead stave timber during the summer of 1930, shortly before July 3 1930, off the land of one John H. Sutton. There was a controversy between Sutton and the Utility Manufacturing Company (then owned by the Atlas Plywood Corporation, located at Goldsboro, N. C.) over who owned the land the timber was cut off of. Some of this timber was sold by defendant Casey to Goldsboro Lumber Company, at Dover, N. C., some three or four weeks before July 3, five and three-fourths cords amounting to some $28.75. The Goldsboro Lumber Company was notified by one E. H. Graham, an officer of the Atlas Plywood Corporation, to stop payment, which was done. Defendant Casey, as testified to by one Blandford, connected with the Goldsboro Lumber Company, on July 3d, the day it is alleged Causey was killed, about eleven thirty or one thirty, was trying to get the money, claiming it was coming to him, and that he understood bond had been executed for the timber. He told John Bryant, who he was hauling lumber for, on the morning of July 3d, having delivered some timber to the Goldsboro Lumber Company, at Dover, N. C., where defendant left him about eleven o'clock, that he got balled up with the Goldsboro Lumber Company about $35.

E. H Graham testified, in part: "That he knew defendant Casey. The latter part of May or first of June. He came over there to see about some money that had been withheld at Goldsboro Lumber Co. He did make a statement in reference to it. Q. What was it. (Defendant objects unless it refers to Mr. Causey.) He said 'I am going to have my money, somebody is going to pay me.' (Defendant objects to answer and asks that it be stricken out; overruled; defendant excepts.) I did refuse to pay him the money and did not permit him to be paid. I was Manager. The money that I am talking about was to be paid at Dover. The litigation was between Utility Mfg. Co. and Mr. Sutton, about the timber. *** I don't know whether Mr. Casey knew Mr. Causey or not. As I recall it, I told Mr. Casey that Mr. Causey had charge of the logging operations."

Luby Underwood, testified, in part: "While we were hauling from Mr. John H. Sutton's place Mr. Casey had to stop hauling. There came a man down from Goldsboro. Mr. Casey was with me at the time. Mr. Casey was with me and we were coming down in woods riding in the truck together. It was in June. (Defendant objects to this; overruled, and the defendant excepts.) We come on down the woods with a load and he was going to Dover to get some chewing tobacco and he got out on the road and a car was standing there, over there to the left at the bridge and the man got out of his car and asked if he was Mr. Casey and Mr. Casey said, Yes, and he wanted to know of Mr. Casey where he was getting his timber from. (Defendant objects and excepts to above testimony; overruled; exception). This gentleman asked him who he was buying his timber from and Mr. Casey told him from Mr. John H. Sutton, and he wanted to know how much he had gotten out of there and Mr. Casey told him he did not know. (Defendant objects and excepts to above; overruled; exception). The gentleman in the car, the car was from Goldsboro, but I could not swear where the man was from, he said to Mr. Casey, 'Don't get any more timber out of that piece of woods down there and not to cut any more out of there.' He pulled out some map and begun to show Mr. Casey about the map, and Mr Casey stopped and did not get any more out of there and he quit and moved over to Mr. Tilghman's tract of land. (Defendant objects and excepts; overruled, and exception) This man was driving a large car, I don't know the name of it. *** That night we come to town and he paid us but not all. His talk was that this man owed him this money at Goldsboro where he went to see, and the way he talked, said 'the G-- D-- son of a bitch, he was going down there, said wherever he met this G-- D-- son of a bitch, wherever he met him he was going down with him." (Defendant objects and excepts to above testimony; overruled; exception).

Peter Brown testified, in part: "The next week we worked at the John H. Sutton place, still working for Mr. Casey sawing stave timber. Something happened while we were working there that stopped us working on the John H. Sutton place on Friday night of that same week. Q. Did Mr. Casey tell you why you stopped working there? (Defendant objects in apt time to all this line of testimony; overruled; defendant excepts). A. Mr. Casey told me the next week that they objected to him cutting and hauling any more of that timber out of there. The next week we worked on Mr. Pete Tilghman's place, cutting stave timber. *** A. He said Friday when he left that he had to go to Dover, that somebody was going to pay him his money. (Defendant moves to strike out this evidence; overruled; defendant excepts) *** On Monday he stated that he would rather be laying flat of his back in the sunshine with his toes bound together than for anybody to beat him out of his labor. (Defendant moves to strike out above; denied, and defendant excepts)."

John Anthony Brown testified, in part: "He said he went to Goldsboro Monday to get our money. On Monday he carried us to the woods and put us to work and told me he was going to Goldsboro to get the money. (Defendant objects; overruled, and exception to the above). He came back that night and paid us off across the street yonder and told us he borrowed the money from the company at Dover. He told us about his money being stopped. He told me on the way going to Greene County 'You just as well be dead with my toes turned up to the sun as to be working and can't get our labor.' (Defendant objects; overruled; exception.)"

Thurman Morris testified, in part: "It was this summer. *** Q. Did, you hear Herman Casey make any statement in reference to any money that was held up, whether he had been to get his money? (Defendant objects; overruled; defendant excepts.) I went down there one afternoon and I heard him say a fellow in Dover owed him some money and he went for it and could not get it, and he said 'Damn if he did not aim to have it on some terms.' (Defendant objects; overruled and exception.)"

C. S. Cornwell, testified, in part: "Yes, I know Mr. J. C. Causey, had known him about 15 years. I last saw him on the morning of the 3rd of July; it was about 10 o'clock that he left the office. I do know that he had business at what is known as Caswell Camp, near Kinston, on that day. When he left the office he was driving a Hudson coach. Yes, I have seen the car that was burned and I know of my own personal knowledge that the burned car was the car that was driven by Mr. Causey on that day. The car belonged to the company."

Henry West testified, in part: "I live about a mile and a half from where the car was burned, out towards Kelly's Mill. I knew Mr. Causey when I saw him, and I saw him on the 3rd day of July; at the time I saw him he was going in the direction of where the car was burned. He was driving a Hudson car; it was about 11:30. I saw smoke in the direction of where the burned car was found about 12 o'clock that day, but I could not say whether it was that car burning that I saw the smoke from, or not. There was no other fire around there that day I know of."

Decatur Nobles testified, in part: "I knew Mr. J. C. Causey when I saw him, had known him since November. I saw him on Thursday, July 3rd, he passed my house driving a Hudson coach, going towards Oak Bridge, around toward Route No. 10 from my house; he was going toward the scene of the accident when I saw him, toward where the car was found burned. As near as I could guess at it I would say it was between 11:00 and 11:30. I never looked at the clock to see the exact time. I had just gone to the house from topping some tobacco, and I later saw the smoke from the fire. I think it was about half an hour after I saw Mr. Causey pass before I saw the smoke. That is just guessing. Right around 12 o'clock is as near as I can get at it that I saw the smoke. *** Was present on the 4th where the car was burned. *** The front of the car was about 20 or 25 feet from this little road that crossed the tram road. I saw some bushes right side of the car it looked like it had been beaten out with a brush or something of that sort. That was on the left of the car next to the Neuse road and on the side away from the tram road, west approximately from the car."

Jerry Sutton testified, in part: "I was at home on the 3rd of July. I worked in the tobacco patch, about 50 steps of the road, was about 50 yards of the road when Mr. Causey passed by. I knew Mr. Causey. It was about 11:20 or 11:30 when Mr Causey passed; h...