State v. Cooper

• Decision Date: 13 February 1923
• Docket Number: 35168
• Citation: 191 N.W. 891,195 Iowa 258
• Parties: STATE OF IOWA, Appellee, v. ARTHUR COOPER, Appellant
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

191 N.W. 891

195 Iowa 258

STATE OF IOWA, Appellee, v. ARTHUR COOPER, Appellant

No. 35168

Supreme Court of Iowa, Des Moines

February 13, 1923

Appeal from Mahaska District Court.--H. F. WAGNER, Judge.

DEFENDANT was indicted, tried, and convicted of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to imprisonment for life in the penitentiary, from which sentence this appeal is prosecuted.

Affirmed.

J. G Patterson and S. V. Reynolds, for appellant.

Ben J Gibson, Attorney-general, Maxwell A. O'Brien, County Attorney, and H. B. McCoy, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

ARTHUR J. PRESTON, C. J., EVANS and FAVILLE, JJ., concur.

OPINION

ARTHUR, J.

I.

The indictment charged that, on or about the 25th day of August, 1921, the defendant willfully, feloniously, deliberately, premeditatedly, and with malice aforethought, and with intent to kill and murder the said Jennie Cooper, did feloniously strike, jump upon, stamp, kick, and kneel on the said Jennie Cooper, and upon her breast and chest, sides, head, neck, and shoulders, and did thus feloniously, willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and with malice aforethought, strike the said Jennie Cooper with his fists, and stamp, jump upon, kneel upon, and kick the said Jennie Cooper with his feet and knees and fists, and did then and there, in the manner aforesaid, inflict mortal wounds upon the said Jennie Cooper, and that she died therefrom.

Defendant was a mulatto, 39 years old. Jennie Cooper was his mother. She was a white woman, about 68 years of age, very badly crippled, and was obliged to use crutches. Defendant resided with his mother in Oskaloosa, Iowa, on North G Street, in the home formerly occupied by his father and mother. Defendant's father had been dead about 14 years. Defendant followed janitor work and house-cleaning.

The State claimed, and introduced evidence tending to show, that, on the 25th day of August, 1921, the defendant came home about noon, and within the next hour or hour and a half, started quarreling with his mother; that his mother was seen to go to the rear of the lot to a toilet located thereon; that, when she started back to the house, the defendant began swearing and stamping his feet, and said to her, "God damn you, come in here;" that he continued his cursing and swearing for some time; that later, he pulled down the curtains and the awning on the back porch; that he continued swearing after the awnings were pulled down, and said to his mother, "God damn you, get up, or I will kill you;" that his mother was crying and begging him, saying, "Artie, you know I love you,--why do you want to kill me?" that the disturbance and swearing continued intermittently until about 4:30 or 5 o'clock, when Della Harnden called police officers, and they shortly thereafter arrived at the Cooper house; that, when the police officers arrived, they found Mrs. Cooper lying on the floor; that her clothes were on fire; that she had a blanket over her head; that the defendant was out on the porch when the police officers arrived; that the police officers, with the assistance of a Mr. Lathrop, started to put out the fire on Mrs. Cooper's clothing, and in this they were assisted to some extent by the defendant; that defendant was told that his mother was dying, and he said, "No, she is just letting on;" that defendant was asked at this time how his mother came to be on fire, and he said that she was accustomed to carrying matches, and that she smoked; that, later on, he admitted that she did not smoke.

Several physicians were called, but Mrs. Cooper was unconscious at the time they arrived, and died soon thereafter. A post-mortem examination was held, and the result thereof testified to by the coroner and the doctors who made the post-mortem.

The coroner testified:

"I saw the doctors make the incision in the chest. They found the ribs broken both on the right and left side, and also an incision, or rather, a puncture in the heart,--the heart cavity,--where one of the ribs had been driven into it. Further, there were numerous bruises all over the body from her hips up; part on her neck and various parts of her head; one especially bad behind the ear; and one on her arms and all over her chest and back."

The testimony of the doctors who made the post-mortem examination substantiates the statements of the coroner with reference to the injuries upon the body of the deceased. Dr. K. L. Johnson, in answering the following inquiry, said:

"Q. Which, if any, of the wounds that you observed there were fatal? A. The wounds of the ribs,--the multiple fracture of the ribs. I would speak of it as mashing injury of the chest,--crushing of the ribs,--even though the rupture of the heart would necessarily have been fatal."

Defendant made a written confession, which was received in evidence, reading as follows:

"I, Art Cooper, after being duly sworn, depose and say that I beat my mother, and put both knees on her and crushed her. She was sitting on the chair when I got home, and I got to fussing with her about using the bucket. I was mad, and took hold of her arms and pulled her off the chair and threw her on the floor in the bedroom. She crawled into the front room, and I ran out of the house, then came back again, and jumped on her chest with my knees, and had hold of her arms with my hands. She said 'quit' or 'don't.' I was not on her with my knees very long, and after I had shaken her and jumped on her with my knees, I got up and went to the table, got matches, and set her clothing on fire. Then I went out on the porch, and laid on the davenport there, and then very soon Eph Allender and Jim Martin came. I heard the automobile come, and got up off the davenport and went into the other room. I make this statement of my own free will and accord, without fear, duress, or promise of leniency or reward, and for the sole purpose of letting the truth be known about the murder of my mother. This statement was read over by me and to me by the county attorney before I signed."

The defendant interposed as one of his defenses that he was insane at the time that it is claimed that the crime was committed, and that he did not know what he was doing. Defendant introduced expert witnesses to show such claimed insanity. Also, defendant urged as a defense that he was intoxicated at the time of the commission of the crime, if any was committed, and that he was intoxicated to such an extent that he could not entertain a criminal intent; and he introduced numerous witnesses to prove such state of intoxication. In rebuttal, the State introduced expert witnesses, who testified that the defendant was sane, and also introduced witnesses who testified that the defendant was not intoxicated immediately after the tragedy.

The jury returned a verdict a guilty of murder in the first degree, and fixed the punishment at imprisonment in the penitentiary for life at hard labor.

Appellant assigns several errors relied upon for reversal, which may be grouped as follows:

(1) That the indictment did not sufficiently allege the crime of murder in the first degree.

(2) That, under the evidence presented, there was no showing of premeditation, such as to warrant the submission to the jury of the charge of murder in the first degree.

(3) That it was error to admit in evidence the confession made.

(4) That the court erred in excluding certain testimony of defendant's witness L. L. Phillips, and in admitting the testimony of Cora Moore.

(5) That the court erred in the giving of certain instructions.

(6) That the court erred in the giving and reading to the jury of additional Instruction No. 1.

(7) That the judgment should be reversed on account of misconduct of the county attorney.

II. Counsel for appellant urge that the indictment does not charge murder in the first degree, and that overruling the motion made at the close of all the evidence to withdraw from the consideration of the jury the question of murder in the first degree, was error. It is argued that the indictment fails to charge that the injuries were inflicted upon the body of Jennie Cooper with the specific intent to kill and murder her, and that for that reason the indictment fails to charge murder in the first degree.

The indictment is not vulnerable to the attack made upon it. The indictment alleges that the defendant did willfully, feloniously, deliberately, premeditatedly, and with malice aforethought, and with the intent to kill and murder the said Jennie Cooper, as aforesaid, feloniously strike, jump upon, stamp, kick, and kneel upon the said Jennie Cooper, upon her breast, chest, sides, head, neck, and shoulders, and did thus feloniously, willfully, deliberately, premeditatedly, and with malice aforethought strike the said Jennie Cooper with his fists, and stamp, jump upon, kneel upon, and kick the said Jennie Cooper with his feet and knees and fists, and did then and there, in the manner aforesaid, inflict mortal wounds as aforesaid, of which mortal wounds so inflicted, said Jennie Cooper died.

The indictment sufficiently charged the crime of murder in the first degree, under our holdings. State v. Shelton, 64 Iowa 333, 20 N.W. 459; State v. Phillips, 118 Iowa 660, 92 N.W. 876; State v. Wilson, 166 Iowa 309, 144 N.W. 47.

III. Appellant claims error in overruling his motion to direct a verdict, and in refusing to sustain his motion for a new trial on the grounds:

(1) That the State failed to show that decedent, Jennie Cooper, came to her death by unlawful means.

(2) That the verdict is against the weight of the evidence.

(3) That the State failed to show premeditation.

These claims require an examination of the evidence. We deem it not necessary to set forth the testimony in detail. Appreciating...