State v. Dooms

• Decision Date: 04 December 1919
• Docket Number: No. 21551.,21551.
• Citation: State v. Dooms, 280 Mo. 84, 217 S.W. 43 (Mo. 1919)
• Parties: STATE v. DOOMS.
• Court: Missouri Supreme Court

217 S.W. 43

280 Mo. 84

STATE v.DOOMS.

No. 21551.

Supreme Court of Missouri. Division No. 2.

December 4, 1919.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Douglas County; Fred Stewart, Judge.

John L. Dooms was convicted of murder in the second degree, and appeals.Affirmed.

On the 3d day of January, 1918, the prosecuting attorney of Douglas county, Mo., filed an information in the circuit court of said county, wherein the defendant, John L. Dooms, was charged with murder of the first degree, in that he shot and instantly killed his son, Williams A. Dooms, on the 3d day of December, 1917.The state elected to prosecute defendant under said information for murder in the second degree.It appears that a mistrial was had at the February term of said court, and the cause was continued by the court to the April term, 1918.On the 8th day of April, the same being the first day of said April term of said court, defendant was duly arraigned for murder in the second degree and entered his plea of not guilty, a jury was duly impaneled, his trial had on the issue raised by his plea, and a verdict of guilty as charged returned by the jury, fixing defendant's punishment at 12 years' imprisonment in the state penitentiary.

Motions for new trial and in arrest of judgment were filed and overruled by the court, and thereupon defendant duly appealed the cause to this court.

For many years before the date of the tragedy in which William A. Dooms lost his life, defendant and his family lived on a farm in the eastern part of Douglas county, Mo.There were seven boys and one girl in the family, one of the boys being William A. Dooms.A few years before the homicide on account of some disagreement, defendant and his wife separated, and defendant boarded here and there in the community, while his wife and other members of the family continued to reside on the farm heretofore mentioned.Even after the separation it appears that continued bitterness and misunderstanding existed between defendant and his wife.A few months prior to the homicide the wife threatened to put him under bond to keep the peace, whereupon defendant left the community, and did not return until shortly before the homicide.Two or three weeks before William A. Dooms was killed defendant purchased a 25-20 caliber Winchester rifle which belonged to his son, and after that was frequently seen about the premises carrying said gun.

On the 3d day of December, 1917, the deceased, William A. Dooms, was residing at the home of his mother at said farm.He had been in Oklahoma for several months prior thereto, and had returned to her home the latter part of the preceding October.About 5:30 or 6 p. m. on said date, the said William A. Dooms, his wife, his mother, and several other members of the family sat about the fire in the southwest room of their house, engaged in conversation.The day had been cloudy and darkness had fallen, and a lamp had been lighted.There was a door that opened out upon a porch on the west side of the room where the family were sitting.A few feet south of the door was a window that communicated with said room.While the family were seated and engaged in conversation, as above stated, a shot was fired from the outside through said window, which struck and instantly killed deceased.A 25-20 rifle cartridge was found on the porch, and footprints along the side of the porch.A 25-20 rifle bullet was extracted by the physician from the wound inflicted upon deceased.

On the following day at about 2 o'clock p. m. the services of a bloodhound were brought into requisition, and, after trailing from the scene of the tragedy to where defendant was staying, pointed him out as the one who had dropped the cartridge and made the tracks along beside the porch where deceased was killed.Defendant was then arrested and placed in the county jail.

The testimony further discloses that defendant desired the custody of the person of his youngest son, and was laboring under the impression that the other members of the family were opposed to his having such custody.Some of the witnesses stated that defendant had said "that he was going to take the boy away"; that "there was going to be trouble, but he would get as many of them as they got of him."Following the facts a little more in detail, Josie Dooms, wife of Thomas Dooms, swore at defendant's trial that he got the gun above mentioned from her home about three weeks before deceased was killed.She said she gave the gun to him.Defendant told her that he wanted the shells, and she gave him nine, and he said that was all he would ever need.E. W. McDaniels, who lived three-quarters of a mile from the Dooms' home saw defendant go down the road by said home, and when he arrived near the house he stopped in a brush, and acted as though he was trying to get a view of something, and when he saw the witness he went off into the woods.William M. Miller testified that the cartridges taken from the person of defendant, nine in number, were turned over to him, and that they were 25-20 caliber and that in his judgment the ball taken from the body of deceased was a 25-20 caliber ball.R. C. Buxton stated that defendant told him he was going to take his youngest son away from the rest of the family."I am going to take the boy away from them.The others won't let me take him.I am going to take the boy dead or alive.I will get just as many of them as they will of me."George Denton testified that, in conversation with defendant, prior to the shooting of deceased, of his family troubles, he said there would be one of the worst torn-up families one had ever seen; that there would be a scatterment made out of them.Mrs. Jennie Louallen testified that shortly before the killing she saw defendant in front of Mrs. Dooms' home.He was standing there looking at the house with a gun on his arm, and when he heard her coming turned around and walked away from the premises.John Jones testified that two or three weeks prior to the killing he found the Dooms' house on fire, and in about one-half hour defendant came in and told witness that he had trouble with some of the family.Witness further stated that on the day following the fire he found some tracks over by the garden on the Dooms' premises which looked as if they had been made by the shoe defendant was wearing at the time Claud Louallen testified that on Thursday before the killing he was at the Collins' home, and about 9 p. m. put his horse in the barn to feed it, and found a gun in the manger, and about 11 p. m., when witness took his horse out, the gun was gone.Defendant was there that night.Dail Wallen, who lived about a quarter of a mile from the Dooms' home, testified that on Friday prior to the killing defendant told him that he had come home for a general "settling up," and that they might kill him, but "they would not kill any more of him than he would of them."Defendant was carrying a gun at the time of the conversation, but it was too dark for witness to describe it.John Brown testified that on the `day deceased was killed he saw defendant going down the road towards the Dooms' home, and he was carrying a gun at the time.Floyd Dooms, grandson of defendant, testified that he had just returned from school, and he with some other children were playing out at the barn near a pond; it was growing dark; saw a man whom he took to be defendant that he was looking at the house; shortly he turned around and walked down the fence away from the house, and deceased was shot one-half hour later and killed.Mr. Bumps testified that he was present when the dog trailed defendant to the place where he was arrested.Witness said to him, "This looks kinda bad."Defendant replied, "I haven't got much liberty, and not very much longer to live anyway."

Defendant testified in his own behalf; admitted the ownership of the gun, having a few weeks before bought it from another one of his sons; admitted that he frequently carried it past the Dooms' home, and that he carried it with him the evening of the day that deceased was killed.He denied substantially all of the other evidence, and positively denied shooting his son, the deceased.

Defendant filed no brief in this court, nor was he represented by counsel.In the lower court, however, his counsel filed a motion to arrest the judgment rendered on the verdict of the jury, which reads, omitting formal parts, as follows:

(I) Because the verdict, judgment, and sentence is insufficient in law to incarcerate the defendant in the state prison.

(II)Because the state of Missouri should not have been permitted to elect, over defendant's objection, to try the defendant for murder in the second degree, there having been no such offense committed.The offense for which defendant was tried, as shown by the evidence, was one of cold blood, by lying in wait, and that of the most atrocious character.

(III)Because there was no evidence or showing of any kind that defendant was ever awarded a preliminary trial before being placed on trial in this court for murder.

(IV)Because the record proper shows that defendant was not awarded a trial by the regular panel of jurors drawn by the county court, but by a selected panel selected by the sheriff.

And also filed a motion for new trial, which, omitting formal parts, reads as follows:

(I) Because the verdict is unsupported by evidence.

(II)Because the verdict is contrary to and against the laws given by the court.

(III)Because the court admitted and submitted to the jury incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial evidence for the state and against the defendant, to the great injury and damage to the defendant and over his objections thereto, and without which the jury would not, possibly, find a verdict of guilty, in this, to wit: The court at divers times during the progress of the trial and from divers witnesses allowed said witnesses to testify of family differences between defendant and his wife and other...