State v. Jones
Decision Date | 03 December 1923 |
Docket Number | No. 24926.,24926. |
Citation | 256 S.W. 787 |
Parties | STATE v. JONES |
Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Pemiscot County; H. C. Riley, Judge.
John W. Jones was convicted of murder in the second degree, and he appeals. Affirmed.
B. A. McKay, of Caruthersville, for appellant.
Jesse W. Barrett, Atty. Gen., and J. Henry Caruthers, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.
The defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree for killing his son-in-law, George Mathenia, and was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of 10 years, from which he has appealed.
The homicide occurred at the residence of James Shaffer, a farmer and neighbor of the defendant, on the evening of September 21, 1921. The deceased and his wife had separated., Mrs. Mathenia had gone to live with her father, and deceased was living with James Leake. After the separation, Mrs. Mathenia gave birth to a child in August, 1921. Leake and Mathenia were in Caruthersville on the evening of September 21, and employed Phil Coppage to take them home in an automobile. Shaffer's residence was on their route, and on arriving there they found that a picnic was in progress. Mathenia went into Shaffer's house, carrying a pasteboard box. He found his wife and her mother there, sitting on a bed; the mother holding his baby. He did not at the time see the defendant, who was sitting behind the stove.
J. W. McAllister, a witness for the state, testified:
That he was at Shaffer's on the night of the homicide; that he saw Mathenia come in the house with a little paper box in his hand; that there was some conversation with Mrs. Jones that witness did not hear; that Mathenia then walked to the stove, laid the box on it, and, addressing the defendant, said, "Uncle John, I have got a cap and blanket;" that Mathenia had not any more than said that until Mr. Zones sprang from his chair and shot him twice. When Jones grabbed his gun, he said, "George, damn you, I have told you enough what to do." Mathenia ran out the front door. Jones shot at him again. The last witness saw of Mathenia he was running. Witness went out. Jones said to witness, "There lays Jim Leake." (The defendant had also shot and killed Leake after leaving the house, as will appear later on.)
Witness then stated he went down where Mathenia was lying on a bridge, a distance of 45 or 50 yards.
Mrs. Carrie McAllister, a witness for the state, testified:
Witness stated that Mathenia had no gun that she could see; that she saw his hands, and that he did not put them in his pockets; that defendant got up when Mathenia walked over to the stove, which was between him and the defendant; that defendant fired twice, and then said, "God damn you, get out of here;" that Mathenia started out the door; that defendant followed, and fired a third shot, which she thought hit Mathenia in the back. The court sustained an objection to the answer, and directed the jury not to consider it. The evidence shows that Mathenia ran down the road about 50 yards and fell down at a bridge. The first two shots struck Mathenia in the breast, one a little above and the other a little below the heart, and passed through his body. The wounds were fatal, Mathenia dying 60 days thereafter. Deceased was in his shirt sleeves. Several witnesses followed deceased to the bridge and found no weapon on his body.
Willie Rogers, a witness for the state, testified:
He was in the road when Leaks, Coppage, and Mathenia drove up, and Mathenia went in the house; that in a little while he heard two shots before Mathenia got out of the house; heard five shots altogether; saw the flash of the third shot from the door somewhere; Mathenia was then in the yard, running; that he "hollered, `oh, Lordy !' or something `nother; that Jones had shot him"; that defendant came out behind Mathenia; that Mathenia went down the road to that little bridge, and fell down there.
On cross-examination, witness stated:
He heard Mathenia say when he ran out of the house, "Oh, Lordy!" and "Jones shot me!" "Q. Did you hear anybody say anything who was standing out about the stand? (a refreshment booth). A. I heard Mr. Leake holler— ask what they were doing in there, and `Cut that out!'
Other witnesses to the homicide testified for the state, but the foregoing is sufficient to present the questions raised by the appellant. A number of witnesses for the defense testified that the general reputation of the defendant for peace and quiet was good, and that the general reputation of the deceased as a violent, dangerous, and turbulent man was bad. No rebutting evidence was offered by the state as to the...
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