State v. Needham
| Decision Date | 21 May 1952 |
| Docket Number | No. 4,4 |
| Parties | STATE, v. NEEDHAM. |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
Harry McMullan, Atty. Gen., Ralph Moody, Asst. Atty. Gen., and Charles G. Powell, Jr., Member of Staff, Raleigh, for the State.
Woltz & Barber and Folger & Folger, all of Mount Airy, for defendant, appellant.
The crucial exception presented by this appeal tests the sufficiency of the evidence to carry the case to the jury over the defendant's motions for judgment as of nonsuit, made in apt time under the provisions of G.S. § 15-173.
The gist of the State's case as gleaned from the testimony of the witnesses called by the Solicitor is in substance as follows:
For eight years or more the defendant, father of nine children, had been engaged in illicit relations with the wife of the deceased, mother of four children. The defendant began visiting the Lawson home when the family lived on the Napier farm about four miles from Pilot Mountain. About 1943 the Lawson family moved to the Jim Hill place, which adjoins the defendant's farm. It was then that the association between the defendant and the deceased's wife became more intimate and constant. The wife of the deceased testified she started having intercourse with the defendant two or three months after the family moved to the Hill place. She said: The family stayed at the Hill place three years, and then moved to the Carson place where they remained a year. Mrs. Lawson said the defendant came to see her three or four times a week while she and the family were living at the Hill and Carson places.
From the Carson place the family moved to Sid Johnson's at Germanton in Stokes County, a distance of some 20 miles from Needham's home. The wife of the deceased testified Needham 'didn't like us moving to the Johnson place because it was too far,' but he * * *'
After one year at the Johnson place the family moved to the 'mountain at Pinnacle' about 1948. (Distance from defendant's home not given). The deceased's wife said the defendant kept coming 'to see us about the same as when we lived at the other places,' but he 'wanted us to move to the Boyles place.'
The family made the last move in January, 1951, --this time to the Nelson place, where the fire occurred. Needham continued to visit the Lawson home 'two or three times a week' down to the time of the fatal event.
The evidence discloses that during all this time the deceased knew about the illicit relations between his wife and the defendant. She testified: 'My husband knew about the relationship between Needham and me.' The deceased and the defendant appeared to be on friendly terms, except at times when they were drinking. On such occasions they quarreled, threatened each other and slapped each other, but as the wife put it, there was 'no serious injury.' Needham frequently brought liquor and sometimes groceries. 'He kinda wanted to be boss.'
The tenant house on the Nelson place in which the Lawsons lived was located 300 or 400 feet west of State Highway No. 66 in Stokes County. There was a 'front yard or driveway going all the way form the highway to the house * * * nothing to interfere with * * * view of the house from the highway,' except a pack house located between the highway and the house.
The house There was no outside door leading from the back bedroom. To get out of that bedroom it was necessary to go through the kitchen. 'There were three doors in the kitchen-one opening into the west bedroom, one outdoors, and one into the front room.'
Only the two younger Lawson children, a girl 16 and a boy 10, were living with the family, and both were visiting away from home the Sunday afternoon of the fire.
The defendant came to the Lawson home the Saturday before the fire. Lawson's wife testified:
Early the next morning the three rode off in Needham's car to get whiskey and groceries. They returned about 8 o'clock with a quart of whiskey, some groceries, and a half gallon of kerosene oil. Needham's car was left parked in the yard near the pack house. Mrs. Lawson had built a fire in the stove to cook breakfast and it was still burning when they returned. They started drinking early.
Later in the morning Walter Inman, Curt Shelton and Claude Gordon arrived on the scene.
Inman testified the three of them went to the Lawson place in Gordon's pick-up truck, taking about half a gallon of whiskey. They arrived around 10 or 11 o'clock. Inman said: Later 'some kind of noise woke me up. I jumped up and turned around, couldn't think where I was. I had been pretty drunk, and whirled around to leave when I saw a whole lot of smoke and a little fire in the kitchen. I saw a man through the smoke in the kitchen standing up with something in his hand and heard him say, 'G.. damn, G.. damn.' I don't know whether it was a stick, or pine knot or what it was in his hand, but it was on fire and he started cursing and then he turned and his arms obstructed a view of his face. I couldn't tell how far in the kitchen the man was. I don't remember who it was or what size man it was but he was cursing and I thought he was trying to burn the house up and I left there. I ran out the front door and into Curt Shelton who was setting in the swing in the front porch. I told him Claude Gordon was trying to burn the house up. * * *'
Curt Shelton testified he went to the Lawson home with Inman and Claude Gordon; that he carried there about three pints of liquor in a half gallon jar and put it on the table in the kitchen where Mr. and Mrs. Lawson and the defendant Needham were sitting around the table eating. He said they all continued to drink, and after a while he left the kitchen and went to the swing on the porch and went to sleep. He said: * * * ' Then after failing to get in the kitchen, Shelton said he and Inman went on to the woods and stayed there probably 10 or 15 minutes berfore returning to the house. He said Needham's 49 blue Ford was parked in the yard in front of the house when he arrived that morning. 'When Inman woke me up, if the car was there I didn't pay any attention to it.' Shelton further said that earlier that day he had trouble with Gordon and Gordon left.
Claude Gordon testified he went to the Lawson home with Shelton and Inman, but stayed there only about an hour. He said:
The wife of the deceased testified that sometime during the morning she left the kitchen. 'When I got drunk I usually left the house and lay down and went to sleep.' On this occasion she said she went back below the house and lay down. When she waked up and...
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