State v. Rutledge, 47601

Citation47 N.W.2d 251,243 Iowa 179
Decision Date04 April 1951
Docket NumberNo. 47601,47601
PartiesSTATE v. RUTLEDGE.
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of Iowa

R. S. Milner, of Cedar Rapids, and Miller, Davis, Hise & Howland, of Des Moines, for appellant.

Robert L. Larson, Atty. Gen., Don Hise, Asst. Atty. Gen., Wm. W. Crissman, County Atty. of Linn County, and D. M. Elderkin, Asst. County Atty. of Linn County, Cedar Rapids, for appellee.

OLIVER, Justice.

December 15, 1948, at 7:30 A.M. the body of Byron Hattman, of St. Louis, Missouri, was discovered on the floor of room 729, occupied by him in the Roosevelt Hotel, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The corpse was lying on its chest, just inside the entry way and partly alongside the bed, the feet were crossed and the arms were pulled up behined the body and crossed on its back. The body was lying partially on a top coat. The right sleeve of the suit coat was off the arm and shoulder and was turned inside out. There were a number of bloodstains in the public hallway near the door entering the room and inside the room. Apparently the dead man had been beaten over the head. Blood from head wounds had left a large stain in the carpet under his face. Under the edge of the bed was a hotel room key. Hattman's empty billfold lay ostentatiously beside the body. The window shade was drawn and the room unlighted.

A postmortem performed by Dr. Weland disclosed several head and scalp lacerations and a knife wound in the breast, and also some superficial injuries and small cuts. In his opinion the head wounds were made by a flat or rounded instrument, and one of them in particular might well have caused unconsciousness. He testified death was caused by the stab would in the chest which was six inches deep, about seven-eighths of an inch wide for its entire length and went from left to right at an angle of about 45 degrees through the skin, the chest wall, the sac covering the heart, the right edge of the heart, the diaphram, and into the upper surface of the right side of the liver about an inch and one-half. The wound was clean cut and even and there was no tearing of tissues. In his opinion it was made by a blade at least five inches long, which was very sharp or was driven with considerable force; decedent's body was not moving at the time he was stabbed, the wound was not self-inflicted, it would cause death in from two to five minutes and loss of consciousness in one to two minutes. Dr. Weland expressed the opinion decedent's arms and hands were either held crossed behind his back after the fatal wound or placed there after he died.

December 17, at 2 A.M. officers went to the apartment of Dr. Robert C. Rutledge, Jr., in St. Louis, Missouri, to question him about the death of Hattman. When he heard them knocking at the door he attempted suicide by poison. Later he was indicted and tried for the murder of Hattman, and was convicted of murder in the second degree. Hence this appeal.

I. Defendant complains the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict of guilty of murder in the second degree. In considering this question the record will be viewed in the light most favorable to the state. A jury finds the facts based upon all the evidence and its conclusion is binding upon the court, unless it is without substantial support in the evidence. However, upon appeal it is necessary to refer only to the evidence which tends to support the verdict. State v. Kneedy, 232 Iowa 21, 27, 3 N.W.2d 611; State v. Rosenberg, 238 Iowa 621, 629, 27 N.W.2d 904.

Dr. Rutledge was an assistant resident physician in a St. Louis hospital. Hattman was an instrument designer for Emerson Electric Company, of St. Louis, at a salary of $462 per month. Mrs. Rutledge was a mathematician and draftsman. Hattman and she worked in the same large room with many others. They first became attracted to each other on a boat ride given a group of company employees July 23, 1948. Sunday, July 25, Hattman took Mrs. Rutledge on a private sailing expedition which included lunch and beer and lasted twelve hours. July 29 he drove her home from their work and stopped a short time on the road for refreshments. July 31 they again went sailing, leaving about 11:30 A.M. and returning at 8 P.M. At 9 P.M. he took her to dinner. She testified she became ill from drinking too much liquor; they returned to her apartment, he had sexual intercourse with her forcibly and against her will. Witnesses testified she was asked later if Hattman had forcibly had sexual relations with her and answered, 'No, I guess I was as much to blame as he was.' 'We had too many drinks after sailing and wound up at my apartment.' Although she testified she spurned Hattman's approaches after July 31, fellow employees testified that until about August 10 or 11 she went to his drafting board and visited with him several times each day to such an extent as to attract much attention. Her supervisor testified she was an adult and he said nothing about it. 'It simply appeared to me that it was strange that a presumably happily married woman would be soliciting attention from an unmarried man.'

Dr. Rutledge testified he heard of her affair with Hattman August 10, questioned her and she told him the details. Both Rutledges testified they were so affected they stayed up all night, and that Mrs. Rutledge did not go to work the next day. Her supervisor testified Mrs. Rutledge was at work the whole day of August 11. She was not seen at Hattman's drafting board after that time.

About August 20 Hattman retained a lawyer with reference to Dr. Rutledge. The lawyer testified Dr. Rutledge telephoned him Mrs. Rutledge was pregnant, this had been definitely established by medical tests, Hattman had had sexual relations with her, Rutledge had not for several weeks because they had been quarreling, he felt Hattman was the father of the unborn child, he did not want any child that was not his, an abortion would cost $250. The attorney told Rutledge he had no right to $250 and he would so advise Hattman.

Rutledge denied the conversation. However, officer Condon testified Rutledge admitted he had telephoned Hattman and asked him for $200 for an abortion and Hattman had referred Rutledge to Hattman's attorney, who told Rutledge he had no legal rights in the matter. Rutledge himself testified he told Hattman over the telephone, '* * * I think I have pretty good reason to believe my wife is pregnant and if she is you are going to be responsible, * * *.' He testified also the concern of his wife and himself over her possible pregnancy terminated the latter part of August. 'It was never brought up between Hattman and me after that.'

The Rutledges testified Hattman made many telephone calls to them in which he threatened them, called them vile names and suggested that each separate from the other, etc. However, there was reliable evidence telephone calls were frequently made during August by Dr. Rutledge to Hattman at the place where Hattman roomed until Hattman told him over the telephone, not to call any more and to see Hattman's attorney.

Beginning with November, Hattman had spent the first three days of each week at Cedar Rapids working with engineers of Collins Radio Company upon a project in which Emerson Radio Company was interested. The record indicates Rutledge knew this and knew Hattman worked with Mr. Ebershoff, of Cedar Rapids.

Dr. Rutledge testified--Hattman telephoned them demanding money to refrain from telephoning them--he demanded $2,000 and Dr. Rutledge told him it was blackmail but he would 'get together as much money as I can' and would give it to him if he would assure Rutledge he would leave St. Louis--Hattman agreed to that--however, they could not agree on any place in St. Louis where they could meet, 'so I could give him the money' and agreed upon Cedar Rapids. They were not personally acquainted with each other but Mrs. Rutledge had pointed out Hattman to Dr. Rutledge. Dr. Rutledge testified he drove from St. Louis to Cedar Rapids, December 1, his only purpose being to settle with Hattman; he saw Hattman in the lobby of the Montrose hotel but returned to St. Louis without speaking to him because he thought Hattman looked as though he might not be sober. He testified he again drove to Cedar Rapids December 5, was unable to locate Hattman December 6 (that week Hattman remained in St. Louis), telephoned Mrs. Ebershoff on the pretext he wanted to see her husband, learned he was in St. Louis, reasoned Hattman was with him, left Cedar Rapids late that night and returned to St. Louis. He testified he again drove to Cedar Rapids December 13. The next afternoon he entered Hattman's room in his absence and remained there four hours awaiting Hattman. Shortly after Hattman's return Dr. Rutledge departed and immediately drove to St. Louis, leaving Hattman's body lying on the floor of the room.

Dr. Rutledge claimed each trip he made to Cedar Rapids was prearranged with Hattman over the telephone. Witnesses for the state testified that in the story Rutledge first told them he made no claim Hattman knew of his trips and merely said 'he heard Hattman made frequent trips to Cedar Rapids.'

Dr. Rutledge's vacation began December 1. On that day he started to look for Hattman in Cedar Rapids. During the next two weeks he spent more than half his time in this search which ended December 14. It does not appear Dr. Rutledge on any of these trips had with him the money he testified he had agreed to get together to pay Hattman. He traveled with no luggage except a small bag which looked like a brief case. An employee of the Montrose hotel, Cedar Rapids, testified he checked Rutledge's room for baggage December 6, and found only a hat and an object a foot long like a piece of pipe or stick with something like adhesive tape or cloth wrapped around one end of it.

On his third trip Dr. Rutledge located Hattman's room, which was 729 in Roosevelt hotel. Rutledge checked out of the Montrose hotel, at 10:10 A.M., December 14...

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  • State v. Hall
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • November 12, 1975
    ...does it show any objection made at the time the alleged error occurred. Error, if there was any, was waived. See State v. Rutledge, 243 Iowa 79, 198, 47 N.W.2d 251, 263 (1951). The State had prepared a sketch of a man supposed to have been in Rienow Hall during the afternoon in question. Du......
  • Mode v. State
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    • October 30, 1961
    ...on rebuttal, is in accord with the holdings in other jurisdictions and also in accord with the text writers. 3 The case of State v. Rutledge, Iowa, 47 N.W.2d 251, 262, goes thoroughly into the matter. Testimony was admitted in rebuttal that deceased was a quiet and peaceable citizen, and th......
  • State v. Olson, 49158
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • November 12, 1957
    ...about the statement when made. The present claim may properly be denied as not timely presented to the trial court. State v. Rutledge, 243 Iowa 179, 199, 47 N.W.2d 251, 263, and citations; Hackaday v. Brackelsburg, 248 Iowa ----, 85 N.W.2d 514, 518, and Further, the argument for defendant f......
  • State v. Thompson
    • United States
    • Iowa Supreme Court
    • August 23, 2013
    ...words alone, historically, have been insufficient to provide a factual basis for serious provocation. See, e.g., State v. Rutledge, 243 Iowa 179, 192, 47 N.W.2d 251, 259 (1951). Thompson contends, however, that some jurisdictions are beginning to reevaluate the historical approach. In suppo......
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