State v. Townsend

• Citation: 191 Iowa 362,182 N.W. 392
• Decision Date: 06 April 1921
• Docket Number: No. 33877.,33877.
• Parties: STATE v. TOWNSEND.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Iowa

191 Iowa 362

182 N.W. 392

STATE

v.TOWNSEND.

No. 33877.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

April 6, 1921.

Appeal from District Court, Dubuque County; J. W. Kintzinger, Judge.

Defendant was convicted of the crime of murder in the first degree and sentenced to life imprisonment in the state penitentiary at Ft. Madison. From this judgment he appeals. Affirmed.Fabian Beckett, of Dubuque, for appellant.

Ben J. Gibson, Atty. Gen. and B. J. Flick, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the State.

STEVENS, J.

Defendant was convicted of killing Frank Crees, his stepfather. The conceded facts are that Frank Crees lived in a boathouse on the Mississippi river in the city of Dubuque with his wife and several children. The defendant, who was the son of Mrs. Clara Crees by a former marriage, after his discharge from the army, went to Dubuque and resided with the Crees family until the night of August 17, 1919, when the boathouse was destroyed by fire. Frank Crees was an employee of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company, and was last seen alive by any one outside of the Crees family on the evening of August 14th, with his wife and children bathing in the river. His disappearance was observed thereafter, and on Sunday morning following the boathouse was totally destroyed by fire, leaving the Crees family destitute of money or clothing, except that worn by them at the time of the fire. The defendant and his mother stated that Crees had gone to Cincinnati to look after some property in which he had an interest, that he would then go to Clinton, and that the family intended to float down the river to that place and meet him. On the evening of August 20th, some parties on the river observed an object afloat on the surface a short distance from them, which they thought was a human body. They rowed out to the object, and discovered that it was the body of a man. They tied a rope around the arm and towed the body to the shore. When it was removed from the water, it was found that a rope was wrapped around the body several times, and also around the neck, and that a rock weighing about 100 pounds was attached thereto. The ankles were also tied together. The body, which was in an advanced stage of decomposition, was clothed in a shirt only. After the body was taken to the undertaker's, it was discovered that the skull was fractured in two places, either of the wounds being sufficient to have produced death. No one was called to identify the body. One witness testified that he had frequently seen the man in Dubuque, but did not know his name. The skin was badly discolored, and showed a tendency to slip from the flesh. Suspicion had already been aroused against the defendant, and on August 20th the defendant was taken in custody by the sheriff, and in the presence of Catherine Hibbe and the county attorney signed a written statement confessing that he killed Crees on the morning of August 15th with a window weight, by striking him several times upon the head; that he tied a rope around his feet and neck; that he rowed the body out into the river, and attached a rock weighing about 100 pounds to the rope, and sunk the body in the river. No testimony was offered upon the trial on behalf of the defendant.

[1][2] The first contention of counsel for appellant is that the corpus delicti was not proven. Frank Crees, according to the testimony, was about 6 feet tall and had sandy hair and mustache. Numerous witnesses testified that he did not wear a beard, but was usually unshaven. The testimony varies considerably as to his weight. The body taken from the river was decomposed and bloated to such an extent that it was difficult to estimate his weight. The description, however, corresponded in all substantial respects with the descriptions given of Crees. Two or three witnesses who resided near the boathouse testified that they heard noises therein about 2 o'clock on the morning of August 15th, and one witness testified that she heard a sound like some one falling on the floor; another witness testified that he heard some one rowing a boat shortly after he heard the noise.

Nothing appears to have been heard of Crees, nor was any testimony offered upon the trial to the effect that he had gone to Cincinnati, as claimed by the defendant and his mother. The corpus delicti may be established by circumstantial evidence. State v. Millmeier, 102 Iowa, 692, 72 N. W. 275. While identification of the body by witnesses who knew Crees during his lifetime was not introduced, the circumstances shown fully justified the jury in finding that the body was that of Frank Crees. The evidence abundantly justifies the conclusion that he was murdered.

[3] II. Objection was lodged against the admission of the alleged confession in evidence upon the ground that it was obtained by threats and intimidation, and that it was not the free and voluntary statement of the accused. The confession was first made to Giellis, chief of police of the city of Dubuque. Giellis testified that he first talked with the defendant on August 17th at the matron's quarters, and that the defendant then said Crees had gone to Cincinnati. Another conversation was had with him on August 19th concerning the disappearance of Crees. After the defendant was taken to the police station on the 20th, the chief of police interrogated him at some length, and in the course of the conversation said to him:

“I told him that I intended to go into this matter to the bottom; that I would sift it out. There were many other members of the family who would be able to throw some light on this matter, I was sure, before I finished my investigation; and I would continue to investigate the case if I had to bring up the entire family and question each and every one of...