State v. Wallace
| Decision Date | 20 December 1926 |
| Docket Number | No. 27366.,27366. |
| Citation | 289 S.W. 871 |
| Parties | WALLACE v. WALLACE. |
| Court | Missouri Supreme Court |
Appeal from Circuit Court, Douglas County; Fred Stewart, Judge.
J. D. Wallace was convicted of seducing an unmarried female under the age of 21, under promise of marriage, and he appeals. Affirmed.
Geo. T. Meador, of Alton, " J. L. Bess, of West Plains, and J. D. Wallace, of Alton, for appellant.
North T. Gentry, Atty. Gen., for the State.
On July 27, 1925, the prosecuting attorney of Greene county, Mo., filed in the criminal court of said county a verified information, which, omitting formal parts, reads as follows:
"H. T. Lincoln, prosecuting attorney within and for the county of Greene, in the state of Missouri, under his oath of office informs the court that J. D. Wallace, late of the county and state aforesaid, on the 7th day of March, A. D. 1924, at the county of Greene and state of Missouri, did then and there under and by promise of marriage made to one Fern Staley by him, the said J. D. Wallace, unlawfully and feloniously seduce and debauch her, the said Fern Staley, she the said Fern Staley being then and there an unmarried female of good repute and under the age of 21 years, contrary to the form of the statute in such cases made and provided", and against the peace and dignity of the state.
"H. T. Lincoln, Prosecuting Attorney."
On defendant's application, the venue was changed and the cause sent to the circuit court of Douglas county, Mo., where it was tried.
On September 25, 1925, defendant waived arraignment, entered a plea of not guilty, and entered upon the trial of said cause before a jury. The latter, on the date aforesaid, returned the following verdict:
Thereafter, defendant filed his motion for a new trial, which was overruled. He was thereupon granted allocution, judgment was rendered, sentence pronounced in conformity with said verdict, and an appeal allowed him to this court.
State's Evidence.
The evidence on behalf of the state tends to show, that defendant, a man 50 years of age and married, was the prosecuting attorney of Oregon county, Mo. The date of the alleged crime was March 7, 1924, in Greene county, Mo. The prosecuting witness, Fern Staley, testified, in substance, that she was 20 years old and had lived most of her life near Koshkonong, in Oregon county, Mo., but at the time of the commission of the alleged offense, she was living at the Y. W. C. A., in Springfield, Mo., and attending a business college; that before coming to Springfield, she gave birth to a child, the father of whom was her brother; that during her confinement, she met defendant at her father's house; that he came there to interview her in regard to her brother's conduct; that her brother was sent to the penitentiary, and later defendant collected for her some money from her grandmother's estate in Illinois; that in February, 1924, defendant went to see her at Springfield in regard to above estate; that defendant wrote her about getting her brother paroled, and she wrote defendant she would like to have him paroled; that defendant then telegraphed her to meet him at the 8:40 p. m. train on the evening of March 6, 1924, at the depot in Springfield; that he met her according to appointment, and rode with her in a yellow taxi to the Colonial Hotel, in Springfield; that she and defendant sat in the parlor of said hotel and talked about the pardon; that in the conversation defendant told her he and his wife were divorced; that she had lately done nothing but nag him, and they had divided their money equally; that she was living on the old home place, and he was "now a free man"; that he asked her if she was going back to the Y. W. C. A. that night, and on being told she was, he told her it was late and on account of the business they were to transact the next morning, he would get her a room at the Colonial Hotel near his room; that after insistence on his part, she concluded to stay at the hotel until the next morning; that she did not register, but defendant registered for her and paid for her room which was near the one occupied by him; that during the night defendant came to her room and asked admittance but she declined to admit him; that on Thursday morning prosecutrix went to defendant's room in the Colonial Hotel and defendant told her he would have to arrange for some letters about her brother; that he dictated two letters to the Governor which she took to the Y. W. C. A. to copy on the typewriter; that during the day defendant and one Margaret Joslin, with a taxicab and driver, took a ride around Springfield for about two hours; that during this ride he spoke of the home he would make for her and pointed out a house like the one they would live in when married; that it was a modern, up-to-date place with chickens in the yard and he said, "We would have a chicken ranch"; that he also commented on different places he thought would be suitable for them to live in; that on the following day she took lunch with defendant at the Colonial Hotel; that after lunch she and defendant with one Hattie Herndon went out for a ride; that defendant hired the car and drove it himself; that after riding until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the three took lunch, and the Herndon girl left them at the Y. W. C. A.; that she and defendant then went back to the parlor of the Colonial Hotel, and he asked her if she would marry him, and on her answering in the affirmative, he said he would go and get the license.
Prosecutrix then went to the Y. W. C. A. and a little later, defendant called her, said he had secured the license, and would come for her; that defendant did come for her, said he had the license, and showed her a paper which he said was a marriage license; that she and defendant then went to the Sansone Hotel, in Springfield, as defendant said he had checked out at the Colonial and would register a room at the Sansone; that, at first, they waited in the parlor for about half an hour for the minister, whom the defendant said would be there at 8 o'clock; that they agreed they would be married at the Sansone Hotel, in Springfield, Greene county, Mo.; that after waiting for the minister to come, and he did not appear, defendant suggested that they go to his room and wait for the minister, which they did; that as they started, the hotel clerk called defendant and had a conversation with him, after which they went to defendant's room, and waited until 8 o'clock for the minister, who did not come; that defendant said he supposed the minister had had car trouble or something had happened; that defendant finally suggested they should retire for the night, and said, in the morning, right after breakfast, they would be married; that he told her at the time he was a lawyer, a well-educated man, knew his grounds, knew he was free, and there could be no harm in going to the room and staying that night together; that defendant assured her they would be married right after breakfast; that she consented, retired with him in that room, and had sexual intercourse with defendant; that she yielded to him because of his assurance that they would be married next morning, and she thought she was as near to him as a wife could be; that the next morning she went to the Y. W. C. A., soon returned, and had dinner with defendant; that while they were eating, Miss Julia Kilbuck and Miss Bertha Howard came in and spoke to him; that Miss Kilbuck was general secretary, and Miss Howard, house secretary of the Y. W. C. A.; that defendant was introduced to these ladies, and he asked them to join in the lunch, but they declined and said they would wait until the lunch was over; that defendant then offered to go to the parlor of the hotel and talk things over with them; that Miss Kilbuck asked defendant if he and prosecutrix were married; that defendant produced a letter which he showed Miss Kilbuck and said lie had the license and everything was all right; that the letter had reference to other matters; that at the instance of the defendant, they all four went to his room to talk privately; that while in his room, Miss Kilbuck again asked defendant if he and prosecutrix were married; that defendant pointed to the bed, saying they had slept in that bed the previous night, but not as man and wife; that defendant told them he had separated from his wife and intended to marry prosecutrix; that he loved her, and would do anything on earth rather than give her up; that he told Miss Kilbuck, a common-law marriage in Missouri was legal; that Miss Kilbuck then questioned defendant and threatened to send for the father of prosecutrix; that defendant agreed to this and said he would send the telegram; that a messenger boy was called with some blanks and defendant wrote the following, addressed to her father, "Fern and I were married last night"; that Miss Kilbuck did not approve of above, and defendant wrote another message, as follows, "Miss Kilbuck does not believe we were married"; that Miss Kilbuck objected to this message, and he asked her to write one, which she did, as follows, "Come at once, Fern is in trouble"; that Miss Kilbuck signed this message and defendant paid for sending same and agreed to wait until her father came, when they would be married; that defendant insisted on having a Baptist Minister to marry them; that all four of them went to see a room at the Y. W. C. A. in which they were to be married and to arrange for the minister to be there, as her father was expected there on the 8:40 train that evening; that, accordingly, Miss Kilbuck arranged for the minister to be present; that defendant said he would send up some flowers to decorate the room; that defendant then called the recorder of deeds...
To continue reading
Request your trial