Stockton v. State
| Decision Date | 29 March 1965 |
| Docket Number | No. 5127,5127 |
| Parties | W. D. STOCKTON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Arkansas, Appellee. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
Sam L. Anderson, Hot Springs, for appellant.
Bruce Bennett, Atty. Gen., by Jack L. Lessenberry, Chief Asst. Atty. Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
The appellant was charged by an information with the crime of second degree murder as a result of the death of his wife. A jury found him guilty and assessed his punishment at nine years in the State Penitentiary. From the judgment based upon this verdict the appellant appeals, relying upon three points for reversal.
Appellant's first contention questions the sufficiency of the evidence especially with reference to the required element of malice. On this appeal we must review the evidence in the light most favorable to the apellee and if there is any substantial evidence to support the verdict of the jury it must be sustained. Baker v. State, 237 Ark. 862, 376 S.W.2d 673.
At about 5 P.M. on the day of the alleged murder the officers responded to appellant's call to come to his residence. They found appellant's wife sitting in a chair partially covered by a quilt. Appellant was in a drunken condition and repeatedly said that a George Andrews had stolen some diamonds. He urged his wife to tell the officers about it. At first she refused to answer his entreaties, however, she finally said: 'He dind't steal them, I gave them to him.' The officers left advising the appellant to secure a warrant of arrest. About four hours later, or 9 P.M., the officers responded to another call from an unknown source to repeat the investigation at this residence. Upon arrival they found appellant very drunk and he continued his complaint that certain rings were missing. When queried as to the whereabouts of his wife, appellant replied that she was in an adjoining room and undressed. Appellant went into this room and was overheard talking to his wife about the missing jewelry. The officers had observed that the house showed signs of violence. The venetian blind had been pulled off the back door, pieces of furniture were broken, and the house generally was in a state of disorder. The officers also noted that appellant's pants and shoes were bloody. Upon overhearing the appellant talking to his wife about the jewelry, they looked into the room and discovered his wife lying on the floor in a pool of blood. She was groaning and appeared to be unconscious. She died within a few hours after being removed to the hospital. The appellant refused to make any statement except to consistently maintain that he could not remember what happened. No weapon was ever discovered. As a witness, appellant testified on cross-examination that the diamonds would 'go' to him.
According to the medical evidence, appellant's wife died as a result of a brutal beating. She had been beaten so severely that her hands were swollen, the top of one hand being denuded, one ear was almost torn off, her face was bruised and very swollen, there was caked or dried blood in both nostrils, the temples on both sides were 'soft and boggy', there was a deep crease or wound behind one of the ears, and her ribs were broken on both sides with multiple contusions on her chest, sides and arms. According to the medical evidence these injuries appeared to have been administered with a club, hand or foot and her death resulted from a recent beating. The appellant was sixty-four years of age and his wife, to whom he had been married twelve years, was eighty-nine years of age and infirm.
Appellant erroneously argues that there is insufficient evidence of malice since no weapon was ever found. It is not material as to the manner of the killing further than to show the disposition of mind. Ark.Stat.Ann. § 41-2202 (Rep...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Perry v. State
...232 S.W.2d 835; Tatum v. State, 172 Ark. 244, 288 S.W. 904. See also, Stanley v. State, 248 Ark. 787, 454 S.W.2d 72; Stockton v. State, 239 Ark. 228, 388 S.W.2d 382; Bly v. State, 213 Ark. 859, 214 S.W.2d 77; Wooten v. State, 220 Ark. 750, 249 S.W.2d 964. They were also to be considered in ......
-
Atwell v. State of Arkansas, 19921.
...that both an objection and an exception be noted to an adverse ruling to preserve a point for review on appeal. Stockton v. State, 239 Ark. 228, 388 S.W.2d 382 (1965); Hardaway v. State, 237 Ark. 966, 377 S.W.2d 813 (1964); Hicks v. State, 225 Ark. 916, 287 S.W.2d 12 2 Under Arkansas law an......
-
State v. Sallie, 7112SC694
...required for second-degree murder from evidence of an attack by hands or feet alone, without use of other weapons, are: Stockton v. State, 239 Ark. 228, 388 S.W.2d 382 (attack upon an eighty-nine-year-old woman); People v. Kinzell, 106 Ill.App.2d 349, 245 N.E.2d 319 (circumstantial evidence......
-
Stanley v. State, 5483
...and verdict if there is any substantial evidence to support it. Harris v. State, 239 Ark. 771, 394 S.W.2d 135 (1965); Stockton v. State, 239 Ark. 228, 388 S.W.2d 382 (1965); Veatch v. State, 221 Ark. 44, 251 S.W.2d 1015 (1952). Therefore, we must find no merit in appellant's contention sinc......