Wahl v. State

• Decision Date: 18 May 1951
• Docket Number: No. 28756,28756
• Citation: 229 Ind. 521,98 N.E.2d 671
• Parties: WAHL v. STATE.
• Court: Indiana Supreme Court

Page 671

98 N.E.2d 671

229 Ind. 521

WAHL v. STATE.

No. 28756.

Supreme Court of Indiana.

May 18, 1951.

Howard R. Hooper, Indianapolis, for appellant.

J. Emmett McManamon, Atty. Gen., John Ready O'Connor, George W. Hand, Deputies, Atty. Gen., for appellee.

JASPER, Judge.

Appellant was charged by indictment with murder in the first degree, under § 10-3401, Burns' 1942 Replacement. He was tried by jury, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment. The only question presented under the assignment of error is the overruling of the motion for a new trial.

Appellant first contends that the verdict of the jury is not sustained by sufficient evidence and is contrary to law.

The evidence discloses that on April 25, 1950, between 4:00 and 5:00 p. m., the deceased, Louise Woodford, was at the home of her mother, with appellant. An argument took place and appellant threatened to get gasoline 'and set the house on fire and burn us up'; the police were called, and came, and found the deceased in bed; the officer ordered appellant to leave; appellant told the deceased to come on out, and they both left and went to a house across the street; the house in which the mother of the deceased was living and the house to which the deceased and appellant went were on Darnell Street, a half block from Fall Creek, in the City of Indianapolis; a police officer arrived at the home of the mother of the deceased at 7:52 p. m., on April 25, 1950; Gracie Hill and a man were living in a house across the street from the mother; later in the night--the time was estimated to be between 10:00 and 11:00 o'clock--the mother of the deceased heard her daughter call 'Mama' three times, from the vicinity of Fall Creek, and the man with whom the mother was staying nailed the door so that the mother could not go to her daughter; the next time the mother saw her daughter was on April 26, 1950, at about 5:00 a. m., in Gracie Hill's house, across the street, where she was lying on a bed, dead.

There was evidence that appellant had been a prizefighter. The evidence further shows that between 7:00 and 8:00 a. m., on April 25, 1950, the deceased and appellant came to the house of Gracie Hill, which house was across the street from the mother of the deceased, and remained there practically all day; appellant and the deceased left that night, and Gracie Hill did not see them again until early in the morning of April 26th, when appellant came to her house; when he opened the door she was awakened and saw him carry a body in and place it on a bed and cover it up, and he said: 'I'll see you later,' and walked out; about three hours later the witness called to Louise Woodford and received no answer; she went to the bed and removed the covers, and her face was 'blue-looking,' and she was dead; the police were then called.

There was evidence that at about 9:30 p. m., on April 25, 1950, appellant was seen in the doorway of Gracie Hill's house, and was seen leaving there and walking toward Fall Creek.

Police officers testified they were called to the home of Gracie Hill, arriving at about 6:00 a. m., on April 26, 1950; Gracie Hill and the mother of the deceased were there, and they found the body of Louise Woodford lying on a bed, unclothed and uncovered; there was mud on her body, including her face and head; her face and body were covered with bruises, and her face was swollen and discolored; pictures were taken of the room and of the body, and they showed the exact conditions as found when the police officers entered. The exhibits were then offered and received in evidence.

The dress, coat, shoes, and other personal belongings of the deceased were identified as having been worn by the deceased and as being untorn while the deceased was wearing them. They were in a torn condition, dirty, and muddy. The shoes and part of the dress were found on the creek bank. The coat was wet and muddy and was on the floor at the head of the bed where deceased was found.

The evidence further revealed that at about 3:00 o'clock in the morning of April 26, 1950, appellant came to the home of the mother of the deceased; the nail was taken from the door, and appellant asked that a suit which he had left there be handed out through the door; appellant then went to the home of a relative, burned his clothes, put on others, and from there left for another home, at which place the police officers found him hiding under a bed in a front room. He was placed under arrest, taken to the police station, and, after a preliminary hearing in Municipal Court, Room 4, which his attorney attended, appellant made a voluntary confession. In the vicinity of where some of the deceased's clothing was found, along the bank of Fall Creek, the top surface of the bank had been disturbed, and the same condition existed along the edge of the creek.

There was evidence that an autopsy was performed by a physician and surgeon, revealing that the deceased, Louise Woodford, was approximately thirty-four years of age, five feet, five inches, in height, and weighed approximately one hundred and twenty pounds; the face and body were covered with a layer of dried mud; there were large bruises over both eyes, over the cheek bones, over the scalp, and especially behind the right ear; the knees and lower part of the legs were covered with small lacerations and bruises, measuring up to four inches in diameter; the lips were lacerated on the inner surfaces and markedly thickened with bruises; there was a small quantity of mucus, with a small amount of muddy material similar to that found on the face, in the trachea; an examination of the abdomen revealed a small amount of blood, apparently coming from small blood vessels which had been torn, caused by a very sharp blow in the pit of the stomach; the scalp was reflected, showing large bruised areas, especially over the right half; there was a small amount of free blood in the spinal fluid; the spinal fluid bathes the brain; on the right side of the brain there was a bruised area in the brain tissue, itself, with some rupture of the blood vessels, which apparently was the source of the hemorrhage, and was due to a very hard blow in the area of the brain; an examination of the skull revealed a separation of the bony junction between the bone of the parietal part of the brain and the bone of the occipital part, which had been exploded apart as the result of a blow received by the deceased prior to her death; all of the injuries were received prior to death; mud mixed with mucus in the lungs indicated that the deceased had attempted to breathe while in mud or under water. The doctor's opinion was that death was caused as a result of multiple injuries to the head and neck, resulting in skull fracture and subarachnoid hemorrhage of the right side of the brain, and drowning. The doctor further testified that, in his opinion, the patient would have survived if she had received medical treatment 'in spite of the extent and seriousness of her injuries'; and that, without medical attention, she would probably not survive.

Exhibits 9 and 10 were admitted over objections, Exhibit 9 showing the body of the deceased and Exhibit 10 showing the brain and the injury thereto.

Counsel for the defense, in cross-examination of the doctor, asked the following question: 'And not having received the medical attention, she still need not have died; is that correct?' The doctor answered: 'Her injuries were very serious and, as you see on the photographs, she had hemorrhage in the brain, and that particular set of circumstances is pretty critical. If she were not treated at all--miracles do happen--but the chances would be very much against it without proper control of the pressure of the spinal fluid that is caused by the increase of bleeding in the brain.'

The evidence further revealed that appellant had an altercation with Louise Woodford on the creek bank, and he estimated he left her about 3:00 a. m., on April 26, 1950. Appellant signed a statement, which disclosed, among other things, that appellant and the deceased, Louise Woodford, had been at the home of Louise Woodford's mother about 7:45 p. m., on April 25th; they left there and went to the home of Gracie Hill, across the street, where they had wine to drink; Louise Woodford left to go to her mother's house; after a while, appellant went to the door and saw the deceased and a man going toward Fall Creek; he watched her for about ten minutes and then walked over to where they were; they were lying on the ground and the man was on top of her; he jumped up and ran down the creek bank; she ran toward the creek and into the water; he pulled her out of the creek; she then professed her love for appellant; he slapped her several times with his left hand; in getting her out of the water he pulled her coat off completely, and took it to Gracie Hill's house while aiding the deceased; Gracie Hill let them in the house, and asked appellant to lock the door; appellant and the deceased then got into bed together; again they discussed the occurrence, kissed each other and...