Ellsworth v. State

1914 OK CR 8, 137 P. 1189, 10 Okla. Crim. 452, 1914 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 123
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedJanuary 27, 1914
DocketNo. A-1656.
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 1914 OK CR 8 (Ellsworth v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ellsworth v. State, 1914 OK CR 8, 137 P. 1189, 10 Okla. Crim. 452, 1914 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 123 (Okla. Ct. App. 1914).

Opinion

DOYLE, J.

This appeal is prosecuted from a conviction had in the district court of Stephens county upon an information charging the defendant, Fred Ellsworth, with the crime of incest alleged to have been' committed with his daughter Flora Ellsworth in said county on or about the 25th cla}'’ of July, 3 911. The verdict was guilty as charged, leaving his punishment to be assessed by the court. On the 18th day of November, 1911, the court pronounced judgment and sentenced the defendant to imprisonment in the penitentiary at McAlester for the term of ten years. To reverse the judgment, an appeal was perfected.

*453 The only question worthy of notice which the record presents goes to the merits of the case. It is claimed by defendant’s counsel, in an elaborate argument, that the evidence does not warrant his conviction, in that there is no sufficient corroboration of the testimony of the prosecuting witness, who must be considered as an accomplice/

The prosecution gave in evidence the testimony of Flora Ellsworth as follows: That 'she was the daughter of defendant and was sixteen years old March 8, 1911. That her mother died when she was an infant, and that after her mother’s death she lived with her grandparents near Lexington, Okla., until she was seven years old. At that time her father, having married the second time, took her to live with him. That when she was twelve years old her father moved to the Wood Reserve in Stephens county. That when she was ten years of -age her father began to have sexual intercourse with her, and that their illicit relations were continuous until Friday, July 25, 1911, which was the last time. That on that day her stepmother had gone to Marlow, taking her half-sister with her; and the act occurred in her bedroom during the afternoon. She also testified that her father slept with her off and on since she had been living with him. That her stepmother was away the winter before three weeks or a month, and her father occupied the same bed with her during that time and had intercourse with her two or three times a week. That she did not tell people about it before because he said “that if I told it on him that he would kill me.” That he often cuffed and kicked her and whipped her with a strap. That he pulled her hair until large bunches came out, and made her stand while her stepmother whipped her. That he stopped her from going to school. That her stepmother usually went to town on Tuesday and .Friday of each week with the butter and eggs. On cross-examination she testified that her father would come and take her out of her bed to his pallet and have intercourse with her; that this occurred so often that she could not state the number of times; that she was positive the last act took place on Friday, July 25th; that *454 her mother and stepsister had gone to town on that day, and Ed. McGehee, who had worked for her father about a year and a half, was in the field working; that McGehee had been her sweetheart for about six months before the defendant’s arrest; that she told Mrs. Duncan, and Mr. Duncan brought her to the county seat to make the complaint, and she did not return to her father’s.

George Townsend testified that he had worked for the defendant off and on for five years, the last time two years before; that he had often seen the defendant and his daughter Flora sleeping together; that the last time he had seen them sleeping together was about four years ago.

Ed McGehee testified in. substance: That he had been working as a farm hand for the defendant for about a year before the prosecution was commenced. That the Ellsworth house had two rooms and there was a kitchen and smokehouse detached, and that he slept in the smokehouse. That Mrs. Ells-worth would go to Marlow twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays, to sell butter and eggs, and that she generally took the baby girl with her and left the defendant and his daughter Flora at home. That Mrs. Ellsworth went away on a visit, and while she was away the defendant and his daughter Flora slept in the south bedroom. That he noticed mornings that only one bed was slept in, and that it would be “disarranged and wallered up.” That he had seen the defendant take his daughter Flora by the hair of the head and churn her head up against the wall. That the prosecutrix never kept company with young men, but witness had been courting her, but had never had sexual intercourse with her. That his suspicions were aroused by the fact that at one time when Mrs. Ellsworth was absent defendant sent him down in the pasture to see about an old sow that was going to find pigs, and sent the little girl along with him, while the defendant remained at the house with the prosecutrix. That another time when Mrs. Ellsworth was gone to town the little girl came out to where he was working. That during the summer he saw the defendant and the prosecutrix sleeping on a pallet in the front room.

*455 Mrs. J. W. Turner testified, in substance, that she had lived for three years a near neighbor of the defendant; that in February, 1911, Mrs. Ellsworth went away and was gone about six weeks, and that during her absence witness was at the Ells-worth house nearly every day, sometimes early in the morning, and noticed that only one bed had been occupied; that the prose-cutrix never had any young men company.

Dr. C. E. Frost testified that he was a duly licensed 'physician and surgeon and had practiced medicine for 36 years; that he, with Dr. Adams present, made a personal examination of the prosecutrix; that he found that the hymen had been broken down and it was not of recent occurrence; “that her sexual organs resembled those of a married woman, that was in the habit of having sexual intercourse;” that the parts had assumed a flabby nature because of friction or excessive intercourse; that “the condition of her body was that of a married woman,” and whatever had been the disturbing cause had existed for some time necessarily, from the flabby condition of the vulva; that he made a subsequent examination some months after and found her general condition much improved.

Henry Crawford testified that he was a deputy sheriff and arrested the defendant in the town of Marlow some time in August, 1911; that the defendant asked him what he was arrested for; that he did not tell him; that he allowed him to go and get some one to take his team home; that he then went to the bank to get some money, and from there he went to a drug store.

W. M. Cates testified that he was sheriff; that he phoned from Duncan to Deputy Sheriff Crawford at Marlow to arrest the defendant; that shortly after the defendant called him up on the phone and wanted to know what he was arrested for, but that he refused to give him the information.

L. A. Seiver testified that he was a druggist and the defendant came into his store on the day he was arrested and asked for five or ten cents worth of strychnine, and he told him he did not have any. At the time Deputy Sheriff Crawford was standing out in front of the drug store.

*456 Thereupon the state rested and the defendant moved the court to instruct the jury to return a verdict of not guilty on the ground “that there was a total failure of corroboration of the testimony of the prosecuting witness.” The court overruled the motion and allowed an exception.

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Related

Looper v. State
1963 OK CR 53 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1963)
Fitzpatrick v. State
1948 OK CR 25 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1948)
Williams v. State
1940 OK CR 6 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1940)
Pruett v. State
1926 OK CR 406 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 1926)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1914 OK CR 8, 137 P. 1189, 10 Okla. Crim. 452, 1914 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 123, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ellsworth-v-state-oklacrimapp-1914.