Kidd v. State

1943 OK CR 43, 136 P.2d 210, 76 Okla. Crim. 213, 1943 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 100
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma
DecidedMarch 31, 1943
DocketNo. A-10074.
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 1943 OK CR 43 (Kidd 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
Kidd v. State, 1943 OK CR 43, 136 P.2d 210, 76 Okla. Crim. 213, 1943 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 100 (Okla. Ct. App. 1943).

Opinion

JONES, P. J.

The defendant, Elijah Kidd, was charged by information duly filed in the district court of Logan county with the crime of murder, was tried, convicted and sentenced to death, and has appealed.

The information, in substance, alleged that the defendant, Elijah Kidd, and one Allen Anderson, without authority of law and with a premeditated design to effect the death of one Henrietta Jackson, did drive, operate and propel a 1936 model Ford V-8 coach against the body of the said Henrietta Jackson, then and thereby inflicting certain mortal wounds from which said wounds the said Henrietta Jackson did die on January 2, 1941.

Fred Streeter, Chief of Police at Guthrie, testified that early in the morning of January 2, 1941, pursuant *215 to a call, he went to the 300 block on South Capitol Hill street in the city of Guthrie and there found the deceased, a colored woman, lying in the center of the street; that the body was in a pool of blood. He gave a description of the road at that point and testified to facts which indicated that the body had been struck and dragged about 20 steps. Some ornaments off of a car were found close to the body. A broken radiator ornament was found in the road with some hair matted in it and other pieces were scattered about. The body was taken to a funeral home in Guthrie and there held until the night of January 9th, when it Avas identified by one Walter Davis who had been brought to Guthrie by two colored officers from Oklahoma City. That on January 10 he saAV the defendant Kidd in the detective bureau in! Oklahoma City. That defendant, in the.first conversation had with Avitness, related that he had insurance on the life of Henrietta Jackson, payable to himself as beneficiary, and defendant further stated that he had hitchhiked to Guthrie and was there on New Year’s Eve, but specifically denied knowing anything, about the killing. That he brought the defendant to Guthrie and took him by the funeral home to view the body of the deceased. That when defendant saAV the deceased he said, “That’s Henrietta”, and that defendant raised his right hand and further stated, “I ask God to strike me dead if I had anything to do with this.” That the next morning the defendant told the witness that he Avas ready to sign a confession about the killing but that he would not say that he shoved the deceased in front of the car. The witness notified the county attorney that defendant desired to make a confession and he Avas taken to the county attorney’s office, where the proof showed that the defendant gave a statement Avhich was taken in writing and *216 afterward signed and sworn to by the defendant. This statement is as follows:

“State of Oklahoma )
“County of Logan )
“Elijah Kidd, of lawful age, being first duly sworn upon his oath, states:
“I am also known as Reverend and Preacher Kidd. I have been warned by County Attorney Hugh J. Adams in the presence of Chief of Police Fred Streeter and Officer Allen Fields that anything that I say may be used in evidence against me and that I do not have to make a statement. I have been informed that I am entitled to have a lawyer present. I make this statement freely and voluntarily without being promised anything whatever. No force, fear or violence has been used on me and I am making this statement because it is the truth.
“About October 1,1940, Freddie Adams, Walter Davis and I planned to kill Henrietta Jackson so I could collect her $700 insurance which was made out to me. The deal was that I was to pay them $300 a piece and keep $100 for myself. They said the policy would pay more than $700. They said if I didn’t let them do> the job they would, tell on me . That is, if anyone else killed Henrietta they would tell about the insurance unless they got $300 a piece. About the last of October we made plans to kill Henrietta at Dunbar school on East Sixth street in Oklahoma City. We never put this plan in effect, however, since we couldn’t get together on how to divide the money. They wanted $600 and I wouldn’t consent to' give them that much. I agreed to split it four ways but they' wouldn’t agree to this. The fourth one was Allen Anderson, but they didn’t know this.
“Later on New Year’s day Allen Anderson and I made our plans to kill Henrietta Jackson. We talked the deal over on our way to Guthrie in Anderson’s car, a 1936 V-8 Ford. We left the city around 3:30 or 4 o’clock p. m. and arrived in Guthrie about 5:30 p. m. We decided to do' the job at night. We thought we would visit in *217 Guthrie with Luke Ballard and Lela Ellis. We decided we would do the job that night and split the insurance money 50-50. We decided we would kill Henrietta Jackson around 12:30 or 1 o’clock a. m. January 2, 1941. We decided we would get Henrietta in the car and drive around until we found" a suitable spot and then he would nudge me. Then the plans were that I was to- get out of the car with Henrietta and he was to drive around the block and when he came back around I was to shove her in front of the car.
“When we got in to Guthrie "we visited the Ballards. Mrs. Ballard is my.wife’s aunt. We visited them for a while and left about 7:80 or 8 p. m. We took Luke Ballard, Mrs. Ballard and Maureen and Maxine with us and visited the colored school and listened to a concert by the colored highschool band. After the concert Anderson and I took the Ballards home, then we visited the skating rink, where they were having a colored dance. We paid a dime a piece to get in. We went there about 10; p. m. and stayed there about 30 minutes and then went back to Oklahoma City. We got back to the city about a quarter to 12. We went to< my house at 1506 Drury Lane and picked up Henrietta Jackson. We waited just long enough for Henrietta to .change her clothes. Then we — that is, Anderson, Henrietta Jackson and I — drove back to Guthrie in Anderson’s car, arriving in Guthrie about a quarter to 12 at night. We drove around Guthrie for about five minutes, and then when we got to where Henrietta was killed Anderson nudged me and I said to Henrietta, ‘We better get out here.’ She said ‘All right.’ Then Anderson drove south to' the comer and turned right then to the right again and drove two blocks north and then one block east and turned south again so he would have two blocks to gain speed. Anderson gunned the motor and must have been making around 60 miles an hour Avhen he approached Henrietta and me. Just as the car was about ten feet away I shoved Henrietta in front of the car. The- car struck her dead center and sucked her in. Then she fell and was drug by the car, I can’t say hoAV far.
*218 “I got Henrietta Jackson to get out of the car and wait with me because she wanted to¡ meet Joe Armstrong, that is the young Joe Armstrong. She had seen his picture and wanted to meet him. I told her that he would be by there.
“After the car struck Henrietta I went out to where the body of Henrietta was and called her name twice. She didn’t answer and had been hit with such force that I was certain she was dead. I got in the car with Anderson and we started for Oklahoma City.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
1943 OK CR 43, 136 P.2d 210, 76 Okla. Crim. 213, 1943 Okla. Crim. App. LEXIS 100, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kidd-v-state-oklacrimapp-1943.