Motley v. Motley

67 S.W. 741, 93 Mo. App. 473, 1902 Mo. App. LEXIS 393
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedApril 1, 1902
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 67 S.W. 741 (Motley v. Motley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Motley v. Motley, 67 S.W. 741, 93 Mo. App. 473, 1902 Mo. App. LEXIS 393 (Mo. Ct. App. 1902).

Opinion

BLAND, P. J.

Omitting caption and immaterial allegations, the petition alleges in substance that plaintiff and defendant were married in the month of November, 1876, and continued to live together until the-day of May, 1901, when the plaintiff separated himself from the defendant. The petition alleges sundry indignities offered by defendant to plaintiff beginning in the year 1889 and continuing down to the date- of the separation, some of which indignities are so vile and vulgar in character that we decline to state them in detail, as we deem it unnecessary from the view we take of the evidence in the case. The most serious allegation contained in the petition is that the defendant kept poison in her possession and in the month of April, 1891, threatened to poison plaintiff and that on the third day of May, 1891, she deposited and intermingled poison of some kind in the plaintiff’s food, which she had prepared for him to eat, and that he ate of the food and was poisoned thereby.

The answer denied the indignities and the poisoning alleged in the petition, and by way of cross-bill alleged that the plaintiff had offered to her such indignities as to render her condition in life intolerable, which are set out in detail in the cross-bill.

The evidence offered by the plaintiff satisfactorily es[476]*476tablishes the truth of several of the indignities set out in his petition and tends to show that defendant had a violent temper; that she believed herself to be superior to the plaintiff, intellectually and otherwise 5 that she often charged the plaintiff with not having good sense. At times she would not eat at the same table with him and would go for a week or ten days without speaking to him and it was not an unusual thing for her, in the presence of others, to call plaintiff an “old ash cat,” and “old fool,” and use vile and vulgar epithets towards him; that she would correct his language when in conversation with others, tell him to “hush up” that he was an “old fool” and that he was just like his old ignorant mother, and speak of his mother in his presence using such epithets as “old witch,” “old sloven,” and “old slut;” that she would not visit plaintiff’s family, nor permit them to visit him at his home.

The evidence further is that in the' presence of other people she would express a wish to die; would say that life was no pleasure to her as plaintiff was mean and that she had poison and intended to use it.

Prior to May, 1891, she had tried to induce the plaintiff to make a will and leave his property to her during her life, remainder over' to her brother, Charles Robinson. This plaintiff declined to do. On many occasions she made threats and said she would have his property if she had to wade through blood to get it.

The day previous to the alleged poisoning, defendant stated to a Miss Shadwell, while speaking of plaintiff and his property, that plaintiff had required her to work and help make the property like Mr. Uptergrove (a neighbor) had his wife and that if she had a husband like Mr. Uptergrove she would give him a dose and then stated, “I have got one just like him.” A short time prior to this she stated to Miss Shadwell and to another lady that she would not be surprised at- anything, that people were so mean they would do anything [477]*477for money and that they need not be surprised at her hilling Willie (meaning her husband) or he hilling her. When Miss Shadwell was last at her house and when she started to leave she said to her, 'Remember there is going to be something awful happen after you are gone and you will hear of it.”

Plaintiff and defendant lived on a farm in the country. They had no children. On the third day of May, 1901, defendant prepared breahfast for the plaintiff. The plaintiff ate of the breakfast prepared by her. He ate some meat, biscuit and butter and eggs, and drank a cup of coffee. The defendant did not eat of the breakfast. After he had finished his breakfast he walked from the dining-room to the kitchen, took a dipper of water and. rinsed his mouth and then walked to the smoke house, took up his milk bucket and proceeded on towards the barn to milk, which was about fifty or sixty yards from the house. When he reached the barn fence he was all over in a quiver and his muscles were jerking. Realizing what had happened he did not return to the house or call to his wife but leaned against the fence and held on for support and called for a colored man by the name of Parsons, who lived near by. Parsons heard him and came to his'- assistance. Before he reached him he had fallen to the ground. Ben Young, James Young, James Hill, Eount Anson, James Wilson and Mrs. Emily Young, living near by were warned of the condition of plaintiff and came to'his, assistance. They carried him into the hall of the barn and laid him on some straw and chaff and Parsons went for a doctor., Ben Young procured oil and milk, warm water and salt and administered it to plaintiff. This caused him to> vomit.

The evidence of the parties named above, who were the first to reach him, said he suffered from a severe hurting in his breast that seemed to draw and choke him so that he could scarcely breathe; that he had convulsions from five to fifteen minutes apart; had cramps and was drawn forward and then backwards and sometimes sideways and that his limbs would [478]*478draw and then expand ont to their full length; that his whole body was in a quiver.; that he frothed at the mouth; that his head was drawn sideways and backwards; that his eyes were red and bloodshot and watering, that his face was flushed and hot and indicated excessive pain.

Dr. J. D. Davis, Dr. Reid, Dr. J. J. Kincaid, Dr. Walters and Dr. Motley, who qualified as experts and heard the evidence of the witnesses who described plaintiff’s symptoms, testified that the symptoms indicated the plaintiff was suffering from poison and that the poison was strychnine or some of its salts. The defendant undertook to show that the poison might have been from meat or decayed substances but the physicians stated that in ptomaine poisoning the symptoms do not develop earlier than from twelve to- forty-eight hours after the poison is taken into the system. The meat which plaintiff ate for his breakfast was shown to be sound, and wholesome, meat which he had raised on his own premises and had butchered and cured on his farm.

The evidence is also that the plaintiff was in perfect health when he ate his breakfast and had .been for some time previous.

There is evidence also in the record which tends to show that the defendant was very uneasy while the plaintiff was suffering from the poison for fear that she might be accused 'of having administered it to him and stated that the plaintiff was in love with Miss Sliadwell and had taken the poison with the intention of casting a slur upon defendant and for the purpose of getting rid of her; that without being accused of having administered the poison, she stated to Mrs. Young “Thank God, my skirts is clear.” After Motley had been taken to his house, on the morning of the same day the poison was administered and while he was suffering from the effects of it, defendant said to Mrs. Young that she “never was in such a fix in her life;” that she “had never went through/ such a thing in her life before;” that she went in and looked [479]*479at the clock and said, “It is half past ten and time dinner was on” bnt. didn’t know whether to get dinner or not, and said, “If I get dinner I don’t know whether there is any one here will eat a bite I would cook” and asked Mrs.

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Bluebook (online)
67 S.W. 741, 93 Mo. App. 473, 1902 Mo. App. LEXIS 393, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/motley-v-motley-moctapp-1902.