Parker v. State

432 S.W.2d 526, 1968 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 934
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 24, 1968
Docket41395
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 432 S.W.2d 526 (Parker v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Parker v. State, 432 S.W.2d 526, 1968 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 934 (Tex. 1968).

Opinions

OPINION

WOODLEY, Presiding Judge.

The offense is murder; the punishment, 10 years.

The indictment alleged that on or about August 24, 1966, appellant, with malice aforethought, killed Helen Kelley “by drowning her in water and by holding her head under water until she suffocated.”

The trial, which began on August 22, 1967, was before a jury on a plea of not guilty. The state did not seek the death penalty. The jury having found him guilty as charged, appellant elected to have the court assess the punishment.

Ground , of error No. 1 complains that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction, the principal contention being that there is no evidence or insufficient evidence to show that the death of Helen Kelley was caused by the criminal act of appellant or by criminal violence.

The state relied upon circumstantial evidence.

The evidence shows that on the evening of August 23,1966, Helen Kelley (deceased) was drinking in Mary’s Lounge. Ima Slater, who was also drinking, joined Mrs. Kelley at the Lounge, and at closing time Mrs. Kelley and Mrs. Slater left the Lounge with appellant and the three proceeded to a place in Harris County on the San Jacinto River, below Magnolia Gardens, for a picnic. They continued to drink wine on the way and all were intoxicated.

While Mrs. Slater was roasting weiners at the fire appellant had built, appellant said to Helen Kelley (who was in the car) “Let’s go swimming, Helen, that’s what we came here for,” to which Helen Kelley replied, “Leon, you know I can’t swim.”

Appellant and the deceased then went down the river bank to a log imbedded in the sand which protruded out into deep water.

Mrs. Slater remained at the fire. She heard the murmur of voices and splashing, but no outcry or scream or commotion. The log could not be seen from the location of the fire.

[528]*528After some 30 or 40 minutes appellant returned to the camp fire and told Mrs. Slater that he left Helen sitting on the log to come get her.

Mrs. Slater called “Helen” a number of times but received no answer.

Appellant made no explanation of Mrs. Kelley’s disappearance except that “Helen” was so despondent “since Jack left her, she may have taken her life.”

Mrs. Slater testified that appellant said something to the effect that they “were in this together,” and testified in part:

“Q. Well, did he ask you to go swimming?
“A. Yes. He asked me to go swimming later but I said I’m not going in swimming because I can’t swim.
“Q. And he said do you want it the easy way or the hard way ?
“A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And you knew what he was talking about ?
“A. No, sir.
“Q. Were you afraid?
“A. Yes, sir.
“Q. What of?
“A. Because I can’t swim. I’m deathly afraid of water. I didn’t want to go get in the water at night.
“Q. And that’s all you were afraid of?
“A. No. I thought if something happened to her, something might happen to me. I guess I was thinking about my safety all the way through.
“Q. When did you first become afraid?
“A. The second time I asked him where was Helen and he said the second time she was sitting on the log and I just didn’t hear any sounds and I didn’t believe she was on any log. That’s when I got afraid.
“Q. Did he say poor thing, she’s taken her life, or that she slipped in the river and we had better help her? Did anybody think about that or say anything about that ?
“A. The only thing I said was Let’s go. That’s all I wanted to do to see if we could report it or somthing.
“Q. What were you going to report?
“A. Well, she was missing. I didn’t hear her or see her and she came out with us.
“Q. Did you ever tell Mrs. Whickliff why you were crying?
“A. I don’t remember. I told her something terrible had happened. I was so shook up I just broke when I got to her house. I don’t think she believed it. I was just babbling.
“Q. What did you tell her?
“A. I told her something terrible happened. The three of us went to the river and she came up missing. I don’t know what I said. I was just panicky.”

Mrs. Slater further testified that on the way back to town appellant threw something out of the car.

When she accompanied officers to the camp site the next day the officers found Helen Kelley’s dress and other clothing along the road to the camp site.

Mrs. Louise Whickliff testified that about 9:30 the morning Helen Kelley was drowned she saw a man drive Mrs. Slater to a vacant house next door to her home. Mrs. Slater got out of the car and she (the witness) went outside and called her and she came in.

She testified:
“Q. What did she do as soon as she got in your house ?
“A. She went into the bathroom and she come out and started crying and said she was scared.
[529]*529“Q. Was she crying loud or how was she crying — describe how she looked and acted.
“A. She wasn’t crying loud but like she was kind of hysterical.
“Q. Like she was hysterical, and did she say she was scared at that time ?
“A. Yes.

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Morris v. State
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Parker v. State
432 S.W.2d 526 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1968)

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Bluebook (online)
432 S.W.2d 526, 1968 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 934, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/parker-v-state-texcrimapp-1968.