State v. Murphy

25 S.W. 95, 118 Mo. 7, 1893 Mo. LEXIS 133
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedNovember 9, 1893
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 25 S.W. 95 (State v. Murphy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Murphy, 25 S.W. 95, 118 Mo. 7, 1893 Mo. LEXIS 133 (Mo. 1893).

Opinions

Gantt, P. J.

The defendant in this case was indicted at the October • term, 1892, of the criminal court of the city of St. Louis. The defendant together with one Patrick Duffy was charged with the rape of Mrs. Ellen Rose, a woman over fourteen years of age, at the city of St. Louis, on the second day of November, 1892. The indictment was returned on November 3, and, for want of time to hear the cause at the October term, was continued to the November term. At the November it was again continued “as On affidavit” and specially set down for January 30, 1893. A severance was granted defendant on January 4. On Janu[11]*11ary 30 defendant was arraigned, Ms plea of not guilty entered, a continuance refused, and cause set down February 6, at which time both sides announced ready, and cause tried to a jury and defendant convicted and his punishment assessed at thirty years in the penitentiary. • '

The evidence in this case is such as to cause a • regret that it should ever find a place among the records of this court. Certainly it is such that should not stain the published reports; For the purposes of this opinion, it is sufficient’ to say that the evidence discloses that on November 2, 1892, Frank T. Rose and his wife, Ellen Rose, came from their farm near Falling Springs in St. Clair county, Illinois, with a wagon load of produce consisting of vegetables, butter, eggs and honey. During the day they sold their produce and about five o’clock started for their, home, by way of the Cahokia ferry, their usual route. When they reached the ferry, they were informed by the ferryman that he would make no other trip that night.

While considering whether they should go up the river and cross the bridge, they were pursuaded by one Schweigeler, who kept a lodging house and saloon, to stay all night with him. His establishment was on the levee between Anna and Sidney streets, near the ferry landing. They put up their horse, had their supper, and after supper Mrs. Rose concluded that she would visit a relation of hers on Papin street, some distance up the city. Mr. Rose was suffering from rheumatism and the weather was cold, with a drizzling rain prevailing, and on this account did not accompany his wife. Mrs. Rose was then about fifty-eight years of age, the mother of six children. Leaving her husband, she went to Broadway, thence north until she reached the French Market. Here she was overtaken by the rain and took refuge in the Market near the junction [12]*12of Broadway and Chouteau avenue. On account of the rain, she abandoned her visit to her relative and after the rain started to return to her husband. She, however, stopped at a grocery store where she had had some dealings. It appears to. have been after eleven o’clock when she reached Anna street on her return. On Anna street she met or passed two police officers, Anton and Manger. Of these she inquired the way to Schweigeler’s and they directed her to go down Anna street to the river. When she had gone about two blocks east of Anna, after passing the officers, she was suddenly seized by two men and forcibly carried into a lumber yard and according to her evidence, cruelly outraged.

Her evidence is corroborated by Officer Anton, who, on his return to that vicinity of his beat that night, heard her groans. Being attracted thereby, he went into the lumber yard where he discovered this defendant on top of Mrs. Rose, 'and heard his obscene expressions. Immediately by him, only about four feet distant, sat his codefendant, Duffy. The officer.hurried to the spot and gave defendant two or three strong slaps with his club, and arrested both defendant and Duffy. He testifies that during all this time Mrs. Rose was groaning as if in great pain. Her clothing was covered with mud; her underclothing bloody and torn; her nose bleeding and bruised, and when she reached the police station there were marks showing' she had been choked severely. Mrs. Harris, the police matron, who saw Mrs. Rose during the forenoon of that day, (November 3) fully corroborated the facts as to her bruises and bloody condition and the mud on her clothing.

Defendant’s defense was very equivocal. Having been caught by the offieer and kept under arrest, he made no attempt to deny, that he and Duffy were with Mrs. Rose, but sought to make the impression that she [13]*13solicited them to receive these favors of her, unsolicited by them. When asked in chief by his counsel, if he ravished ■ her or if he had connection with .her, his answer was, “No sir, not then.” Later on he denied that he either raped her or had connection with her at all, voluntary or otherwise. He admitted, -however, that when the officer, Anton, appeared on the scene, he was lying by the side of the old lady, in the lumber yard, on the wet ground, in a misty rain.

It was also apart of the defense that Mrs. Rose was intoxicated that night. As to this, her husband swore she was perfectly sober when she left him to go up town. Both Anton and Manger, the officers, swore she was not drunk or at least had none of the signs of intoxication about her when she passed them about midnight, on Anna street. Mrs. Harris, the matron; says she had no appearance of having been drunk next morning. It was attempted to show by a saloon keeper and two or three other witnesses that about twelve o’clock that night she was in the saloon of one Menge; that while there she drank three glasses of beer and called for' the fourth which was refused her. Menge identified Mrs. Harris, the matron, as the woman who was in the saloon, but, as soon as he discovered that it was the matron, took it back. Mrs. Rose positively denies ever being in that saloon that night and the identification was exceedingly unsatisfactory.

The only explanation defendant gave of the compromising position in which he was caught by the officers was that the old lady had asked them to show her the way to the ferry and he and Duffy wanted to show her.

There was evidence that defendant had a- good character for sobriety, truth and veracity and morality in that neighborhood.

[14]*14I. The point made in this court that the criminal court erred in refusing a contiuuance cannot be considered by us, because no exception was saved to the refusal.

II. Among other things, appellant complains that the court refused to permit him-to ask Mrs. Rose “if the officer, Anton, did not induce her to come over to St. Louis and make this prosecution.” The court did exclude this question but defendant’s counsel immediately propounded this question: “Whatinducement, if any, did officer Anton make to you to induce you to come over here and make this prosecution?” This question the court permitted and she answered fully that, “he didn’t make any inducement.” The two questions are so similar that it is absolutely certain no harm did or could have accrued fróru the refusal of the first, when the second was permitted. State v. Sansone, 116 Mo. 1; State v. Smith, 114 Mo. 406.

III. It is also suggested as error that the court erred in permitting the prosecuting attorney to offer in evidence the bloody underclothing of the prosecuting witness, after having first fully identified them and accounted for their ■ keeping. The objection was not that these garments were not competent, but that their evidence “tvas not responsive to any examination made by counsel of defendant.” The objection was not good for the reason assigned or for any other legal reason.

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Bluebook (online)
25 S.W. 95, 118 Mo. 7, 1893 Mo. LEXIS 133, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-murphy-mo-1893.