State v. Vickers

106 S.W. 999, 209 Mo. 12, 1907 Mo. LEXIS 276
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedDecember 24, 1907
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 106 S.W. 999 (State v. Vickers) 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. Vickers, 106 S.W. 999, 209 Mo. 12, 1907 Mo. LEXIS 276 (Mo. 1907).

Opinion

GANTT, J.

This is an appeal from the circuit court of Lewis county. On June 16, 1906, the prosecuting attorney of Lewis county filed an information, duly verified, charging the defendant with the rape of Reba Burnett, a female child under the age of fourteen years, at the said county of Lewis, on or about the 7th day of June, 1906.

The defendant was arrested and at the September [18]*18term, 1906, of the said court filed an application for a change of venue from said county on the ground that he could not have a fair and impartial trial for the reason that the minds of the inhabitants of said county of Lewis were prejudiced against him. This application was supported by two citizens of said county, and due notice of the same was served on the prosecuting attorney. Upon a hearing of the said application it was' refused and the defendant saved his exception to the action of the court in denying him a change of venue.

At the same terra the defendant was duly arraigned and entered a plea of not guilty. At an adjourned term of the said court in October, 1906, the defendant was put upon his trial and convicted and his punishment assessed at fifty years in the penitentiary. In due time he filed his motions for new trial and' in arrest of judgment, and the same were overruled and exceptions duly saved and an appeal granted to this court.

The evidence on the part of the State tended to show that the prosecutrix at the time of the alleged rape was living with her father and mother on a farm near Lewiston, in Lewis county, Missouri, and was of the age of thirteen years and ten months. The defendant is a first cousin and brother-in-law of the mother of the prosecutrix. It appeared, further, that for some time prior to the date of the alleged offense the defendant had been residing in the State of Colorado, and a few days prior to the alleged offense had come to Lewis county and to the residence of the father of the prosecutrix, on the evening of June 5th, 1906, and remained all night. On the 6th he visited another relative of his in the neighborhood and returned to the Burnett home on the morning of June 7th. The State’s evidence tended to show that between half past ten and eleven o’clock [19]*19in the forenoon the defendant was in the kitchen talking to the mother of the prosecutrix when the latter told the prosecutrix to go upstairs and clean up- the bedrooms and move the defendant’s grip from the west room into the east room, and prosecutrix went upstairs for that purpose; that the defendant followed her upstairs, and when prosecutrix came out into the hall he grabbed her by the arm and took her into the east room and asked her to go home with him, saying that his wife would return with her; that he then began to take privileges with the prosecutrix’s person. He shut the door, laid her on the bed and had sexual intercourse with her against her will. The prosecutrix testified that she was so frightened that she could not scream; that she was afraid to scream, as defendant had previously stated in her presence that he was hiding from the Colorado officers and that he. always carried a pistol. After being released the prosecutrix went across the hall into another room and locked the door. Defendant remained in the east' room upstairs and called the prosecutrix to bring him a towel. Hearing defendant calling for a towel, the mother of prosecutrix walked up the stairs, a part of the way, and pitched a towel to defendant. During this time there was no one upstairs except the defendant and the prosecutrix, and the mother of prosecutrix was the only other person in the house. After the defendant went down stairs prosecutrix followed and aided her mother to get dinner. She ate dinner with the balance of the family. After dinner prosecutrix called her mother into the yard and there made a complaint against the defendant. The mother then telephoned her sister, Mrs. Taylor, to come over, and in a short time Mrs. Taylor and Mrs. Nelson, a sister-in-law, came to the residence of the prosecutrix and her parents. Shortly after the arrival of these ladies the mother and Mrs. [20]*20Taylor went out into the yard with prosecutrix, when the mother told Mrs. Taylor what had occurred. Seeing the three together out in the yard, the defendant came out to them and asked if they were plotting against the whites, whereupon the mother said: “Jimmie, I would not have had this happen for anythiug in the world. Reba has told me everything. ’ ’ Defendant turned white, seemed nervous and said he had done nothing, whereupon prosecutrix confronted him and accused him in the presence of the other two. Defendant then asked if her father knew it, and said that what he did would hot hurt her any, and asked her mother not to let this go any further. Seeing that the women out in the yard were excited, the father of prosecutrix, who had been reading in the house, came out and desired to know what was the matter. Defendant left the women, walked up to Mr. Burnett and told him that they had had a discussion about who was the mother of prosecutrix, which it seems had been the cause of some previous misunderstanding between the members of that family. The mother testified she did not tell her husband of this assault till after the defendant had left their home that afternoon, because she was afraid. After defendant had gone to the home of Mr. Nelson, a mile or two distant, to stay all night, the prosecutrix and her mother told the father. Defendant retired for the night at the Nelson home, but left some time very early the next morning without telling any of the family he was going, and walked to the town of Tolona, which is on the railroad some three or four miles distant. When defendant reached Tolona, he called Mr. Nelson over the telephone and talked with him about seven o’clock in the morning; and this conversation was overheard by Joseph Ragan. Defendant asked Nelson if Burnett had been to Nelson’s house, and if he was mad; and Nelson replied that [21]*21he was. right smart out of humor, and he blamed defendant. Defendant said: “He ought not to, as be has heard only one side of it; the guilt is on one as much as the other.” Defendant then asked about getting a saddle horse from Charley to ride over to George’s. Two ladies testified to seeing the defendant about six o’clock that morning, walking along the track going towards Tolona, and noticed that he was traveling very rapidly and looking back often. He especially looked toward the wagon road near the railroad track that comes in the direction of the Burnett home. Little after seven o’clock defendant went to the boarding house of Mrs. Dance in Tolona and got breakfast. He told Mrs. Dance that he was in the business of enlarging pictures and taking orders for a firm in St. Louis; that his samples would be along the next day, and he would show her some of his work. The regular passenger train going east at that time passed Tolona between eight and nine o’clock in the forenoon. Between eight and nine o’clock that day defendant was arrested at Tolona by the sheriff of Lewis county.

On the Sunday following his arrest defendant sent for Mr. Nelson to come .to the jail to see him. Nelson went and the defendant told him he would like to have Mr. and Mrs. Burnett come and see him; he wanted to talk with them; that if they would look at it right they would let him out; that the girl was equally guilty with him; that she had consented to it; that he would pay the expenses of sending her off to school, and her mother could go along with her; that he was willing for his stallion to stand good for the expenses; that the girl had not been injured.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
106 S.W. 999, 209 Mo. 12, 1907 Mo. LEXIS 276, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-vickers-mo-1907.