State v. Warren

134 S.W. 522, 232 Mo. 185, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 2
CourtSupreme Court of Missouri
DecidedFebruary 7, 1911
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 134 S.W. 522 (State v. Warren) 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. Warren, 134 S.W. 522, 232 Mo. 185, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 2 (Mo. 1911).

Opinion

FERRISS, J.

The defendant was convicted in the circuit court of Newton county of the crime of rape alleged to have been committed November 7, 1909, upon the person of Narcissa Foster, a married woman, and his punishment fixed at six years in the penitentiary. The trial- proceeded upon the following information :

“N,ow comes Albert D. Bennett, prosecuting attorney within and for the county of Newton, State of Missouri, under his oath of office and upon his information and belief informs the court, and presents and charges to the court, that H. J. Warren, on the 7th day [189]*189of,November, A. D. 1909, at tbe county of Newton and State of Missouri, in and upon one Narcissa Isabella Foster, a female, unlawfully, violently and feloniously did make an assault, and her, the said Narcissa Isabella Foster, then- and there unlawfully, forcibly and against her will, feloniously did ravish and carnally know, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State.”

The evidence for the State preserved in the record shows that at the time of the trial, in March, 1910, the prosecutrix was nineteen years old, had been married over two years,"had been in an insane asylum once before she was married and once afterwards, three or four months at a time, the last time being six or eight months prior to the alleged rape. Her mind, according to her husband’s testimony, “has been fairly well since we were married.” The maternal grandmother and one maternal aunt were in the asylum at the time of the trial, and had been there twelve years. The following question was asked of her father: “I will ask you what has been her mental condition?” A. “Well, it has been bad. I believe this is the third time she has been this way.” Also, Q. “And she was discharged as cured by the asylum authorities?” A. “I suppose so.”

Plrosecutrix had had no children. On November 3, 1909, prosecutrix paid a visit to the home of her parents, whom she had not seen for a year and a half, going there by train alone. When she left her husband on this occasion there was nothing unusual in her condition. She was talking a good deal about going home. She stayed at her father’s house Thursday; Friday and Saturday, and was in a normal condition during this time, save that on Saturday, when she left to meet her husband, as she claimed, at Neosho, “she seemed a little bit restless.” During this visit she seemed to be [190]*190in average health. There had not been anything unusual in the letters which she frequently wrote home, except that her last letters showed nervousness in the handwriting. On the last night of her visit she seemed a little restless, and wanted to sit np and talk, but there was nothing unusual in her manner of conversation. Her father and mother drove her to the railway station in a buggy on Saturday, November 6th, bought her a ticket to Neosho, and put her on the train which left the station at 5 p. m., and she made the journey alone. On November 3d the husband left his wife at home, and went to Mosely Mines, it being then understood that she was to visit at her father’s until the Saturday following. The train was due at Neosho about 12:30 Sunday morning, November 7th. Whether the train was late does not appear. At about 2 o’clock that morning the prosecutrix appeared at the Central Hotel, in Neosho, with the defendant, who registered his own name. The proprietor, J. B'. Loher, asked him, “Is this your wife?” He answered, “Yes.” Then, at Loher’s request, defendant added to his name,the words “and wife.” Upon it being stated that he registered from Springfield, the woman said, “I am not from there,” or something of that kind. The defendant told her, “That is all right.” The following testimony, in addition to the above, was given by Loher:

“Q. What was her actions at that time? A. Well, she.was talking pretty loud when she came in; kept talking loud along. I was rather under the impression she was full of dope of some kind, cocaine, or something of that kind, the way she was talking. Q. Did the defendant talk much? A. No, he didn’t have much to say. Q. How did she talk, as to whether she was talking loud or low? A. She talked loud. Q. State whether or not she was talking rapidly or slowly? A. She Was talking pretty rapidly. Q. Then, what did you do after they registered? A. I took them to [191]*191room number eight. Q. State whether or not they both went in the room? A. Yes, sir. Q. How many beds in that room? A. Just one. Q. You may state to the jury what happened, if anything that you knew about, whether or not as to the noise? A. I was down stairs, and I could hear them talking, especially her. I could not hear him very much. Once in a while I could hear him say something, but could not distinguish what they were saying. They kept it up all the time; and about six o’clock in the morning, they kept it up so, I was upstairs, and I didn’t know that she had gone out of the room, but she came running upstairs. She had got out, and went down stairs, and I think went to a drug store. She came back and went to the room. I followed them right to the room, and opened the door, and he was in bed. I told him I wanted him to get up and pay his bill, and get out of there; that he was creating too much disturbance. He said he would get up after a bit. I said, 'You will get up right now; I.will stay right here until you get up and pay your bill and get out of here.’ So he got up. Q. Was there any bed made down, or anything? A. No, sir.’’

At the time they left the hotel, Loher says, “she was talking wild all the time. I can’t remember what she did say; she was talking loud. ’ ’

There was no other material testimony in chief of eye-witnesses introduced by the State as to the conduct or conversation of prosecutrix prior to six o’clock, Sunday morning, November 7th.

The State’s testimony in chief showed furthér that on Sunday, the 7th, at eight or nine o’clock, the prosecutrix was found wandering on the streets of Neosho in a state of mental aberration. The sheriff testified that she told him of being robbed on the train, and that he thought her crazy; that he sent for the city marshal, and, upon what she and others said, arrested [192]*192defendant and put him in jail; that she talked wildly, saying her husband was a fugitive from justice and a deserter from the army, and that his brother killed a man. He could not remember all she said.

Johns Williams testified that he met her on the street. She was walking along, talking or making some kind of a noise, and stated to him that she was hunting for something to eat. She said she had money, and showed him a quarter, and then said, “I don’t want to talk to you at all. I have already laid my case before the detectives, and the detectives are working-on it.” The witness thought she was crazy.

B. J. Perriman, city marshal, testified he saw prosecutrix on the street, and a crowd there laughing and amusing themselves at her talk. She was “talking kind of ‘bug-housey,’ I would call it.” She denied to this witness that the defendant had had intercourse with her.

A. J. Thomas, deputy sheriff, testified as follows:

“Q. I will ask you if you saw Mrs. Foster? A. Thé first time I seen her was that Sunday, down at a house on the corner of Kohler and Mill street. Q. What was she doing? A. She was laying down the first time I seen her. Q. Where was she lying? A. On the little porch. Q. Was anyone living there? A. Yes, sir, some people lived there at that time. Q.

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Bluebook (online)
134 S.W. 522, 232 Mo. 185, 1911 Mo. LEXIS 2, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-warren-mo-1911.