State v. English

201 N.C. 295, 159 S.E. 318 (1931)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

English (D) was charged with the murder of his wife. D offered evidence tending to show that on Sunday, the day after the murder, a negro by the name of Dave Locke, was arrested in Wilmington, and this negro, in the presence of three Wilmington officers, admitted that he killed Berta English 'and described the house, the conditions of the body and the entire condition of the woman' as she was afterwards found. This negro also stated that he killed Mrs. English with a fire-poker and tore her bloomers off, and stated that the fire-poker was bent at one end, and that in the struggle with Mrs. English he lost two buttons from his overalls, and that he produced these buttons and showed them to the officers at the time of the confession. The statement of the suspect gave 'a pretty good description of the house and the roads about the premises.' The record is not clear, but apparently, the negro was discharged and has since not been seen about that part of the country. All of the foregoing evidence was excluded by the court. Thereafter another negro by the name of Dave Brockington was arrested and charged with the murder of Mrs. English. At his trial, all evidence regarding Locke's confession was excluded. The court excluded the evidence on hearsay grounds. The jury convicted D of murder in the second degree. D appeals the conviction.