People v. De La Roi

PULLEN, P. J.

Defendant was convicted of murder in the first degree, the jury fixing the punishment at life imprisonment. This is an appeal from the judgment and from an order denying a new trial.

Defendant arrived in Redding on Thursday, June 8, 1939. He made some search for work, but most of his time seems to have been spent attending shows, wrestling matches and around the pool halls. Saturday evening he met a former friend, R. L. Wertz, a man about 58 years of age, who lived by himself in a cabin about three miles northwest of Redding. They had worked together on various construction jobs, and Wertz invited defendant to have dinner with him the following day.

The next morning as defendant was walking toward the cabin of Wertz, he

met Wertz

coming into Redding in his car.

[289]

Defendant then accompanied him back into Redding, where Wertz purchased some supplies for the dinner, and also got a jug of wine for a friend named Danielson, who lived about a mile from the Wertz cabin. The two men drank some liquor before starting for the cabin, and defendant claimed Wertz was intoxicated, but the record shows he was able to drive his car. On the way they stopped at the Danielson cabin and delivered to him the gallon of wine, where they had two or three wine-glasses of wine. They were friendly upon arriving at the cabin of Danielson, and according to his testimony, were not intoxicated, either when the two men arrived or left his cabin.

Defendant testified he and Wertz were agreeable when they reached the Wertz cabin, and defendant went to the rear of the car to get out the groceries. The deceased then, without provocation, according to defendant, applied to him an insulting epithet, and as defendant walked toward Wertz, Wertz struck at him, which defendant evaded, and he then struck Wertz a staggering blow in the face. Without further conversation deceased walked into the house, followed by defendant. As Wertz entered the cabin, defendant thought he was going for a gun, which was standing in a corner of the cabin, and he then rushed upon him, striking him to the floor with his fists, and beat him over the head with a heavy flashlight, which caused the injury resulting in death. The foregoing is briefly the story as told by defendant.