People v. Bullington

WOOD, J.

An information was filed against defendant charging him with the crime of violation of section 290 of the Penal Code in that he did “feloniously mutilate the dead body of Michael Conway, a human being". At a jury trial he was found guilty and sentenced to the state penitentiary.

For about ten years defendant was employed as an embalmer at the morgue maintained by the county of Los Angeles. The work at the morgue is divided into three shifts, the first shift beginning at 9 A. M. and ending at 5 P. M., the second shift beginning at 5 P. M. and ending at 1 A. M. and the third shift beginning at 1 A. M. and ending at 9 A. M. On the day shift beginning at 9 A. M. the chief embalmer and a number of attendants are employed. On each of the other two shifts an embalmer and two mortuary attendants are employed. On January 10 and 11, 1938, defendant was the embalmer working on the shift from 5 P. M. to 1 A. M.

The body of the deceased was brought into the morgue at 6:45 A. M. January 10th, and at 8 A. M. the embalmer then on duty, one Monroe, started to embalm it. At 9 A. M. Monroe went off duty and the chief embalmer, McCue, con-

[398]

tinned with the work of embalming until it was finished at about 10 A. M. The body was embalmed with a hard fluid. A number of witnesses testified that they saw two gold crowns on the teeth of the deceased. During the preparation for the embalming the lips of the deceased were sewed together and when the embalming was finished the body was placed on a truck opposite one of the crypts. Mr. McCue testified that ten minutes before he went off duty at 5 P. M. he inspected the body and observed that the lips were still sewed together with string and that there was vaseline on the lips to stick them together. He lifted the corner of the lips and saw that the gold crowns were still in place. During the next shift the two mortuary attendants occasionally made trips away from the morgue to bring in other bodies and during these periods defendant was alone at the morgue. Mr. Monroe returned to work at 1 A. M. on January l-lth and relieved defendant. He testified that he looked at the body of the deceased and observed that the gold crowns were missing. He then took the two attendants who worked with him on this shift to observe the condition of the mouth and the absence of the crowns. When Mr. McCue returned to work at 8 A. M. on January 11th, he and Mr. Monroe looked at the body and observed that the lips were still sewed together but that the vaseline was not upon the lips. The mortuary attendants on all of the shifts were called as witnesses and each denied that he had removed the crowns.