People v. Gouldy

[7]

GRIFFIN, J.

On April 29, 1944, defendant and his wife, with their baby, drove in their car to a store in Fresno, and while there purchased some wine. On the return trip they quarreled. During this quarrel defendant slapped his wife. After they arrived back home, while in the kitchen, they quarreled again. Defendant struck her in the face and knocked her against the wall. She fell to the floor. He helped her up and the quarrel continued. He again struck her, causing her to fall to the floor a second time. He picked her up once more. Shortly thereafter, the parties left the residence in their car and traveled west on Tulare Street. Later, defendant’s wife was seen lying in the road unconscious. Defendant was stopping the traffic. A passerby assisted defendant in placing his wife in his car. She was taken to the hospital and within ten minutes died without regaining consciousness. She had a basal fracture of the skull. Defendant, after trial by jury, was convicted of violation of section 245 of the Penal Code, i. e., committing an assault upon the person of another by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury. Defendant appealed from the judgment that followed and from an order denying a motion for new trial.

It is first argued by defendant that the evidence is insufficient as a matter of law to support the verdict and judgment. The main argument on this subject is that the corpus delicti was not established independently of the statements of the defendant, citing such eases as

People

v.

Lamson,

1 Cal. 2d 648 [36 P.2d 361];

People

v. Bowers, 79 Cal. 415 [21 P. 752].

The medical testimony shows that there was a small laceration on the back of the head of the deceased and burn-like injuries on her back and certain bruises on her face; that those bruises “while they could have been caused by falling out of an automobile, also could have been caused either by a fist or blunt instrument of some kind.” The autopsy surgeon, after describing in minute detail the results of his examination, testified that the cause of death was a “basal fracture of the skull with intracranial hemorrhage of subdural type. Multiple abrasions and contusions . . that the injuries disclosed were of several different types; that there were abrasions, contusions and “lacerations where the tissues were torn, and there were definite friction type burns of the skin.” He testified that “In taking these all together, I don’t think any