People v. Westlake

COOPER, C.

Defendant was convicted of murder, and appeals from the judgment and order denying his motion for a new trial.

It is claimed that the court erred in admitting in evidence two shirts and two pairs of cuffs under defendant’s objection, for the reason that they were not sufficiently identified as the property of deceased. When defendant was arrested at Reno, the officer found in his room at the Clarendon Hotel, among other articles, a valise containing the shirts and cuffs, a suit of underclothes, some photographs and collars. One of the cuffs was marked with the initials “R. R. W.,” being the initials of deceased, whose name was R. R. Watts. The valise and some other articles found in the room were admitted in evidence without objection. '

The witness Watts stated that deceased had, during the month of January, 1899, delivered some washing to the Union. Laundry, and that .the said washing was returned in February.

The witness Odell testified that he was the wagon-driver for the Union Laundry, and that he remembered receiving laundry from deceased, which was returned about a month after it was received; that the laundry was marked; that it was the only time deceased had any washing in the Union Laundry, to the knowledge of witness. The witness was then shown the shirts, and said the mark was the same as the laundry he delivered to deceased; that the mark had never been in the Union Laundry before, and that the mark corresponds with the laundry books,—-with the mark on the laundry books; that he knew the laundry delivered to deceased bore upon it the

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mark upon the shirts, and it is the mark upon the laundry books.

The witness Gilbert Manning testified that he was the bookkeeper and proprietor of the laundry; that they received a package with the same laundry-mark upon it as that on the shirts, about January 8th. The witness identified the mark upon the shirts as the mark used upon the package of laundry left by deceased, the mark being a capital D and figure 7; that this was the only time such mark was in the Union Laundry.

The witness Frank J. Manning testified that he kept the books of the Union Laundry at the time deceased left the package there; that the package was left January 8th, and consisted of three shirts, five collars, and four pairs of cuffs; that the laundry-mark was “ D7,” and is the same as on the shirts and cuffs shown witness.