On the Way to the Courthouse!

By Robert J. Joling

In 1971, he joined the original faculty of the University of Arizona medical school in Tucson, Arizona as Associate Professor of Medical Jurisprudence. Bob returned to trial practice in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1976. After 20 years he left active trial practice being appointed as a Municipal Court Judge, a position he filled for the next 5 years.

For more than 50 years, Bob has been active in forensic
sciences; is a Fellow (1961), Past President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (1975-76); Founder and Chairperson
of the Forensic Sciences Foundation; former Member of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences and an Associate in Law of the American College of Legal Medicine.

Published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, The Saturday Evening Post, Argosy Magazine, Bob has appeared in numerous radio and television shows and lectured to educational
& professional associations throughout the USA and Europe.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 26, 2011
• ISBN: 9781456896898

Robert J. Joling

The Author: Robert J. Joling, J.D. A World War II veteran of the 20th Air Force, 314th Heavy Bombardment Wing, 19th Bomb Group, 28th Squadron, B-29 group stationed on Guam, Bob was a recipient of the Presidential Unit Citation. Born Lynden, Washington; raised Austinville, Iowa and Kenosha, Wisconsin; Bob attended Calvin College, Grand Rapids, Michigan and Marquette University Law School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Licensed to practice law before Wisconsin Supreme Court, Eastern and Western Federal District Courts 1951, & Arizona Federal District Court 1972; 7th Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and United States Supreme Court 1956. In 1971, he joined the original faculty of the University of Arizona medical school in Tucson, Arizona as Associate Professor of Medical Jurisprudence. Bob returned to trial practice in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in 1976. After 20 years he left active trial practice being appointed as a Municipal Court Judge, a position he filled for the next 5 years. For more than 50 years, Bob has been active in forensic sciences; is a Fellow (1961), Past President of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (1975-76); Founder and Chairperson of the Forensic Sciences Foundation; former Member of the British Academy of Forensic Sciences and an Associate in Law of the American College of Legal Medicine. Published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, The Saturday Evening Post, Argosy Magazine, Bob has appeared in numerous radio and television shows and lectured to educational & professional associations throughout the USA and Europe. The Author: Michael S. Joling, B.A. Michael is referred to as a “renaissance man.” He has more than 15 years of formal Christian education and holds a degree in English from Wisconsin Lutheran College of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He also attended Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota. Michael has worked in a variety of settings including that of a sheet metal mechanic, ironworker, fast food cook, high school and grade school teacher, facility manager, business manager, and paralegal. Michael has studied Christian doctrine and literary theory, authored literary critiques and has studied the effective methodologies for teaching critical thinking. Recently, Michael was certified as paralegal after successfully completing the requirements at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. At the present time, Michael is continuing to work on a Christian philosophy manuscript tentatively titled Readers in the Dark. Michael’s credo is: “Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your power. Pray for power equal to your tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle, but you shall be the miracle.”

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by Robert J. Joling, J.D.

Library of Congress Control Number:       2011905078

ISBN:         Hardcover                               978-1-4568-9688-1

                   Softcover                                 978-1-4568-9687-4

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4568-9689-8

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1 - Dead Before He Hit The Floor.

Chapter 2 - Take Your Pick. Murder? Free Falls? Alcohol? Narcotics?

Chapter 3 - Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor!

Chapter 4 - Hunting for the Wrong Game!

Chapter 5 - Did She Really Drown Her Baby?

Chapter 6 - Rape? Was it Buyer’s Remorse? Spite?

Chapter 7 - Dry-Lab by a Jealous Suitor

Chapter 8 - Was it Murder or Heart Failure of a Different Kind?

Chapter 9 - What are you? White or Black? Or American?

Chapter 10 - Reasons or Excuses?

Chapter 11 - The Twin Male Prostitutes: Fingerprints Tell it All.

Chapter 12. - She’s Not a She, She’s a He!

Chapter 13 - Juvenile Disrespect: A 7-hour Turnaround.

Chapter 14 - A Young Lawyer Learned The Judge Was In Charge.

Chapter 15 - He Really was a Turkey!

Chapter 16 - Are You Really in Good Hands with All State?

Chapter 17 - Discrimination & the Wig.

Chapter 18 - Juvenile Delinquency, Theft, Marijuana & a T-shirt.

Chapter 19 - Married Seven Times: What’s Her Name?

Chapter 20 - The Odor of Alcohol Can Be Deceiving.

Chapter 21 - A Midwinter Midair Airplane Crash

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

About the Author:

This book contains a series of true short stories of court cases that can be read within 30 minutes or less. Truly a book for the traveler.

Other Books by the Author include:

Joling, Robert J., J.D. and Van Praag, Philip; An Open & Shut Case; How a rush to judgment led to failed justice in the Robert F. Kennedy assassination.

Joling, Robert J., J.D.; Spade Cooley—Shame! Shame! A Saga of Spade Cooley; King of Western Swing! A true murder story of an accomplished Country Western musician of the 1930s to the 1960s who, because of his total debauchery and drug and alcohol abuse, lost his riches and his soul.

Joling, Robert J., J.D. and Joling, Michael S., B.A.; Don’t Overlook the Obvious! This book contains a Series of True Short Stories written specifically for the Christian Reader, Traveler, Bible Student, and those folks reflecting upon modern living and admonitions with Scripture Lessons and Discussion Questions provided.

Available at: www.amazon.com and www.amazonkindle.com

Please send comments by e-mail to: [e-mail]

Introduction

Throughout my life I have traveled well over 1,000,000 miles by car and, possibly, just as many miles by air. Frequently, as I traveled, I took a book with me to read during the lull in personal activity. Sitting on an airplane for three hours and 20 minutes as the engines drone on while flying between Chicago, Illinois and Phoenix, Arizona, for example, can become rather boring unless one has something to occupy the time. However, while riding on an airplane, there are frequent interruptions from the time one gets on the airplane until getting off. The passenger next to you may attempt to carry on a conversation or ask to be excused as he or she has to go out into the aisle to use the bathroom facilities. Then, of course, there are interruptions caused by a flight attendant serving drinks or catered meals while going up and down the narrow aisle taking orders from various passengers. Each of these additional activities may cause an interruption to reading the book brought aboard.

I have often wondered why books for travelers do not abound that are composed of short stories that can be read within 10 or 15 minutes. Such a book would enable a person to read more stories in less time without having to be concerned about losing track of the last paragraph read preceding the last interruption.

This same problem arises while traveling by automobile. Often times when one enters a hotel or motel room, there is very little to read other than advertisements and the Gideon Bible. Although I do enjoy reading the Bible because there are many wise and judicious things to be learned from the Holy Scriptures, there are times when I prefer reading secular material. Also, I often would rather read an interesting story than listen to the usual 10 second sound bites coming from a television set or a radio while someone from the news media is telling viewers or listeners his or her version of what should be known that day. At that moment in time, I prefer to read something that is not too heavy, yet entertaining. That is one of the objectives hopefully achieved by this short-story book.

In the cases related in the stories that follow, forensic pathologists, toxicologists, criminalists, medical doctors, forensic engineers, and psychiatrists were readily available and heavily relied upon by me in the pretrial stages as well as during the trial of these matters. Without that assistance, I would not have been able to be successful during my representation of the parties involved. In that regard, I was simply the conduit through which the science was applied to determine the truth and veracity of the defense position.

Many times during my practice of law, especially when I have been called upon to fulfill my oath to defend the innocent, I have been asked by friends and the curious, How can you call yourself a Christian and defend these terrible people who have committed such horrible crimes? I have always found that question to be interesting, first, because the questioner always assumes that a person charged by a prosecuting attorney has committed a crime; second, the person charged is always considered a terrible person; and third, the person charged is guilty because it is assumed, circuitously, he or she committed a horrible crime." It is precisely this kind of reasoning that also gets an inexperienced investigator into trouble.

Without a thorough examination of the actual known facts involved in any case, who determines if a crime has been committed? Who determines if the person charged with committing that crime, in fact, did commit that crime? Naturally, the answer to those questions is the judge or jury. That is precisely why the presumption of innocence is granted to any defendant from the beginning of the making of an accusation to the time the judge or jury deliberates and determines the outcome.

The duty of a judge during a trial before a jury is to manage the procedures that must be followed during the trial of a case to assure fairness in every detail. The duty of the defense attorney is to compel the prosecuting attorney to prove that the defendant is guilty of violating each element of the crime charged beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of the judge and jury. This does not place a burden upon the prosecution to prove a person charged with a crime guilty beyond all doubt. Rather, just as one would make a decision in the most deliberate judgments of life, a juror must determine the guilt or innocence of the party charged with a criminal offense by exercising the same high degree of reasonable judgment.

It should be noted that the criteria required in exercising judgment in a criminal case differs from the degree of certainty demanded by the law in a civil matter. In the latter instance, proof is sufficient if by the preponderance of the evidence the proscribed number of jurors is led to believe that the person against whom the suit is brought caused the event to occur and that the damages sought are the direct result flowing from the action of the person against whom the suit is brought.

The stories related herein are those that describe a small portion of my many years engaged in the practice of law, starting in 1951. These are real cases in which I have been involved either directly, as a consultant, or as an adviser.

The names of parties and the locations at which these activities took place in each story may have been changed in order to protect the privacy of the parties involved.

Robert J. Joling, J.D.

Chapter 1

Dead Before He Hit The Floor.

To make ends meet, Tom and Sadie, a young married couple in the days of the Great Depression, had turned a former home and rooming house into a tavern and motel party-house. It was located about 5 miles south of the nearby city. The building had been remodeled so that its first floor contained a large dining room next to a wooden dance floor that, in turn, was located near a large L-shaped bar. Prohibition had not yet left the sociopolitical scene. Amongst Tom’s friends were many bootleggers with whom he dealt so that he could furnish his patrons with illicit liquor.

It almost seemed to be a natural occurrence for Tom to have an envelope ready each Saturday morning that would be picked up by one of the local Sheriff’s deputies. This envelope always contained the same amount of money each week, a crisp $100 bill. In the days of the Great Depression, that was a considerable amount of money, considering the fact that the average wage earner’s weekly take-home-pay was between $18 and $21 per week. Even so, it was sufficient to give Tom protection from the law. His business required the assurance that it would not be investigated at any time without notice. For that reason alone, Tom willingly gave his weekly contribution to the bagman from the criminal division within the local sheriff’s department.

Every Friday and Saturday night, Tom’s emporium was filled with patrons who partook of the illicit liquor and beer while they gorged themselves on the inexpensive fish fry spread every Friday night. On Saturday night, an equally impressive buffet consisting of meat cuts, cheeses, and vegetables was displayed. No patron went away hungry and very few went away sober.

The patrons danced until the wee hours of the morning on Friday and Saturday nights, making Sunday a necessary day of rest for those who overindulged. If too tired or too drunk to go home on either night, there were rooms available on the two floors above the bar or, if a patron wished, one of the seven motel rooms located to the rear of the property.

While Tom worked the bar, Sadie and a couple of her loyal girlfriends would act as waitresses for the convenience of the persons reveling at the establishment. However, most of their duties were confined to Friday and Saturday nights. Although Sadie did not have an hourly rate of pay because of her marriage to Tom, the girlfriends received $00.35 per hour plus tips for their wages for the night. It was not unusual for the waitresses to finish the evening with as much as $5 or $10 received by way of tips. In two nights, these waitresses could make as much as a factory wage earner brought home in a week. In addition, they paid no income tax-on those earnings. There was no IRS to collect taxes on tips in those days.

In 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected to the presidency of the United States of America. Shortly thereafter, following the adoption of a Constitutional Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America, Congress, in its infinite wisdom, abolished the Prohibition Act and liquor and beer again became legal commodities to be bought openly at establishments such as Tom’s. The social benefits or the adverse social consequences can be debated but it cannot be denied that, at least for the liquor and beer industry, the financial benefits were large. It also aided the owners of bistros, such as that owned by Tom and Sadie, to increase their income dramatically.

Tom and his wife Sadie continued their bistro business throughout the 1930s on into the war years that began in 1939 with the occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany. That world wide conflict ended in 1945 with the victorious result of the U.S. Armed Forces defeating both Nazi Germany and Italy in the European Theater of Operations, as well defeating Japan in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The business of dispensing liquor and beer and renting out rooms above the tavern or motel rooms out back to paramours and others who believed, at least for the night anyway, that they had met their long-lost love for the first time within Tom’s establishment, continued unabated throughout these years. The only difference noticed by Tom and his wife Sadie appeared at the end of the day when they added up the cash in the registers. They also were well aware of the continuing protection money paid out each Saturday morning in larger payments of $500 per week to endow the sheriff’s kitty. For that weekly dole, Tom now received the assurance that he could keep his bar open beyond the legally mandated closing hours in the county. In addition, no attention was paid to whom, or to how many persons, or to how frequently daily or nightly occupancy occurred in the rooms upstairs above the bar or in the motel out back. According to Tom’s iterations to me many years later, at the time when he was running a more legitimate business, the rooms upstairs and motel units out back were used several times-over during each night and, frequently, even during the daylight hours. Considering the tax-free revenue generated from those activities alone, Tom felt that the weekly contribution to the local sheriff’s kitty was well justified.

During World War II, through the years 1941 to the year 1946, while many of our young men and some young women (particularly nurses, WACS and WAVES) were in military service, Tom’s bistro business flourished. Women began working within local factories and, for the first time in American history, were being caused to devote their energy to earning money to sustain a desired lifestyle for the children left behind by the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen then in military service. It also emancipated young women socially in that they would now frequently gather at favorite eating places, taverns, or nightclubs on weekends to socialize with their friends who were in the same plight. This, naturally, led to other meetings with persons of the opposite sex who also were frequenting these establishments. Consequently, the indulgence in liquor and beer, each possessing the innate ability to relax moral restraints, led to unforeseen trysts between those in attendance. It seemed that the more liquor and beer that was consumed the more the beauty and favorable characteristics of the parties then engaged in mutual conversation increased. As these patrons recited their complaints, desires, loneliness, and a possible willingness to engage in lascivious conduct, the physical attraction frequently led to conduct that then, in history anyway, was considered immoral, illegal, and improper.

Tom and Sadie gave birth to one child during their marriage. His name was John, although he was referred to by the nickname of Jack. When I first met Jack, he was in his late 20s. To meet Jack was to dislike him. Surly, usually disheveled, unkempt, always in need of a shower, foul-mouthed and disrespectful to parents and to acquaintances, Jack had few friends, if any. As Jack grew into manhood, his father, Tom, wanted to bring him into the business but hesitated. This was the time, in the early 1960s, that I first met Tom and Sadie.

I had known who Tom and Sadie were before this time. While I was attending law school, during the late 1940s and early 1950s, I lived at home with my folks. To earn money at a job that I could work at part-time and compatible with my schedule, I drove Yellow Cab and Yellow-Checker Cab for about 18 months while attending law school. Other than during Holiday Seasons and vacation time, I usually drove a cab on Friday and Saturday nights, always stopping at 12 o’clock a.m. sharp on Saturday night because I refused to work on Sundays. Although my boss thought this was strange, I always informed him that I could make just as much money from a starting time on Saturday afternoon until midnight as I could from seven o’clock at night until late the following Sunday morning. It wasn’t long before my boss came to me and stated that he was amazed to see that my earnings were steadily higher than the regular drivers working the night shifts on Friday and Saturday nights. Never again would he question my reasoning or position regarding the hours that I would work.

Of course, once a paying customer entered the cab I was driving, it was not for me to determine the destination. The patron entered the cab, stated the address to which they were to be taken, and I entered that information into my driver’s log. Then, the cab was immediately set into motion and driven by the most direct route to that destination. On occasion, I would have dignitaries of various sorts, including Council members and business executives and other patrons who were simply everyday people who entered my cab. Sometimes, a male patron with a female companion in tow directed me to drive the two of them to Tom’s place. Occasionally, I recognized the passengers who requested my services but, as usual, kept mum and permitted no indication that I knew who or what they were. Sometimes, I would be instructed to wait out in front of Tom’s place for the passengers to return. On those occasions, I simply would leave my flag up on my cab and await the return of the party who had engaged my cab earlier. On those nights, the motor and the meter were each kept running as the charges continued to add up. These trips often were very remunerative because the meter kept running even though my cab was parked as I waited patiently while usually reading a law book as I studied an assignment.

Frequently, while working as a cab driver, additional good tips resulted because it was not uncommon for these patrons to make inquiry asking what I was engaged in besides driving a cab. Those questions were asked because I always had my law books with me and would usually be reading one of them when my services were first requested or while I awaited the return of a customer. When these folks would find out that I was studying to become a lawyer, they were most generous in their giving of tips. Many times, I would receive a $5, $10, or even a $20 bill as a tip. On one occasion, I was even given a $50 bill. My rate of pay from the company at the time was 45% of my gross take for the shift I was working. Considering that good-paying factory jobs at that time paid about $1.55 per hour, I could easily generate more in one weekend than a week’s wages earned at the factory rate.

A couple of years after I received my license to practice law in 1951, someone (I do not know who) recommended to Tom that he engage the services of my law firm to draft his Last Will & Testament. Neither he nor his wife, Sadie, had written their Will before that time. Besides drafting their Last Will & Testament, Tom wanted to incorporate the business. Tom did not want to enter into a partnership with his son for the simple reason that he did not want to have his son possess any control over the business. Tom wanted the benefits of the business and property that he and Sadie owned to go to his wife upon his death. Thereafter, upon the death of Sadie, Jack would become the sole heir and, as a result, would become the owner of all the real and personal property as well as the business owned by his parents.

Jack, on the other hand, wanted no part of the business but, rather, wanted to hit the road. Tom lent the money to Jack that enabled him to buy an 18-wheel-over-the-road-tractor-trailer. Now, Jack thought to himself, he was freed from his parents and could do whatever he wanted to do without accounting to anyone for his actions.

Soon thereafter, an already hardened alcohol drinker, Jack graduated from experimenting with smoking marijuana to taking hard drugs. Heedless of the possible consequences of his conduct, Jack continued to drive while drinking alcohol, shooting up drugs, and popping bennies while on the road. In spite of this conduct, Tom devoted a great deal of time and energy in attempting to get Jack to go straight, but he would not.

After I got to know Tom and his wife Sadie, in spite of their questionable activities during the Prohibition Days and in the following years through World War II, I tried not to judge them and always handled their legal matters in a professional manner. From time to time, I received telephone calls from either Tom or Sadie that usually were restricted to affairs related to their business, such as questions about tax issues, corporate records, filling out required forms for the IRS and State and local governments. I would see them in my office on three or four occasions throughout the year. Other than that, we had no contact.

Some yours after my law firm had become the legal representative for Tom and Sadie, I received notice that Tom had died. Members of the firm handled the estate affairs for Sadie and promptly closed the estate upon completing the necessary legal formalities. This event left Sadie in charge of the corporate affairs of the family. Sadie inherited the corporate interests of Tom and the capital stock was transferred to her as the sole owner. Jack was miffed by these circumstances thinking that he should have been entitled to some assets of the corporation. His greed was self-apparent and became the center of family dissension between Jack and his mother.

While on the road with his tractor-trailer, Jack began to indulge more heavily in his use of alcohol and drugs. Frequently, when he would return to the homestead, Jack would pick an argument with his mother claiming that he was entitled to some of the estate and demanding that she divest herself of her stock and give it to him. Sadie adamantly refused to give in to Jack. She feared that if he received any funds or stock, he would spend it wastefully on drugs and alcohol. It also appeared to her that in recent days Jack was becoming more belligerent every time he returned from a trip in his truck. She began to fear for her safety and occasionally called my office to speak with me. I tried to assure her that all would be all right but asked her to attempt to get psychological or psychiatric help for Jack. Sadie assured me that she would do this. Later, however, she called me and advised that Jack was adamantly opposed to talking to any quack-shrink.

A few months went by before I received another telephone call from Sadie. This time she sounded more distressed than on previous occasions. Jack had been on a binge and in the presence of her bartender had threatened to kill her. I advised Sadie to inform the District Attorney’s Office and the Sheriff’s Department of the threat that she had received. I also advised her to tell Jack that he would have to find other quarters within which to live. I cautioned her to do this at a time when she found Jack to be sober.

Jack’s belligerent attitude degenerated into grave disrespect for those who most cared for his welfare. He demonstrated this demeanor with his vile and uncouth language towards his mother. Indeed, Sadie was wondering what she could do next to extricate herself from this terrible situation. Fearful for her life, yet not daring to incite further remonstrative reaction by her son, she frequently fell silent and simply suffered the abuse rendered by Jack.

In the spring of the following year, towards the end of April, on a cool spring morning, about 2:30 a.m., I received a frantic telephone call from Sadie. Awakened from a deep sleep, I answered the telephone to the hysterical statement:

Jack is dead!

Recognizing the voice as that of Sadie, I asked, What do you mean?

She replied, almost incoherently, Like I said, Jack is dead.

Becoming more awake by the second, I immediately asked, How did that happen?

Sadie said, The bartender shot him.

That utterance was followed at once by another question, What should I do?

I asked her if she had called anyone else and received a negative reply. I then told her to give me five minutes to get dressed and 15 minutes to get to the establishment. I coordinated my watch with her clock and told her to wait for 15 minutes before calling the sheriff’s department. I advised her to tell whoever answered the phone at the sheriff’s department that there had been a shooting and that she believed that Jack was dead. I also advised her to say nothing more to anyone other than the bartender. I advised her to tell him to speak to no one except me from that point on unless I told him otherwise. I told Sadie to tell the bartender to say nothing to anyone, including her, until I arrived there.

Having given that admonition, I quickly jumped out of bed, dressed as quickly as I could, rushed out to the garage and, after starting my car, backed the car out of the garage as quickly as practicable. I raced through the city streets and sped out into the county as I headed for Tom’s place. I arrived at the premises before the sheriff’s squad got there.

When I arrived on the premises, according to the wall clock in the tavern, it was precisely 5 minutes before 3 o’clock a.m. I rushed through the open front door, took a quick glance about, and spotted the bartender sitting in a chair on the West wall next to the bar. I quickly advised him to tell me exactly what happened. I told him that I wanted to know everything that had happened right now, before the sheriff’s deputies arrived. In my mind that was important so that I could protect him as well as Sadie. Quickly, the bartender filled me in regarding all that had happened.

While waiting for the sheriff’s squad to arrive, I looked about the tavern and noted that there was a pool of blood oozing from underneath Jack’s body where he was lying facedown on the dance floor. His body was about 6 to 8 feet to the north of the bar and about 15 feet west from the front entrance door. I told the bartender to touch nothing. I had previously told Sadie to go upstairs and to stay in her room until I either called for her or came upstairs to the living quarters.

When the sheriff’s deputy arrived upon the scene, it was exactly 3:05 a.m. as indicated on the face of the barroom clock. As I orally and pointedly mentioned the time to the deputy, musing to myself that I had only been on the premises for 10 minutes, he expressed his surprise to see that I was there. I quickly advised him that I had received a phone call from Sadie and advised her to call the sheriff’s department and to advise them that a shooting had taken place and that possibly Jack was dead. Readily acknowledging this information had been transmitted to him from the sheriff’s office, the deputy sheriff, whom I knew well, strolled to a bar stool next to me. We sat on the bar stools and, while facing one another, I informed him precisely what the bartender had told me concerning the events that led up to this tragedy. Upon my advice, the bartender refused to speak to the deputy, other than to give him his name and address.

I informed the deputy that the bartender had stated to me that after he had cleaned up the premises following the closing of the bar at the end of business hours at 2 a.m., in accord with the provisions of the county ordinances, he had locked the front door of the tavern. He stated that he did not open it again until after Sadie had notified him that I was coming to the premises. I told him that I had arrived at precisely 2:55 a.m., just 10 minutes before the deputy’s arrival.

He was further advised that full cooperation would be given during his investigation, that nothing would be withheld from him, and that we expected his full cooperation in return, including a willingness to listen to us and going with us to verify anything that was told to him. With that agreement confirmed, we entered into a mutual review of the facts surrounding the case.

The deputy and I viewed the scene together while he made written notes, took pictures of the location of the body and the location of the front door, the location of the entrance to the bar, the location of the adjacent room, the location of the shotgun that had been replaced in its original position behind the bar, and the location of the doorway leading to the stairway that led to the upstairs quarters. At the request of the deputy, I instructed the bartender to hand over the shotgun he had used in the shooting of Jack. He did what I asked and, upon receiving the gun, the deputy opened the breach and told me that he noted that 3 shells had been chambered and that 2 had been expended.

We then went upstairs to the premises occupied by Sadie. We knocked on her door and Sadie quickly opened it. It was readily apparent that she had been crying and that she was extremely nervous and concerned. I consoled her as best I could and then asked her, in the presence of the Deputy, to relate to us the events preceding the shooting. Sadie advised us that Jack had come home that night in complete disarray, displaying a very agitated demeanor and appeared to be either drunk or on drugs, or both. She further stated that there was no way she could communicate with Jack in any reasonable manner at that moment.

Just after the bartender had closed the tavern at 2 a.m., Jack wanted to be served more liquor. The bartender refused that order. Having his request for liquor turned down, Jack became agitated and began to swear at the bartender. The ruckus was so loud that Sadie opened her door upstairs and told Jack to tone it down and behave himself. Jack swore at his mother and ran from the bar area into the kitchen where he grabbed a large butcher knife and stated that he was going to kill her.

When Sadie heard Jack running up the stairs toward her premises, she quickly locked the door to her room and placed a wooden board across the door to more securely prevent entrance. Jack continued his hasty progress towards Sadie’s entrance. Pounding on the door, Jack kept screaming that he should be left in. In his utter frustration,