Downey v. People

121 Colo. 307 (1950)

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Downey v. People

Colorado Supreme Court
121 Colo. 307 (1950)

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Facts

David Albert Downey (defendant) was arrested after he was found on the side of the road with blood on his shirt one afternoon. Downey told a passerby who stopped to help him that Downey’s wife, Lolly, had been injured. Her body was found nearby, close to a rock about three feet tall. An autopsy determined that the cause of death was strangulation. Lolly’s body had been arranged carefully, suggesting she had not died after falling from the nearby rock, nor was the surrounding terrain treacherous, which also suggested that an accidental fall was unlikely. Downey was taken to a hospital, where he asked a doctor if his wife’s tongue had been removed. He also admitted to having hit Lolly on the head with a rock. Downey later admitted to police that he had also choked Lolly but repudiated the confession on the stand at trial. An autopsy determined that Lolly died by strangulation, including injuries to her larynx. After the close of evidence at trial, Downey moved for a directed verdict of not guilty on the basis that the people (plaintiff) had not established corpus delicti, evidence that a crime had been committed. The trial court denied Downey’s motion, and he was convicted of first-degree murder. Downey appealed.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Moore, J.)

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