Warmke v. Commonwealth
Kentucky Court of Appeals
297 Ky. 649 (1944)
- Written by Kelli Lanski, JD
Facts
Jesse Warmke (defendant) gave birth to a baby and traveled with the baby to Cloverport, Kentucky, by bus. It was raining when she arrived, so Warmke went to a drugstore for shelter. An employee gave her a coat to cover her baby, and she left the store to visit a friend. Warmke later called the store to say she had forgotten her suitcase and met the employee at the store that evening to pick it up. The employee noted that the baby was not with Warmke and informed the town marshal. The next day, the town marshal questioned Warmke, and she said she accidentally dropped her baby over a railroad trestle and into the fast-moving creek below while walking to a friend’s home. The marshal and a police officer visited the creek and found a baby’s cap. Warmke said it was her baby’s cap, but the baby’s body was never found. Upon further questioning, Warmke confessed to throwing the baby into the creek to avoid the humiliation she faced going home with a baby but no husband. At trial, Warmke repudiated the confession and testified that she accidentally dropped the baby. Warmke was convicted of manslaughter. She appealed, arguing that the Commonwealth (plaintiff) had not shown corpus delicti.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Fulton, C.J.)
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