Commonwealth v. Mulferno

Citations

• 265 Pa. 247
• 108 A. 639
• 1919 Pa. LEXIS 532

Syllabus

<p>Criminal law — Murder—Dying declarations — Evidence—Lying in wait — Harmless error — Evidence—Bes gestee.</p> <p>1. On the trial of an indictment for murder, statements of the deceased are admissible as dying declarations, where it appears that they were made in the presence of the prisoner, who did not deny them; that they were made at the place where deceased was shot, also in the automobile which carried him to the hospital, and also in the hospital shortly before he died; that they described the way in which he was shot by the prisoner; that they were corroborated by another witness; that they were accompanied by statements of belief that he was about to die, and that his condition was such as to warrant him in so believing; some of these statements were admissible as part of the res gestas.</p> <p>2. Concealment by a murderer for the purpose of taking his victim unawares, however accomplished, is sufficient to establish the fact of lying in wait; and such concealment may be done in the grass, or the bushes, or in any other favorable location.</p> <p>3. The refusal of the court in a murder trial to admit in evidence a pad offered to show the effect of gunshot wounds on clothing at various distances is not reversible error, where it appears that the pad was subsequently admitted.</p>