The PEOPLE v. Wagoner

A jury in the criminal court of Cook County found the defendant guilty of the murder of Eva Baker and fixed his punishment at 199 years in the penitentiary. The court entered judgment and sentence upon the verdict. A proper understanding of the errors relied upon for reversal requires consideration of the pertinent evidence and trial procedure.

Two clerks of the Clarendon Hotel in Chicago testified in substance that about 7 P.M. on December 29, 1948, the defendant and a woman appeared at the hotel and registered as Mr. and Mrs. Tom Morris and were assigned to room 96; that they left the hotel…