Commonwealth v. Coyle

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Eagen,

The appellant-defendant, John J. Coyle, was convicted by a jury in the court below of first degree murder. Punishment was fixed at death. Motions in arrest of judgment and for a new trial were denied. Following imposition of sentence in accordance with the jury’s verdict, the issue was brought to this Court by an appeal from the judgment.

A brief summary of the facts incident to the killing involved and the events leading to its occurrence as established by the evidence is as follows:

On December 26, 1958, John Coyle and his brother, William Coyle, committed an armed…