People v. Helms

The Defendant, Bernard Helms, was indicted by the Grand Jury of McDonough County for the murder of his wife, Wanda. The cause was tried by a jury. At the close of the evidence for the prosecution, the Court directed a verdict on the charge of murder and the case was then concluded on the lesser included charge of involuntary manslaughter. The jury returned a verdict of guilty on the lesser charge. Defendant was sentenced to the penitentiary for a term of not less than five nor more than eight years.

Defendant appeals to this Court challenging the sufficiency of the proof, the instructions by…