State v. Goodwin

— At nine o’clock on the night of December 16, 1920, there were five employees on a dredge anchored in a river in Pacific county. An explosion occurred on the dredge in which three were instantly killed, the fourth died before midnight, and the fifth, the sole survivor, is the defendant in this case, charged with having murdered his companions. He was convicted and this is his appeal.

The noise of the explosion and the light from the fire which followed it attracted the attention of the few persons residing in the vicinity, who, by foot paths and in rowboats, hurried to the scene. The outcries…