State v. Pyle

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Foth, C.:

Appellant Michael Duane (“Mike”) Pyle was convicted by a jury of the first degree murder of his grandmother, Mrs. Golda (“Goldie”) Millar, and of arson for the burning of her house.

Mrs. Millar was last seen by her customary associates on April 5, 1971. Her ranch home in Kiowa county, between Haviland and Belvidere, burned to the ground in the early morning hours of April 8, 1971. No one has seen or heard from her since, and no trace of her body has ever been found.

The absence of a body gives rise to two of appellant’s contentions on appeal,…