People v. Townsend

Chief Judge Fuld.

On September 29, 1967, Marcos Morales was stabbed to death and robbed in the vicinity of Malta Street in Brooklyn. Tried and convicted of the crime was the defendant, Steven Townsend, at the time a 17-year-old high school student living at home with his parents. The question on this appeal is whether a new trial must be ordered on the ground that his written confession to the police was obtained under circumstances which precluded its introduction in evidence against him.1

The facts are briefly stated. At about 7:00 p.m. on the day following the crime, Townsend, who, as…