People v. Skidmore

This is an appeal from the denial of a delayed motion for a new trial. Defendant was convicted by a jury on March 30, 1963, of the second-degree murder of Richard Sobell. MCLA § 750.317 (Stat Ann 1954 Rev § 28.549). The facts show that defendant had begun a drinking bout with certain friends on the afternoon of May 8, 1962. Late that afternoon, defendant and his wife, Betty, along with Richard Sobell and Edward Bonaviteh, agreed to spend the evening touring several taverns in the area and used Sobell’s automobile for transportation. Defendant, for some unexplained reason, decided to kill…