State v. Kelsey

Defendant appeals from a conviction for murder assigning as errors the following: (1) admission into evidence of an alleged threat; (2) admission of the fingerprint identification of the victim; (3) admission of the testimony of Jean Kelsey, defendant’s 'wife’ by a void marriage; (4) the calling to the stand by the state of defendant’s lawful wife, knowing that defendant would invoke the marital privilege against her testifying; and (5) the failure to give a requested instruction.

On June 17, 1975, local authorities found a badly decomposed and unidentified body in the Columbia River. On…