State v. . Smith

The defendant was tried at the February Term, 1940, of Sampson Superior Court upon a charge of murder, was convicted of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to death.

The evidence tended to show that William Daniel, a man of about sixty years of age, living alone on a small farm in Sampson County, was found dead near a path leading from his home through the field and into the woods. His skull had been fractured and there were several lacerations about the face and head. Death was attributed to a fracture of the skull. A brick and bloody cherry limb were found near the body.

On the next day…