State v. Doepke
Supreme Court of Missouri
Appeal from St. Louis Court of Appeals. This was an indictment for stealing a rosewood coffin of the value of $35, the property of one Merkel.
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Appeal from St. Louis Court of Appeals. This was an indictment for stealing a rosewood coffin of the value of $35, the property of one Merkel. It appeared in evidence that Merkel had bought the coffin for $35 for the purpose of burying his father-in-law, Gerhard Doll; that it was used for that purpose by Merkel’s order that on the night after the burial defendant opened the grave and took out both the body .and the coffin; that there had been no administration, upon the estate of Doll; that when defendant was arrested-the body was out of the coffin, and both the coffin and the body were in a…
1Opinion of the CourtHenry, J.
I. coffin — steal-statutesAconstrue<L
It is conceded by counsel for appellant, and fully established by the authorities, that a coffin in which the remains of a human being were interred, ivas a subject of larceny at common law. It is contended, however, that sections II, 12, 13 and 14, of our act concerning crimes and punishments, Wag. Stat., pp. 500, 501, stand in lieu of the common law as it existed iu reference to the question under consideration, and that the acts alleged to have been committed by the defendant in this case, amounted to nothing more than a statutory misdemeanor.” Section…
2Cited by12 opinions
- People v. IrrizariNew York Court of Appeals · 1959
- Burrows v. StateIndiana Supreme Court · 1894
- State v. BrewerSupreme Court of Missouri · 1956
- People v. GilbertMichigan Supreme Court · 1910
- People v. SimpsonCalifornia Court of Appeal · 1938
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