Shelton v. State

The defendant was in-dieted for the murder of his wife, Jane Shelton. ■ He pleaded not guilty, and not guilty by reason of insanity, and was found guilty of murder in the first degree, and sentenced to death by electrocution.

The woman was found dead in her bed at home, with her head badly beaten up— bruised, lacerated, and bloody — apparently by severe blows from a heavy instrument, and a bloody oak stave was found in the yard. Furthermore, it was shown by competent medical testimony that thpse wounds were sufficient to cause death.

The corpus delicti must of course be shown independently of…