State v. Nichols

Defendant appeals from a conviction of second-degree murder.

The defendant took the stand and virtually admitted that he shot Hazel Nichols with a rifle and that she died as a result of the wound. He said the shooting was an accident. The prosecution contended that it was intentional, although without premeditation.

No witness, other than the defendant, saw the shooting. The defendant’s teen-age daughter heard it. Her room was next to the room in which the shooting occurred. She also heard a verbal exchange which preceded the shot. She testified that her father and mother were having an…