Blalock

An indictment charged James Blalock and Melvin Eddings with robbing and murdering William Kiser on February 1, 1964. The same indictment charged Blalock alone with robbing Richard Kern on January 27, 1964. The jury found Blalock guilty of first degree murder and both robberies and acquitted Eddings of the two charges against him. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Blalock appeals.

Kiser’s body, face down, was found in a lumber yard near Broadway and Front Streets in Sacramento on Sunday morning, February 2. The body was nude. Kiser’s clothes were piled in a loose bundle near the body and his other belongings were strewn about, including a wristwatch (which was still running) and automobile keys. A 5-foot length of 2x4 lumber, broken in two pieces, was lying a few feet from the body. One of the pieces was blood-stained. Death had resulted from skull fractures with extensive brain damage. He had been struck three times with a blunt instrument, probably while he was lying in a horizontal position. Blows from the 2x4 lumber could have caused the injuries. Kiser had lived for approximately 30 minutes after the blows were struck. Various estimates place the time of death at some time…