Callego

The defendant was convicted of murder in the second degree, and appeals from the judgment and from an order refusing a new trial. The only question of importance is, whether there was sufficient evidence to warrant the verdict. It is the old case where it is contended that the corpus delicti was not satisfactorily shown. It is a charge of child- murder, and it is contended that there was no proof, — 1. That the child is dead; 2. If dead, that it was killed; and 3. That if it was killed, it was not shown that the defendant killed it.

I think all these contentions are well grounded, and especially the last. The child was born alive, and soon after was taken by the defendant, who was its father, under circumstances which indicated at least an intention that the mother, who was unmarried, should not have it. It appears that he put the child in a grain-sack and hung it in a tree so near the house that its cries could be heard in the cabin where the mother was, and were heard at times for three days and nights, and it was alive on the morning of the fourth day, when the defendant’s wife took it away. Since that time it has never been seen. Defendant lived about a mile and one half from…