Opinion

Marsh v. State

  • 170 Tex. Crim. 512
  • 342 S.W.2d 435
  • 1961 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 5251
Court
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas
Filed
Feb 1, 1961
Status
Published
Author
Belcher
On the bench
Belcher
Cited by
5 cases
Authority
More cited than 73.8%

The opinion

BELCHER, Judge

The conviction is for incest; the punishment, ten years.

The prosecuting witness testified that she was the stepdaughter of the appellant, but she did not testify to any act of sexual intercourse with him.

In order to show the act of intercourse, as alleged, the state relies upon appellant’s written confession made to the state’s attorney, the testimony of the appellant before the grand jury, and his admissions to the county welfare worker.

Appellant did not testify or offer any evidence.

It is apparent that the confession and admissions of the appellant constitute all the incriminating evidence introduced by the state. Such extrajudicial confession and admissions, standing alone, are not sufficient proof of the corpus delicti. There must be extrinsic corroborative evidence in addition to the confession and admissions in order to snpport the conviction. 18 Tex. Jur. 190, Sec. 105; 4 Branch 2d 377, Sec. 2066; Blackstone v. State, 154 Tex. Cr. R. 62 , 225 S.W. 2d 184 ; Board v. State, 167 Tex. Cr. Rep. 349, 320 S.W. 2d 668 .

Because of the insufficiency of the evidence to corroborate the confession and admission of the appellant, the judgment is reversed and the cause is remanded.

Opinion approved by the Court.

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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