## Facts

- David Albert Downey was charged by information with first-degree murder for killing his wife, Lolly Lila Downey.
- Downey and the victim married in 1946; substantial life insurance existed on both spouses, including double-indemnity coverage for accidental violent death.
- In July 1947, the victim was found dead near Rampart Range Road in Colorado.
- Autopsy evidence indicated death by strangulation, including injuries to the larynx.
- Downey was found nearby with blood on his shirt and made statements at the hospital indicating knowledge of injuries and admitting he struck the victim’s head with a rock.
- Downey later provided a written confession stating he hit and choked the victim; at trial he repudiated the confession.
- A jury convicted Downey of first-degree murder and fixed punishment at life imprisonment; the trial court denied a motion for new trial and entered judgment.

## Issues

1. Whether the trial court erred in admitting evidence of Downey’s confession and refusing to strike it.
2. Whether the trial court erred in refusing to strike portions of Dr. Henry W. Maly’s expert testimony regarding laryngeal injuries.
3. Whether the prosecution failed to establish the corpus delicti of homicide, requiring a directed verdict of acquittal.
4. Whether the trial court erred in refusing two defense-requested jury instructions.

## Decision

- The Colorado Supreme Court affirmed the conviction and sentence.
- The court held the confession was sufficiently shown to be voluntary and was properly admitted.
- The court held the corpus delicti of homicide was established by evidence independent of the confession, and the confession could be used to complete the proof.
- The court found no reversible error in admitting Dr. Maly’s testimony and no error in refusing the tendered instructions in light of the instructions given and the issues actually disputed.

## Legal Principles

- Voluntariness of a confession is a preliminary question for the trial court; the admission ruling will not be disturbed absent abuse of discretion supported by the record.
- A confession alone cannot establish corpus delicti; independent evidence (including circumstantial evidence) must show death occurred and that a criminal agency likely caused it.
- Once independent evidence indicates a homicidal death by criminal means, a confession may corroborate and complete the prosecution’s proof.
- A defendant cannot obtain reversal based on allegedly improper testimony that defense counsel elicited on cross-examination, absent resulting prejudice requiring relief.
- A court may refuse requested instructions that mischaracterize the case (e.g., as purely circumstantial) or address matters not genuinely in dispute, so long as the charge as a whole correctly states the law.

## Conclusion

The Colorado Supreme Court upheld Downey’s first-degree murder conviction, concluding that the trial court properly admitted a voluntary confession, the corpus delicti of homicide was established by independent circumstantial and medical evidence, and the challenged evidentiary and instructional rulings did not warrant reversal.


Downey v. People, 121 Colo. 307 (Colo. 1950)