## Facts

- Scott Jackson and Alonzo Walling were jointly indicted for murdering Pearl Bryan by cutting her throat with a sharp instrument, with the other present aiding and abetting.
- On February 1, 1896, Bryan’s headless body was found on a farm near Newport in Campbell County, Kentucky, with significant blood at and around the neck area and blood spatter on nearby vegetation.
- The physical evidence at the scene supported an inference that the fatal cutting/decapitation occurred where the body was found.
- An autopsy showed Bryan was about five months pregnant; evidence linked Jackson to the pregnancy and to efforts to end it.
- Evidence indicated Bryan traveled to Cincinnati to meet Jackson for “relief” from the pregnancy; while in Ohio, she ingested cocaine and nearly died, and cocaine was later found in her stomach.
- The evidence did not conclusively establish whether Bryan died in Ohio from cocaine or in Kentucky from the cutting/decapitation.
- Additional proof connected Jackson to Bryan shortly before her death and included possession or proximity to her belongings (some bloodstained) and a letter urging a friend to mislead Bryan’s parents about her whereabouts.
- Because of intense public interest, the sheriff controlled courtroom entry through a ticket system; Jackson claimed the sheriff was biased and that the system denied a public trial.

## Issues

1. Whether Kentucky had venue/jurisdiction to try Jackson for murder given uncertainty whether death occurred in Ohio or Kentucky.
2. Whether conduct in Ohio (including cocaine administration and related acts) could be considered to establish guilt for a homicide prosecuted in Kentucky.
3. Whether the sheriff’s ticket system and alleged bias deprived Jackson of an open and public trial.
4. Whether the trial court erred in admitting motive and other evidence (including pregnancy and co-defendant statements) and in instructing the jury on alternative theories, including acts spanning Ohio and Kentucky.

## Decision

- The Kentucky Court of Appeals affirmed Jackson’s conviction and death sentence.
- The court held the evidence supported a finding that the fatal act occurred in Campbell County, Kentucky, establishing venue and jurisdiction.
- The court permitted consideration of Ohio conduct as part of the connected events bearing on intent and the character of the Kentucky homicide.
- The court held the ticket system did not violate the public-trial right absent proof it was used to exclude persons selectively or to close the proceedings.
- The court approved limiting treatment of the co-defendant’s statements and upheld the challenged jury instructions as consistent with the evidence and law.

## Legal Principles

- Venue for homicide is proper where the jury may reasonably find the fatal act or death occurred, even if related conduct occurred outside the state.
- Acts in another state may be admissible when closely connected to the charged homicide and relevant to intent, motive, or the criminal plan culminating in the forum state.
- Courtroom access may be regulated by neutral, reasonable crowd-control measures; a public-trial violation requires a showing of exclusion or discriminatory closure.
- A co-defendant’s statements may be received with limiting directions confining the jury’s use to whether the defendant, when present, adopted, admitted, or denied them.
- Evidence of a victim’s pregnancy and facts linking the accused to it may be admitted to show motive for homicide.

## Conclusion

The court affirmed the murder conviction and death sentence because the scene evidence supported that the killing was consummated in Kentucky, the Ohio conduct was admissible to explain intent and the connected course of events, the courtroom ticketing system was a permissible non-discriminatory method to prevent overcrowding, and the evidentiary rulings and jury instructions properly addressed alternative theories of principal and aider-and-abettor liability.


Jackson v. Commonwealth, 18 Ky. L. Rptr. 795 (Ky. Ct. App. 1896)