ADKINS v. COMMONWEALTH
301 Ky. 384, 191 S.W.2d 935

E. J. Picklesimer, of Pikeville, and John L. Harrington, of Paintsville, for appellant.

Eldon S. Dummit, Atty. Gen., and H. K. Spear, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

REES, Chief Justice.

Anderson Adkins has been convicted of the crime of murder, and his punishment fixed at death. The indictment charged him with the murder of Mrs. Jettie Johnson, wife of Tom Johnson of Pike county. The serious responsibility rests upon this court to determine whether or not prejudicial error was committed at appellant's trial in the lower court.

Anderson Adkins married Elmo Bentley, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Fayette Bentley of Pike County, in 1933. He was then 21 years of age and she was 18. They have one child, a son, now 11 years of age. They lived in Pike county near Marrowbone in the neighborhood where their respective parents and the married brothers and sisters of Mrs. Adkins resided until 1942, when they moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where appellant obtained employment in a ship building plant. They returned to Pike county, Kentucky, in the late winter or early spring of 1944. In April, 1944, Mrs. Adkins filed suit for divorce and for the custody of the child, and while the divorce suit was pending went to Fairfield, Ohio, where she obtained employment in a defense plant. She left the child with her parents. Appellant went to Fairfield in July, 1944, for the purpose, as he claims, of effecting a reconciliation. He testified that a reconciliation was effected, but that three or four days later his wife received a letter from someone at home and thereafter refused to live with him. He returned to Pike county and went to his parents' home to live.

Later a divorce was granted to Mrs. Adkins and she was given custody of the child, but appellant was given permission, either by order of court or by his divorced wife and her parents, to see his son at least once a week. He went to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fayette Bentley practically every Saturday afternoon, got the boy, and took him to various places, sometimes to the Adkins home, sometimes to Pikeville where they attended the theatre. He usually returned the child to the Bentley home on Sunday.

On February 10, 1945, he went to the Bentley home, but was refused permission to take the child with him. On the following day, about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, he appeared in an automobile at the filling station operated by Verna Long and her husband. Verna Long was the sister of his divorced wife. According to the testimony of appellant, he purchased and paid for five gallons of gasoline and then asked Verna Long to endeavor to obtain the consent of her sister, Elmo, to his having the custody of his son. She replied: ‘I will write her no letter and if I can do anything to prevent it you won't be seeing Jimmy or Elmo either again.' Appellant testified that he remembered nothing from that moment until he was arrested on Hurricane mountain a few hours later.

The evidence for the Commonwealth shows that appellant did purchase gasoline at the Long filling station, and that Mrs. Long waited on him. While she was standing by the side of his car, apparently engaged in conversation with him, he suddenly drew a pistol and shot her. She ran toward the rear of the car, and he got out and continued to fire his pistol. In the meantime an automobile had driven up and stopped just behind appellant's car. Mr. and Mrs. Bryce Childers were in the front seat and their child, a small girl, was riding on the rear seat. One of the bullets fired at Mrs. Long passed through the windshield of the Childers car and struck the little girl.

Earl Johnson and his wife, riding in a truck, passed the filling station just as the shooting occurred, and saw appellant shoot at Mrs. Long. She fell on the paved part of the road, and appellant walked up to her body and struck her with the pistol. He reloaded his pistol, got in his car, and drove rapidly down the road to the home of Bill Goff about 1/2 mile away. He parked his car in front of the Goff home and walked to the house, which was located about 100 feet from the highway. He had his pistol in his hand. Mrs. Goff met him at the door and he asked for her husband, and was told that he had gone up the road, although Bill Goff at the time was in the house listening to the radio. Appellant said, ‘I hope I meet him; I will get him and I will get old Fayette,' meaning Fayette Bentley, the father of his divorced wife. He told Mrs. Goff that he had killed Verna Long. There was proof that he had attempted to shoot Goff a few weeks before this transaction, and there was evidence from which the jury could reasonably infer that he was incensed at Goff because he believed that Goff had some part in the separation of himself and his wife. Goff was not related to the Bentley family
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Messenger-Inquirer
Owensboro, Kentucky
14 Mar 1946, Thu • Page 4
Part 2 of 2

Messenger-Inquirer
Owensboro, Kentucky
14 Mar 1946, Thu • Page 4

The Owensboro Messenger
Owensboro, Kentucky
26 May 1945, Sat • Page 2