State v. Gounagias

The defendant worked at a paper mill with the victim, Dan George. The two had at one time lived in the same house, but the defendant recently moved 6-7 blocks away from the house. While they had lived together, George made many insulting remarks concerning the defendant and his wife and assaulted him.

On April, 18, 1914, the defendant ordered from a mail order house in Chicago a box containing a 32 caliber revolver. He also procured ammunition for the revolver from a dealer. He kept the revolver concealed in his house in a slit in the underside of his mattress.

On May 6th, 1914, the defendant was scheduled to work the evening shift. He did not go to work due to a headache. Instead, he visited a pool room, played pool, visited a coffee house, played a game of cards, went to the river and contemplated suicide. He decided against it and went to visit friends instead. After, he went back to the coffee house.

He testified that on the evening of May 6th, when he made his last visit to the coffee house, there were several of his countrymen there, and something occurred as to remind him of when Dan George assaulted him and it caused him to form the design of killing Dan George. He testified that he had never at any time thought of killing George until his last visit to the coffeehouse on the evening of May 6th; that about 10 minutes after 11 o’clock he rushed from the coffeehouse, ran to his own house, made a necessary visit to the toilet, went to his mattress, took out the revolver and loaded it, went rapidly up the hill to the house where George lived, entered the house, and by the light of a match found George asleep in his bed, did not awaken him, but immediately shot him through the head, firing five shots, all that he had in the revolver; that he then returned to his own house, removing the empty shells on the way, put the revolver back in the slit in the mattress, and went to bed, where he was shortly afterwards arrested.

He was convicted of first degree murder. He appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on manslaughter. He stated that his mind was sick and afflicted with severe headaches, and that when he entered the coffeehouse at about 11 o’clock on the evening of May 6th there were about 10 men there, who began making laughing remarks and suggestive gestures, which in the defendant’s weakened condition so excited and enraged him that he lost all control of his reason and rushed from the house, with the design of avenging himself by killing George.