Commonwealth v. Knapp
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
VII American State Trials 395 (1830)
Relevant factsFree
Knapp (defendant) was tried for aiding and abetting a murder actually committed by Crowninshield, who committed suicide before trial; because proving Knapp's guilt required proving Crowninshield's guilt as the actual killer, the prosecution introduced Crowninshield's suicide as evidence that he had in fact committed the murder.
IssueFree
Whether a suicide is admissible to prove that the deceased committed a crime.