Case Name: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. William Keith RIGGS, Appellant (two cases)
Court: Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Decision Date: 1975-10-30
Citations: 465 Pa. 208
Docket Number: Nos. 169 and 372
Parties: COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. William Keith RIGGS, Appellant (two cases).
Judges: Before JONES, C. J., and EAGEN, O’BRIEN, ROBERTS, POMEROY, NIX and MANDERINO, JJ.
Reporter: Pennsylvania State Reports
Volume: 465
Pages: 208–213

Head Matter:
348 A.2d 429
COMMONWEALTH of Pennsylvania v. William Keith RIGGS, Appellant (two cases).
Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.
Submitted Nov. 21, 1974.
Decided Oct. 30, 1975.
Rehearing Denied Dec. 16, 1975.
Dennis H. Eisman, Philadelphia, for appellant.
F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, Dist. Atty., Richard A. Sprague, First Asst. Dist. Atty., Steven H. Goldblatt, Asst. Dist. Atty., Chief, Appeals Div., Benjamin H. Levintow, Asst. Dist. Atty., Mark Sendrow, Asst. Dist. Atty., Assistant Chief, Appeals Div., Abraham J. Gafni, Deputy Dist. Atty., for Law, Philadelphia, for appellee.
Before JONES, C. J., and EAGEN, O’BRIEN, ROBERTS, POMEROY, NIX and MANDERINO, JJ.

Opinion:
OPINION OF THE COURT
PER CURIAM.
Appellant was convicted of murder in the first degree, aggravated robbery and burglary stemming from the robbery and death by beating of one Isadore Selez on May 6, 1970. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on the murder charge and a concurrent 5 to 15 year term of imprisonment for aggravated robbery. Sentence was suspended on the burglary conviction.
At the time of the offense and his arrest appellant was 15 years of age. He made an oral confession to the police before being granted the benefit of counsel or parental or informed interest-adult guidance. A motion to suppress the statement was made pre-trial and was denied; the statement was admitted into evidence at trial. We held recently in Commonwealth v. McCutehen, 463 Pa. 90, 343 A.2d 669 (1975) that a waiver of Miranda rights obtained under such circumstances is involuntary. It follows that appellant's convictions must be reversed.
Judgments of sentence reversed and new trial is ordered.
JONES, C. J., filed a concurring opinion.
EAGEN, J., dissents.
POMEROY, J., filed a dissenting opinion.