Phoebe Judge

The population of Eddyville was around 1,000 people,

Its main street was two blocks long, and just off of it was a gas station owned by the Katko family.

28-year-old Marvin Katko worked there with his father.

Ed and Bertha Briney's farmhouse.

Marvin had noticed the house over the years when he went hunting in the area.

It was surrounded by tall weeds.

And some of the smaller buildings around the property were falling apart.

According to court documents, Marvin had broken in once before with a friend to collect bottles, and they had decided to come back to see if there was anything they missed.

The window they'd used to get in the first time had been completely boarded up, so they walked around the house until they found another window that was easier to get into, even though it was boarded up too.

Marvin's friends started looking around the kitchen, and Marvin headed for the bedroom.

What happened next led to a case that's still taught to first-year law students, more than 50 years later.

I'm Phoebe Judge.

This is Criminal.

After Marvin Katko was shot in the leg, the friend he'd broken into the farmhouse with helped him to the hospital.

He spent 40 days there.

He had to wear a cast for about a year, a brace for another year, and he lost two and a half inches of his leg.

His doctor said he had seriously considered amputation.

When Marvin Katko recovered while he was in the hospital,

He was admitting that he had broken into another person's premises.

What did he do?