Rocky Ford enterprise., 1895-07-04
CAUGHT IN ROCKY FORD.
Mrs. Patcl,en, Charged with Murder in
Denver Arrested in Rocky Ford in
Mans Clothea.

Mans Clothes.
Some ten days since one Jorry McGin-
10y, one Of Denver's many hard cases,
was found dead in his room on Larimer
street. The circumstances indicated that
he had been poisoned by Nina Patchen,
hcr husband beng accessory. The coro-
ners jury returned verdict to that Of
feet. Patchen and wife left town imme-
diately after tho murder. The detect
ives searched their room and in trunk
found photo OF tho pair from which
half tone pictures were taken and sent
to officers all over the state. And here
comes in Rocky Ford's connection with
the crime:
Last Friday evening about $50 o'clock
Mrs. j. X. Dye heard footsteps in the
hallway adjoining her rooms, and also
the noise of some person striking match.
She called some men from below to make
an investigation. A very tough looking
looking young tramp was found secreted
behind door. He said that he was q
was trying to find place to sleep.
soon as Mrs. Dye heard the voice she
declared the tramp was woman. HE"
denied the charge. Messrs Springer and
Noble took him to the calaboose for safe
keeping. Saturday morning Marshal
Hendricks opened the calaboose and was
struck with the resemblance between the
tramp and the picture of Nina Patchin,
alias Spencer, alias Brown. which had
been sent him by the chief Of police
of Denver. On being shown this picture
was woman and that this photo was of
herself aud husband taken six years ago.
| During the evening previous the
woman borrowed 30 cents of Bert Atkin-
son to "get supper and bed" giving as
security gold pin and ring. The pin
was the same worn by Patchin when the
tell-tale photo was taken. The 30 cents
was spent for whiskey immediately.
While confined in the calaboose the
woman made pitiful pleas for morphine
and is evidently confirmed morphine
eater.
Mrs. Patchin, has one of the hardest
faces ever seen on one OF her sex-coarse,
sensual, debased and diseased. When
we saw her in the cell Saturday after
noon it was almost impossible to believe
that such countenance could belong to
a woman. From her story she has lived
in Denver a number of years, being Or
riginally from Sweden. Her ife there
has been the very lowest, she being
|
which makes the lower part Of the city
disgrace to civilization. She denies that
she robbed or murdered the deceased,
claiming that his death was due to NOR
phino eating and whiskey drinking. She
says that Mckinley did not draw u sober
breath for week before his death, and
that she had during that time gone out
many times for whiskey and beer for him.
The day before his death she took a
package of morphine from him, but he
secured it again. She bitterly denies the
landlady's story that she murdered him
for his money as he had only 80 the day
before he died, and that was given to her
to buy beer and whiskey for him. Gu
Sunday, when the front doors OF the
nearest saloon were closed she had to go
through window to get the stuff to CON-
tinue the debauch. She says that the
story of Mary Heitberger, the keeper OF
the bagnio, that she put white, poison
onous powder in his whiskey is fully dis
proved the fact that she drank liquor out
OF the same bottle all the time.
She denies leaving the city by stealth,
but says that she and her husband, Char
ley Patchin, walked out of town in day
light Her change of clothing to mems
attire was made between Denver and
Petersburg. The pair tramped all the
way from Denver to Ordway, where
Patchen stopped, the woman coming
across the country to Rocky Ford.
Deputy Sheriff Bowman went over to
Ordway Saturday and arrested Patcben
while working for G. 0. Voghan on the
Greeley farm. Detective H. G. Burlew
came down on the BLY, Saturday and took
the worthless pair to Denver that night
The Denver dailies say that Patchen
has made partial confession. He says
that his wife rendered Mckinley uncon-
scious with morphine in order to rob
him, but did not plan to kill him. The
woman refused to talk when she got to
Denver. They will be kept in separate
cells for several days, in the hope that
the woman will make full disclosure of
what she did in Jerry McGinley's room
during the hours she was locked up
alone with him. Both prisoners have
been formally charged with murder.
The detective paid $50 to the Rocky
Ford officers by way Of reward, and the
expenses they incurred in getting
| Patchen.
The Denver News illustrates the arrest
in way which gives the Denver detect
ives very uncomplimentary slap. It
has Mrs. Patchen pictured as sitting on
an elevated platform in a dine museum,
labeled "First Murder Suspect Caught
by Denver Detectives"
Warm weather following the recent
fine shower makes all kinds of vegetation