The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-10-22
WILLIAMS SAFE IN JAIL.
Colored Murderer Tells Chief
Murphy He Stabbed Con-
molly in Self Defense.
WAS ALMOST KILLED HIMSELF
He Relates How He Made His
Escape From Jersey City
After the Murder.
WAS ALMOST KILLED HIMSELF

Tobias. alias "TObe' Williams, the
negro who murdered ~Saloonkeeper Patrick
Connolly, on October /, and who was
| captured in Providence on Thursday
morning, was brought from Providence
last night by Detectives MeNally and Hol-
tic. 1t was due to the untiring efforts
of Detective Michael McNally that Will
Jams was captured. McNally worked
night and day on the case for three
weeks and finally located Williams in
Providence. He found that he was re-
ceiving his mail in one part Of the city
under the name of "A. L. Harvey" while
he was living in another part Of the city
under another name.
Williams was taken before Chief of
Police Murphy this morning. He was
measured and photographed. Chief MUIR
ply took his statement of the murder.
Williams said he was t~hirty-five years
old was married to the woman with
whom he lived at No. SIG C~ommunipaw
avenue. Such of his story of the MUIR
der as Chief Murphy will make public is
as follows:-
/" l was sitting out on corner of the
house where there is a stone looks like
a cellarway, a man came by. but / don't
tItOW lis lldll4C. liz ~
message to Branch Hawkes.. Then I told
him / would. Then he asked me would l
nave a glass of beer, then / told him /
didn't mind. He asked me into the bar
room (Connolly's). We had these two
beers, he paid for them. Then he author
lied me to chuck dice for the drinks, then
Mr.. Connolly. hin and myself, we threw,
each one of US got stuck once apiece and
the drinks served and they were all paid
for, then I said, / don want no more of
this game. Then l left and went into the
pack room. Mr.. Smith, he challenged me
for a game of cards, paying ten cents for
ten points and drinks outside, I says l
go you. I beat him three or our games.
Then we changed this game to casino,
playing twenty-one points for a quarter
and the drinks on the outside. Some
times these drinks would cost fifteen
cents and sometimes ten-l didn't have
the ten cents to pay for the drinks. Then
Mr.. Connolly comes and he wants to know
the reason why | didn't pay for these
drinks. | tells him / got no more money,
but / will treat Mr.. Smith in ten or Iif-
teen minutes time. Then | paid no more
attention to him and leaned my head on
the table. L was struck and knocked
out of the chair. / don't know
who struck me. / made a struggle and
tried to get out of this room and try TO
get out into the bar. ] raised up IN my
feet and was knocked down again, l
don't know by whom. Everybody was
in there. / hollered. Men, let ms loose;
l haven't done anything to you all" I
made a scream again. They put their
hands over my mouth and they choked
me. They was kicking me in the sides,
in the belly and in the face; they had
been mallets and a beer spigot. I scram-
b1ed down. on the floor; I thought of my
knife; l opened it; there was a mar had
me by the throat. don't know who he
was; / cut that man; I couldn't see Then
l broke and run. I run up C~onamunipaw
avenue to where the paint shop used to
be, then crossed the lot TO Harrison ave-
nue.. I went down Vaudeville avenu to
jackson avenue, and there dow next
street runs same as Vaudeville venue, to
West Side avenue and took a car
williams was taken up TO the Court
House this morning by Detectives Nc
Nally and Hottie, and Prosecutor Erwin
interviewed him. Williams admitted that
he had stabbed Connolly, but said that he
did it in self-defence. When the Prose-
cutor got through with him the prisoner
was turned over to Sheriff Heller and
taken over to the County Jail. He is now
confined in a cell in "Murderers' Row..
and will probably be arraigned on Mon
day to plead to an Indictment for muir
dow