New-York tribune., 1904-10-25
A REALTY BROKER SHOT.
ACCUSE Il PUBLISHER.
Victim Vas 7cith the Latter'S Wife
He May Die.

William NJ. O'ConnOr. q real estate broker
living az No. 135 Lexington-aye.. was shot in
the neck last night and wounded perhaps NOR
tally Wolf Phillips. publisher Of No. ~ Mas
sau-st shot him. It is alleged. in the vesuouie
of Phillips home at No. l41 East Thirtieth-st..
shortly before midnight as O'Connor was enter
ing the house with Phillips's wife. O'COnnor Is
45 years old and Phillips 90.
Phillips says he fired in self-defence. O'Con-
ror. he declares, fired five shots at him, one Of
which struck him in the right side, but was de-
fected by d bunch Of keys and some coins in his
pocket O'Connor was hurried to Bellevue Hos
pital. The surgeons there think he cannot live
The shooting. according to the story told by
Mr.. and Mrs. Phillips to the police in the East
Thirty-fifth-st. station. is the result of long
estrange1nent between them, for which Phillips
blamed OConnor. Mrs Phillips is sixty-two
years old.
Despite all his objections he declared that
Mrs Phillips went with O'ConnOr last summer
TO Saratoga in the racing season, and that be-
fore that they spent most of the summer al the
Thousand Islands. Recently in New-York the
two had been frequently to the theatre to-
gether.
O'Connor said Phillips, was up to five months
ago in the real estate business with a man
named Reilly an old friend of the Philipses,
10 the ulDe OF MS OealH II ueA ~ OoiiOA SHS-
ceeded to the business. Said Mr.. Phillips:
He is a fine looking man, and much younger
than / am. When ] noticed the way things
going l told him he ought to stop. Only
a month ago. when my wife was i'll, the doctor
who attended her asked me who this young
man that he saw around there. and told
him the whole story.
Tonight. just before midnight. 1 was up
stairs in my room when heard some one open
the door.
went down the stairs and found my wife and
O'Connor standing inside the vestibule l said
10 her: This is fine time OF night for you
to be coming in" She said; Go on up stairs
and mind your own business Who left that
window open in my rOom?' ] said then that
would go UP and close ii and she told me to get
out of her way, tnat she would close il herself
She went upstairs. and as O'COnnor still stood
there in the hall 1 ordered him out. He did not
move and L turned and went up two or three
steps Of the stairs, when he drew q gun and
fired at me.
was not surprised at this. for knew he al
ways carried a revolver. so ! drew my revolver
and returned his fire. I fired again I think
fired three times, but they say I fired five times
My wife did not see any of the quarrel. She
was up IN her room all the time. So far as
know. she may have come down when she
heard the shots
Both Mr.. and Mrs. Phillips were arrested
While heT husband making his statements
she remained silent. She said that she had been
to Keith's Theatre with O'Connor ana that after
leaving there they had supper and then went
home
Both Phillips and his wife are of fine appear
ance. He did not appear troubled by what
ne hau done, and told his story calmly. He IS
locked up on d charge OF Ielonious assault
winch viii be changed TO homicide if OConnor
dies He Is treasurer and director of the Phil
lps Directory Company. at No So Nassau-st
Later Mrs. Phillips told Detective O'Bricn.
according 10 the latter. that she and her hus-
nand had had disagreements over property. He
hau turned over to her property valued at
more than S3O00O0 She inquired anxioUslv
Tor oConnor. and begged To he taken to him
When told that it was not likely that O'Connor
would recover, she became even more hysteri-
CAL
O'Connor too is charged with feIonious as
sault. IN Phillips's clothing was a hole that
apparently had been made by a bullet