Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1905-10-12
R0BBEDIN
BERKELEY
Australian Victim of
Bold Plot
Relieved of $4,000 by Man
and Woman
William e. Ellis Lured to a House,
Beaten With Hammer and Skull
Cracked, and eft for Dead
by AssaIants
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
BERKELEY, Oct. ia daring plot
to lure an Australian sporting man,
William S. Ellis, to quiet house in
Berkeley and there murder and rob
him of $1,000 in English currency which
he had on his person was partially
carried out this afternoon by man
and woman whom the police believe to
be desperate crooks. They had per-
suaded Ellis to come with them to
America and race horses here.
Today they brought Ellis from a
hotel in Oakland to a cottage at 2214
Ellsworth street, a stones throw from
the University of California, bade him
sit down to lunch. then crushed his
skull with a hammer. The woman
fired two shots at him as he lay pros
trate The crooks rifled his pockets of
an amount equal nearly to $4,000 In
American money, then, leaving their
victim for dead. hurriedly left the
house and made their escape.
Ellis regained consciousness and stag
gered to the California stables, two
block away on Allston way, and from
there was carried to Roosevelt hos
pital where the doctors found he had
q fractured skull. He is in a preca-
rious condition tonight.
Ellis home is at 235 Crown street,
Syndey, Australia, where his wife and
three children reside. He is a promi
merit horseman there, and met his as
sailants there during the last racing
season. They represented themselves
to be a Mr.. and Mrs. w. Curtis, but
assumed the name of Brush in this
country. Curtis claimed to be a
wealthy race horseman owning big sta
bles here. He offered Ellis the posi-
ton of manager of his stables and
induced him to sail with them on the
steamer Sierra, which arrived in San
Francisco one week ago.
Crime Carefully Planned
Curtis and the woman came to
Berkeley and rented a furnished cot
tage on Ellsworth street from a local
agent. Ellis took apartments at
hotel in Oakland. The couple had evil
IDENTIFY made all preparations to carry
out q fiendish crime.
A bowie knife, stiletto, pistol, butcher
knife, bottle of poisonous acid and
pair of rubber gloves were found hid
den under the bed covers adjoining
the dining room where the assault
took place. The carpet nailed to the
dining room floor was ripped up and
large piece of thin oilcloth was put
down instead, evidently for the pur-
pose of avoiding bloodstains on the
carpet.
Ellis skull was fractured by blow
from hammer welded by Curtis, who
approached from behind while the
guest was seated at the lunch table.
Ellis held up his hand to ward off ;.
second blow and received the weapon
on the wrist, which was badly bruised.
The injured man says he saw the
woman standing with a revolver, and
hot chn fYn6 tTxyn ch a hi
Curtis tore the coat from Ellis and
found a roll of notes to the amount of
a thousand pounds IN Ellis hip pocket.
In their haste the robbers overlooked
$513.35 in American money in other
pockets.
That Curtis and the woman made a
hasty escape is shown by the fact that
they left behind a. complete wardrobe
of the most costly clothing, including
the contents of two large steamer
trunks, two suit cases. hand satchel
and two small trunks. In all this
clothing and personal effects there was
not a single photograph or mark that
would lead to the real Identification
of the criminals.
Police Have Descriptions
The police, however, have a good
description of both parties. John Ed
ward. a high school student playing
tennis hundred yards from the scene,
says he heard the screams of man in
pain about 3 o'clock. Ten minutes later
he saw a tall man in a. light suit with
a small woman in a brown dress rum
ming down Ellsworth street to catch
a car. The description Of the parties
tallies with that of the clerk of the
hotel, who met them when they visited
Ellis apartments yesterday The
neighbors who saw them going in and
out the past week say the woman was
slender, blonde and wore many dia-
monds and dressed elegantly.