Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-03-02
Patrick Case
Up Assn
Story Of the Remarkssis C-szs;
Which Breushi M4-aaHI's
William Marsh Ss,s a. rs
Death.

ihutD9H NtNFHA aA HA Wv
David H. KIN nBsarsvs lstsrv -
Court o. APp~aa ans nrEura fr q zep
trial In TIE rsss q sAH ma csGftstn1
Of the murief * wa.hn Nara R6se
The Texas nff0caifs ~ MEi ussS
as the basis a. Ma krysmsa, .ag 4
new trial 10 wgsr < ne sy~Sai
COMMITTEES = ~ Me<RsLSral 50
clety, apyolnie8 20 ssrertate tie e.
feets u lie ezsaiuinr ae.ors rigor
norris "a ce0geagio1 x he langs
witbou; wltAsra~tsg aasc.d from the
BODY. TIE repoTr vas uaony In favor
Of The confiesss AwyeF. every mem.
Der N IRE cg1miiAe gigsing an opin.
ion That Riee GA n1 Gie from chloro
form Bots0sins And that the oondi
tt0u ~ bis IsrEs Nas entirely due to
the embairairE process employed by
the abderisssr, In IS report the com
miftee aid. 10 part:
II voalt be impossible FOR anyone
to ssersminate from the postmortem
appearance tween the a~dministra.
ton o. chiofoform ~ the cause Of
death OF a. the result ~ the ernbaim
Ing process. ~ stated 10 the evidence.
No one could truthf0iiy have stated
that death was wholly caused by the
Inhalation Of ebloroform. from appear.
anccs as presented az the autopsy. be
cause Of the presence ~ embalming
fluid. and further because ehloroform
was not found by chemical tests,
THE committee n satisfied. after q
review 81 the evidence. that Rice died
from old age. weak heart. etc. or. In
other words. from the conditions EN-.
braced In Dr. Walker Curry's certifi-
cate Of death. and on which the n
thoritics allowed the body TO be Gre.
mated, II IL also the opinion of the
committee that no chloform was ever
administered 20 Rice by Jones. as
stated by him. because II would have
been impossible not To have detected
the odor II chloroform, either In the
room occupied by the deceased or on
the body, as the amount OF cbloroform
employed, ~ alleged. would have sat.
urated the beard of the deceased and
retained the odor for many hours"
1t is confidently believed that on
the strength Of this report tho Court
OF Appeals VIII grant a new trial 10
Patrick In this event it Is consid,
cred probable that Patrick. who has
been hi the death house ut Sing Sing
for nearly five years. viii either be
acquitted. ~ was Roland Moltneug. IN.
der similar circumstances. or that
there will be a mistflal. as in the
a = ~ Dg. Kennedy. and that the
prosecution will then dismiss the case
Tho Patrick case "a one Of the most
famous In the annals 1T the New York
courts. William Marsh Rice, an &C.,
centric millionaire, died AT his home
In Madison avenue, New Tprk City,
nu September ~. 1900. ON the day
before bis death he ale Unfortunately
ri bananas. aud. according ~ his ply.
sicsAn. he was taken III with indiges.
isoa. tbs neat cas-. AMI died the day
following Albert r. Patrick was a
lawyer. ~ptseliclng his profession He
took charge of the milllnnalre's AZ.
fairs MI ife solicitation of the ~latter's
wife, bad an undertaken amlealm the
body. and fixed the day for the fun.
eyai. Between the honr Of Riea's death
and the day ~ the funeral several
suspicious things had happened Sew
erai checks had besn presented nj the
banks for ce~rtlffcation They sere all
signed hy the dead n and were
PAYABLE 10 The order of hilbert r. Pat
rick The banks frankly admitted
that the checks appeared 10 ~ good
But as the checks were for large
mounts an insestIgsiion 1as started
and the net. began to gather abou,
the lawyer. Patrick
Suspicion foil on Charles r. Innes.
Riee yUlet. ahn, II was learned. had
several conferences with Patrick In
~mediafoly before aud Just after Rice
death. While the police gefe stuy
ing 20 stralghien esit the details Pat
rick produced 4 Wif dated Jane 20
1905. under which the bulk ~ the 80.
drs setate a~geregatlne esA 600, was
~bequesthed 10 him. - also exhibit
sd several cheeks a~gRrtgatiur 1876 aan
which bad been placed iu bis custody
FOR yafiois heirs and busipesa later
csts identified with ta lH million
aire
Then u irauspigeg ghat there aas
another viii IA existence, datsi faar
years earlier. Ia which ibe ta}a ot the
estate was laft - fhe pnapn4 H3u
lam Marsh Rice institute al Houston
Texas Cropping to me 1aft. tbe %
lice arrested jones on sasplee snA
then came the first sensation Uud,r
the questioning Of the foiice Jones
made the startling eoutt Con ibat
pioe hsd hesn murdered ~ Patrick
Though he was IN an adjoining saf
ment. Jones' said no had not actively !