The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-03-01
PATRICK CASE IS UP AGAIn
ANOTHER CHAPTER WAS ADDED
TODAY TO THE FAMOUS
MURDER CASE.
David B. Hill Appeared Before Court
of Appeals and Argued for
New Trial.


chapter was added today to the ia.
nous Albert T. Patrick case when Da-
vid B. Hill appeared before the cour1
Of appeals and argued for a new tria
in the case of the man convicted OF
the murder of William Marsh Rice
the Texas millionaire. Mr.. Hill used
as the basis of his argument for q
new trial the report of the specia
committee of the Medico-Legal society
appointed to investigate the effects OF
the embalming before rigor mortis on
congestion of the lungs, without with
drawing blood from the body. The
report was wholly in favor of the con-
victed lawyer, every member of the
committee signing an opinion that
Rice did not die from clloroform pois-
oning, and that the condition of his
lungs was entirely due to the embalm-
ing process employed by the under
taker. In it's report the committee
said, in part:
to discriminate from the post mortem
appearance between the administration
of chloroform as the cause of death or
as the result of the embalming pro-
cess, as stated in the evidence. No
tr,1t fully cto I,t
death was wholly caused by the in
halation of chloroform, from appear
cause of the presence of embalming
fluid, and further because chloroform
was not found by chemical tests.
The committee is satisfied, after
review of all the evidence, that Rice
died from old age, weak heart, ETC.,
or, in other words, from the conditions
in DR.. Walker Currys GER
tificate of death, and on which the
allowed the body to be
cremated. 1t is also the opinion of the
committee that no chlorOform was
ever administered to Rice by Jones, as
stated by him, because it would have
been impossible not to have detected
the odor of cnloroform, either in the
room occupied by the deceased or on
the body, as the amount of chloroform
employed, as alleged, would have sat-
urated the beard of the deceased and
retained the odor for many hours"
1t is confidently believed that On the
of this report the court of ap-
peals will grant a new trial to Patrick.
In this event it is considered prob
able that Patrick, who has been in the
death house at Sing Sing for nearly
five years, will either be acquitted as
was Roland Molineux under similar
or that there will be a
mistrial as in the case of DR.. Kenne-
dy and that the prosecution will then
dismiss the case.
The Patrick case is one of the most
famous in the annals of the New York
courts. William Marsh Rice, an &C.
centric millionaire, died at his nome
in Madison avenue, New York city, on
Sept. %, 1900. On the day before his
death he ate inordinately of bananas,
and, according to his physician he was
taken i'll with indigestion the next day
and died the day following. Albert T.
Patrick was a lawyer, practicing his
profession. He took charge of the mil
affairs at the solicitation of
the latters wife, had an undertaken
embalm the body and fixed the day for
the funeral. Between the hour of
Rice's death and the day of the funeral
several suspicious things had hap
pened. Several checks had been pre-
scented at the banks for certification.
They were all signed by the dead man,
and were payable to the order Of AL
bert T. Patrick. The banks frankly
admitted that the checks appeared TO
be good. But as the checks were for
large amounts an investigation was
started, and the net began to gather
about the lawyer, Patrick.
Suspicion fell on Charles F. Jones,
Rice's valet, who, it was learned,
had had several conferences with Pat
rick Immediately before and just after
Rice's death. While the police We're
striving to straighten out the details,
Patrick produced a will dated June 20,
1900, under which the bulk of the en-
tire estate, aggregating S5,000,000, was
bequeathed to him. He also exhibited
several checks aggregating $15O,60O,
which had been placed in his custody
for various heirs and business inte-
rests identified with the late million
aire.
Then it transpirei that there was