The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-11-16
Prosecution OF Lawyer Charged
With Murder Of Client May
Rival Patrick Case
STRONG EVIDENCE AGAINST HIM
Woman Thought Accidentally
Drowned Was StrangIed

-
New York. Nov. 16.-The case of
Burton w. Gibson, the lawyer charg-
ed with the murder of Mrs. Rosa Men
schik Sgabo, his client on Greenwood
Lake on July l6 Of this year, is sched-
Gled To be called for trial Monday AT
Goshen, n. Y, In the county court of
Orange county. The trial promises
To be of unusual interest and full of
sensational incidents and unexpected
Developments and it is the general be-
| lief among lawyers that the Gibson
case may become another Patrick
case There is a striking analogy be
| tween many of the salient features OF
! the two cases, which seems fully to
| Justify the prognostication of par
| allel.
Everything is said to be in readi-
ness FOR the opening of the trial. The
prosecution will be conducted by as
sistant District Attorney Wasserfogel
of New York city and his colleague,
Mr. Murphy. while Gibson will be de-
Tended by two able lawyers, Robert
II. Elder of Brooklyn and Jacob j.
Singer of Jersey City. n. j. The To-
cal end of the prosecution will be taxi
en- care of by District Attorney Rogers
of Orange county
Claimed Woman Drowned.
Gibson is charged with having muir
dored Mrs Szabo his client, while
rowing with her on Greenwood Lake,
J ~ j., on July l6 Mrs. Szabo was the
: widow Of Bella Szabo, a Hungarian
| of good family who came to this
? country twenty years ago. ON July It,
, Mrs Szabo went rowing with Gibson
= They were near the center of the lake
: and lust within the New York state
a line when the boat apparently tipped
> over. Gibson asserted later that he
2 and Mrs SZabo were exchanging
o. seats and accidentally upset the boat
;, When motor boats came to the scene
r Gibson was found clinging to a line
I The woman had disappeared. Three
% DAYS later Mrs. SZabo's body was
found and the case was first believed
=, to be one of accidental drowning.
. IL was George Feichman, en- EN-
S ploye of the Hotel Knickerbocker ano
3 a friend of Mrs. Szabo, who started
n the investigation that resulted in the
IA arrest of Gibson He said that soor
L arter Mrs Szabo's death and before
70 her friends knew that she was dead
a man, whom he identified as Gibsoi
g. called at his house to inquire whetheI
Ic there was any mail for Mrs. Szabo
l. The caller said that Mrs. Szabo ha'
|, gone west.
at Woman Was Strangled.
j. Felchman went to Ernst Kirchlnopt
the acting Austro- Hungarian consu
l. general in New York city. and tn
" latter detailed DR.. Franz FischeraueI
st the vice consul, To investigate. Wher
l. Austrian subjects die in foreig
n. country without relatives there IN
lg representative of the government act
lo as administrators of the estate. n
y soon as Mrs. SZabos death was estab
as lished the consulate found that she ha
II left an estate of more than $lO.OOO an
e. that Gibson had filed a will maxim
him executor. Ii was also found tina
r on July 2l. woman posing as IN
f. dead Mrs. Menschk had appeared be
he fore Donald Lyon, a Brooklyn notar!
n and signed waiver of citation, whic
lis placed Gibson I'm full control OF III
to estate. Mrs Menschik was the moti
lis er OF Mrs. Szabo and had died Nv
he years ago.
ad stems were at once taken by II
s. consulate to stop Gibson from dispos
It's ing of the estate. but not before W
600 had disappeared and for which !
RS has not yet accounted. suit Wa
rs. brought TO have him ousted as exec,
ite tor of the will. on September ~ Il
n body of Mrs. Szabo was exhumed. a
he autopsy resulted i'm a finding that MI
Szabo was not drowned, but stran,
Ter led to death. Gibson was arrested
n his Office In New York and taken
IN Middletown. n. Y. and afterwa
placed I'm the county Jail at Goshen.
Other Mysterious Deaths.
An investigation of the past reco
of Gibson by the Austrian consula
ifc has brought to light the interestil
gh fact that there have occurred fo
of mysterious deaths by violence or acc
BIZ dent i'm connection of cases I'm viii
,en Gibson figured as attorney NJ
ent Alice ID. Kinnan, daughter of an ag
iue woman whose property Gibson ha
ac- died. was murdered at her home
be the Bronx I'm 1906. Gibson was hs
lille by the coroner, but the case was 9
ro- terward dropped. Michael Shippo.
ted witness against Gibson In the Kim
case. was found drowned In Peih'
Creek two years later. George |. MI
colin, a wall street broker and nep
ew of Mrs Kinnen's mother, who h
The sued Gibson for certain property
ma the estate, was drowned In Long |
fire and Sound under mysterious circu
The stances. John Rice O'Neill. a Brit