New Britain herald., 1919-01-22
|AN IS CLEARED OF KILLING HUBBY
Grand Jury Fails to lndiCt Mrs.
 Augustine Lebaudy

her husband Jacques, the emperor of Sahara on Jan. 12 at her home' Phoenix Lodge, Westbury, left the Nassau County jail here and went to her home yesterday after the Grand Jury had refused to indict her.
 The Grand Jury's investigation, which has been going on for eight days, strongly indicated, it was said, that Jacques Lebaudy had plotted against his wife and daughter and that Mrs. Lebaudy was compelled to shoot him in defense of her life and her daughter. It was stated that the majority of the Grand Jurors were convinced that she acted in self-de fense, but that the conclusion which they reached was not unanimous, a few of the Grand Jurors feeling that the petit jury should pass on the case.
 The Grand Jury's presentment simply set forth that the Grand Jury had investigated the issue, and found no ground for indictment District Attorney Charles R. Weeks said that the Grand Jury had made a thorough and conscientious investigation of all the evidence, and that he had no fault to find with their conclusions
 Mrs. Lebaudy was in her cell in the county jail when word was conveyed to her that the Grand Jury had re- fused to indict, and that she would not have to undergo a trial She spent some time in prayer, and left the jail with her daughter and her lawyer Ii. w. Moore, after an order of dis charge had been signed by Justice Aspinall. She asked Sheriff Seaman to convey her thanks to the people of the vicinity and to others who had sympathized with her and aided her in the belief that she acted in self defense.
 Tell Of Death Threats.
 H. w. Moore, lawyer for Mrs. Le- baudy, said that he had proof that Le- baudy had not only threatened the life of Mrs. Lebaudy but had made attempts to hire men to assassinate her and her daughter. One of these witnesses, who gave the name of Wilbur Bother, of 23 Prospect Park, Long Island City, and went before the grand jury this morning, said that Lebaudy had asked him about six 1 weeks ago to kill two dogs, offer ing him $1, 500 for the work. Bother said that when he asked for more in- formation Lebaudy showed him pie lures Of his wife and daughter and told him that it was they whom he wished to have killed.
 MT. Moore said that Lebaudy had tried also to hire man named Theo- l bold MinZer to murder his wife and l daughter. Lebaudy sent for Minzer after the latter had inserted an ad- l vertisement asking for employment as 11,o o]o ,11Sx oc that Minzer should act as his chauf- l feur and should contrive to drown l Mrs. Lebaudy and Jacqueline by driv- l ing into the river with them. Both ] men regarded Lebaudy as crazy and ! gave little heed to his strange offers. l
 Mrs. Lebaudy and her daughter l Jacqueline are the heirs to the Le- l baudy estate, and the right of Mime. l Lebaudy to inherit her share is com l pletely cleared by the finding of the l grand jury that she acted in self de- l fense.
 No Will Found. l
 No will of Lebaudy has been found l at the Phoenix Lodge, and it is not l known whether he left one in other l hands. Whether one is in existence l or not is probably of little moment, in l view of the volume of proof as to his l mental incapacity, which would ren- l der any such document of little value. l One of Lebaudy's freaks was that of ! slowing away papers and Valuables in l in ingenious hiding places so that l some time may elapse before all his | possessions are discovered.
 Those familiar with Lebaudy'S bus l mess affairs say that it would be inn possible to place any accurate valua- ] Q present < dition. A large part of his inherited l money was invested in non-income- l paying stoclls from which he expect } ed to achieve value at a later date, ! and in good mining properties which l were closed down and sometimes flooded by Lebaudy as soon as he came into control of them. Lebaudy was believed to have pursued this pol icy because he was afraid to trust any one, that he kept his property in an inactive state, which did not require the intervention of managers and agents. Guesses as to the value of Lebaudy's fortune have ranged from $3,000,0O0 l to $20,000,OO0. The fortune of Max Lebaudy, the French Sugar King and father of Jacques, was said to l have been S8O,OO0,000, of which l Jacques inherited about one-fourth. ! On his brothers death he received a l considerable legacy, and in 1917 he l inherited another large fortune on his ] mothers death.
 Mother Had s9,5O0,0oO Estate.
 The total value of the estate of the mother is not known, but the property owned by her in this country was among the largest in possession of any Ia fo n 1 Q, New York internal revenue office a tax of more than S10O0, 900. There