ARTHUR.T Stories ----A Murder Conspiracy[4] ----IX---Page 47

William M. Rice, eighty-four years of age, died at the Berkshire

Apartments at 500 Madison Avenue, New York City, at about half after

seven o'clock on the evening of Sunday, September 23, 1900. He had been ill for some time, but it was expected that he would recover. On or
about the moment of his death, two elderly ladies, friends of the old
gentleman, had called at the house with cakes and wine, to see him. The
elevator man rang the bell of Mr. Rice's apartment again and again, but
could elicit no response, and the ladies, much disappointed, went away.
While the bell was ringing Charles F. Jones, the confidential valet of
the aged man, was waiting, he says, in an adjoining room until a cone
saturated with chloroform, which he had placed over the face of his
sleeping master, should effect his death.

_Did_ Jones murder Rice? If so, was it, as he claims, at the instigation of Albert T. Patrick?

These two questions, now settled in the affirmative forever, so far as
criminal and civil litigation are concerned, have been the subject of
private study and public argument for more than seven years.

Mr. Rice was a childless widower, living the life of a recluse, attended

only by Jones, who was at once his secretary, valet and general servant.
No other person lived in the apartment, and few visitors ever called
there. Patrick was a New York lawyer with little practice who had never
met Mr. Rice, was employed as counsel in litigation hostile to him, yet
in whose favor a will purporting to be signed by Rice, June 30, 1900,
turned up after the latter's death, by the terms of which Patrick came
into the property, amounting to over seven million dollars, in place of
a charitable institution named in an earlier will of 1896. It is now
universally admitted that the alleged will of 1900 was a forgery, as
well as four checks drawn to Patrick's order (two for $25,000 each, one
for $65,000, and one for $135,000, which represented practically all of
Rice's bank accounts), an order giving him control of the contents of
Rice's safe deposit vaults (in which were more than $2,500,000 in
securities), and also a general assignment by which he became the owner

of Rice's entire estate. Thus upon Rice's death Patrick had every

possible variety of document necessary to possess himself of the

property. Jones took nothing under any of these fraudulent instruments.

Hence Patrick's motive in desiring the death of Rice is the foundation

stone of the case against him. But that Patrick desired and would profit

by Rice's death in no way tends to establish that Rice did not die a

natural death. Patrick would profit equally whether Rice died by foul

means or natural, and the question as to whether murder was done must be
determined from other evidence. This is only to be found in the
confession of the valet Jones and in the testimony of the medical
experts who performed the autopsy. Jones, a self-confessed murderer,
swears that upon the advice and under the direction of Patrick (though
in the latter's absence) he killed his master by administering
chloroform. There is no direct corroborative evidence save that of the
experts. Upon Jones's testimony depended the question of Patrick's
conviction or acquittal, and of itself this was not sufficient, for
being that of an accomplice it must, under the New York law, be
corroborated.

In the confession of Jones the State had sufficient _direct_ evidence of the crime and of Patrick's connection with it, providing there was _other evidence tending to connect Patrick with its commission_. This corroborative evidence is largely supplied by the facts which show that for a long time Patrick conspired with Jones to steal the bulk of Mr. Rice's estate at his death. This evidence not only shows Patrick's
possible motive for planning Mr. Rice's _murder_, but also tends to corroborate Jones's whole story of the conspiracy.

Rice did not know Patrick even by sight. He had heard of him only as a
person retained by another lawyer (Holt) to do "the dirty work" in an
action brought by Rice against Holt, as executor, to set aside Mrs.
Rice's will, in which she assumed, under the "Community Law" of Texas,
where Rice had formerly resided, to dispose of some $2,500,000 of Rice's
property. If Rice was a _resident of Texas_ she had the legal right to
do this,--otherwise not. Holt employed Patrick to get evidence that Rice
still was such a resident. Rice knew of this and hated Patrick.

Patrick's connection with the Rice litigation had begun four years

before the murder, which was not planned until August, 1900, His first

visit to Rice's apartment was made under the assumed name of Smith for
the purpose of discovering whether the valet could be corrupted into
furnishing fictitious proof of Rice's intent to reside in Texas. He
flattered Jones; told him he was underpaid and not appreciated, and,
after a second visit, at which he disclosed his right name, persuaded
him to typewrite a letter on Rice's stationery addressed to Baker,
Botts, Baker & Lovett (Rice's attorneys), in which he should be made to
say that he had lost hope of winning the suit against Holt, was really a
citizen of Texas, and wanted to settle the litigation. Patrick said that

he could arrange for the signing of such a letter and was willing to pay Jones $250 for his help. Jones agreed.

Patrick now learned that Mr. Rice was living with no companion except
Jones; that he held little communication with the outside world; that
the valet was in his confidence and thoroughly familiar with his papers,
and that the will made in 1896 disinherited natural heirs in favor of an
educational institution which he had founded in Texas. He also learned
that while Mr. Rice was 84 years of age he was in possession of all his
faculties, conducted his own business, and might live for years.
Possessed of these facts Patrick's evil mind soon developed a conspiracy with Jones to secure the whole estate.

Mr. Rice's pet charity was the William M. Rice Institute "for the

advance of science, art and literature," of Texas, which he had founded in 1891. He had donated to it more than a million and a half dollars. By the will of 1896 only small legacies were bequeathed to relatives, while the bulk of his fortune was left to the Institute.