NORWICH – Chenango County Supreme Court became the scene of a surprising revelation Friday morning when prosecutors unsealed a secret murder indictment informing a summoned defendant that he’s accused of being the trigger man in the November shooting death of William E. Lee.
Chenango County District Attorney Joseph A. McBride said he and New York State Police investigators presented their case to a grand jury Wednesday. The jury returned a six count indictment accusing 25-year-old Richard T. Babcock of Norwich, with the murder of the 61-year-old Norwich native.
The DA said the indictment was sealed by the court because Babcock had not been officially arrested for any of the crimes contained in the indictment, although he was incarcerated at the Chenango County Correctional Facility on unrelated charges at the time it was presented to the grand jury.
The indictment accuses Babcock of approaching Lee while he was on his couch and shooting him in the head with a 16 gauge shotgun at point blank range.
The same day the body was found, Nov. 13, Pathologist Dr. James Terzian performed an autopsy at St. Mary’s Hospital in Amsterdam.
It revealed Lee was killed by the head wound a few days before his body was discovered. The indictment claimed Babcock killed Lee on Nov. 9.
Babcock is charged with two counts of second degree murder. Under New York State Law, Babcock can be charged with multiple counts in the same death, because it is alleged he intentionally meant to cause Lee’s death and a second because he did so while in the course of an armed robbery.
Babcock also faces charges of first degree robbery and two counts of first degree assault, one count for causing serious physical injury in commission of a felony and a second for using a firearm to do so.
Babcock’s attorney, Public Defender Alan Gordon entered a plea of not guilty on his client’s behalf to all the charges against him.
“Since the start of this investigation, Mr. Babcock has maintained his innocence. He has never confessed to the crime, because he did not kill Mr. Lee. To the contrary, he has said that Mr. Lee was a good friend to him,” said Gordon.
Lee’s oldest sister, Linda Smith, said Babcock was a friend of Lee’s who had been staying with him at 5220 State Route 23 in the Town of Norwich, in the weeks leading up to the murder. Police said Lee had resided at the location for approximately the last seven years.
Police gave Babcock’s residence as homeless in court documentation, but Smith said he had previously lived in the Sherburne area.
“Billy was a incredibly nice man. He had lots of friends. These people took advantage of my brother and exploited the kindness he had always shown throughout his life and led him to his death,” said Smith, who added that her brother had fallen in with a “bad crowd” in the past year.
“He understood what it was like to have it rough, but he was too understanding with these kinds of people. They are dangerous,” she said.
McBride told Acting Chenango County Supreme Court Judge W. Howard Sullivan that investigators believed a number of factors motivated Babcock in the slaying, including a heightened tension between the two over their living arrangement and the theft of an unknown quantity of cash that was allegedly taken by the accused following the incident.
McBride said Babcock fled to North Carolina because he owed people there money but was robbed and then returned back to New York. He was then picked up by state police investigators. Police had been actively seeking him for questioning in the case since Lee’s body was discovered by his nephew the day before Babcock’s arrest.
According to police, Babcock was arrested Nov. 14 and charged with fifth degree criminal sale of a controlled substance for allegedly selling prescription pills to an undercover police officer March 21, 2008. He was also charged with possession of stolen property for an offense that occurred on Oct. 28 that involved a stolen credit card.
He was subsequently arraigned in the Town of Norwich Court and remanded to the Chenango County Correctional Facility in lieu of $30,000 cash or $60,000 property bond. He has been incarcerated since that time.
In light of the new charges now against Babcock, McBride requested that no bail be set. “This defendant left the state following the incident and his intent was obvious, to run,” said the DA.
Gordon asked to have the bail set “at a reasonable amount.”
Sullivan order that Babcock be remanded to the County jail without bail.
McBride also asked the judge to order the defendant not to have any contact with witnesses in the cases and claimed Babcock had mailed one of the potential witnesses a “threatening and harassing” letter from jail.
“I don’t think the court can prohibit Mr. Babcock from contacting witnesses in the case. He can’t threaten or harass them, obviously, but many of the individuals in this case are his friends,” said Gordon.
Sullivan did not order Babcock to avoid all contact but warned him that any such actions would affect the outcome of his case.
“Everything you do between now and then is under the microscope,” he said.
McBride said police would be investigating the letter previously sent. “It will be looked into, and I’m not ruling out additional charges of witness tampering,” he told the court.
If convicted of the top murder charge against him, Babcock could face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.
Smith said the family did not want the charge reduced from a murder charge to any lesser offense.
“Whoever pulled the trigger that killed Billy deserves to go away for exactly what it was, murder,” said Smith.