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.
