Los Angeles daily herald., 1890-02-21
THE CURTIS KILLING.
MRS. Engle Tells How Her Hu.
band Shot Her Rrn,h.-

Mrs. Enxle Tells How Her Hu..
band Shot Her Brother.
In the trial of Phillip Engel for the
murder OF his brother-in-law. Charle.
Curtis. at Lamanda Park, on Novembe,
10th, last, nearly all day yesterday was
taken up with the examination of Mrs
Engel, the wife of the defendant and the
sister OF the man who was killed. After
she told her story in direct examination
the Deputy District Attorney kept her
under cross-examination for long time.
her position was a most trying one,
standing as she did, between her dead
brother and her living husband. Her
story was in the main and substantially
In detail as the HERALD prognosticated
yesterday. The story of the spree after
the marriage of the brother, the effort of
Engel to get more wine, and his charg-
| ing her with putting it into vessel of
vinegar were all narrated. Then
Engel told he had lied to him,
and that she could not read
the Bible after doing 80. He took the
book and threw it into the yard, and
she went to get it. He caught her by
the sleeve OF her dress tightly to pre-
vent her doing 80, but she said in
decided way that she would get it, and
walked on, he not resisting her. AS she
rose from picking up the book her hus-
band fell as if shot from catapult at
her feet. He fell on his back, and i'm
mediately Curtis jumped on him, both
his knees being IN the abdomen of
Engel. He then grasped him by the
| throat with both hands and choked
Engel until he was black in the face, his
lower jaw fell open his mouth and
his eyes protruded. Mrs. Engel tugged
away at her brother until she succeeded
in taking his left hand from
her husbands throat, but be
still held on by his right hand.
Curtis then struck the woman blow
with his left hand and hurled her away
from him. Then she called aloud for
help. Curtis thereupon let go his hold,
got up and walked away. Mrs. Curtis
thought Engel was killed, but after bit
he revived, and she led him to the
house. Engel said two or three times
that he would kill Curtis. He asked for
his shot gun, and went to the barn to get
it; but she followed him and persuaded
him to leave it where it was. They re-
turned to the house, and Engel paced up
and down the room. Mrs. Engel went
in the next room, and q short time after
she heard her husband cay There he
comes" She saw an object shoot past
the window in the cleaning, and went to
the door of the room where her
husband was. AS she reached
it her brother came in the door
in the light of q lamp that streamed out
of pantry. At the same moment
Engel crossed the room, coming from a
bathroom door, with rifle in his hand
that was ueuslly placed there. He
crossed in front of her as she stood in
the door. AS Curtis came in he cried
out, in loud and angry tones, "God,
Phillip -" She could not hear the
rest of the sentence. Engel held the
rifle in his right hand, with his hand
close to the guard and trigger. Both
Mrs. Engel and her husband called to
Curtis, "Do not come in here" He
paid no attention to the warning, but
came straight towards Engel. His eyes
were angry, and in moment he was
close up to the muzzle of the rife. She |
heard no report, but she saw the fash of
the fire, and both men fell to the floor
Curtis was dead before he could spaak
q syllable. Engel rose from the floor
and went into another room, where the
first words he said were: 81 have shot
him. l would shoot any mao who
choked me-"
Mrs. Engel made a splendid witness.
With the spirit of Portia she sat with
the nerve of hero and told her terrible
story. She appeared to stand between
her dead brother and her living hus-
band, and to try to mete out even
handed justice in her testimony as i'm
partially as if she were not personally
interested in the affair. Yet she was
moved to the depths of her nature at
many points in the recital. Her whole
frame quivered as the tears rose to her
eyes and choked her voice. She would
resolutely overcome her emotion and 60
on with the story of the kill
ing of her brother. In her
cross examination she gave the
hardest testimony of any witness
against her husband, although she was
put on by the defense. Her statements
that Engel said after the choking that
he would kill Curtis, his going to the
barn for the gun, his having the rife
ready for Curtis's return. and his state
ment after the killing that he had shot
him and would shoot anyone who choked
him, show motive, premeditation and
malice in very bad way.
Engel himself is the only material
witness after his wife. His stay will be
short. 1t will recite the same facts as
Mrs. Engel told, and will go on to say
that in Engel's opinion Curtis tried to
kill him, that Curtis thought he had
killed him, and that Engel's survival of
the choking, he had returned to finish
the job, and that Engel shot in self
defense.
Approaches to the West End.