The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-10-28
MURDERED GIRL IN AN ALLEY.
81 SPECT GIVES HIMSELF Up 10
THE POLI(E HERE.
Mabel Bechtel Killed MystcriOusIy In Allen
town. Ps.--lIer Hat, Coat and Shoes
Found In Her Mothers sitting Room

and Her Body Outside the House.
ALLENTOWN, Pa, oct u With the dis
covery Of the body of Mabel Bechtel In an
alley next to her home early this morning,
the skull crushed in to the depth of an inch,
the police Of this city have "A mysterious
murder TO solve The girl was 81 years old
and worked in a silk mill She lived with
her mother, Mrs, George Bechtel. in little
house at 827 Cedar street
She was engaged to te married to AL
fred Eckstein. furniture polisher, but
had on various occasions expressed her
preference for the company of David Wei
senberg. travelling salesman for a South
Bethlehem cigar hrm, and had been in
discreet with bim according to state
ment made by Ecksten. The girls body
was found in the areaway of her mothers
home IN All alley at 6;i5 this morning, with
the fore part Of the skull crushed IN.
She was last seen alive by the members
OF her family on Monday morning, when
she said that she was going to take drive
with Weisenberg. News was received here
tonight OF his surrender to the police In
New York The girls mother said to-day;
Mabel, who worked at the Palace silk
Mill, was q years old on May 20 last. On
Monday morning she did not 20 to work.
AT o'clock she appeared before us all
dressed NJ and said she was going drv-
ing. | asked her Are you going with
Weisenberg;' She answered Yes, and be-
gan to cry. told her not to cry AS there
was not any occasion for it. She replied
1t may be your turn to cry soon
Il could not imagine what she meant
by saying that. She did not come home
during the day or evening, and we went
to bed. At / O'Clock this morning | was
awakened by the sound Of carriage wheels
in the alley back of our row of houses. |
got out OF bed and looked out of the
window.
Il saw carriage with two horses stand
ing In the alley, Two men were carrying
something up the walk at the back Of the
house next door, 52h Cedar street. Though
one OF our neighbors had been away in tht
country, brought home apples or potatoes
in bags and was carrying them into the
cellar. Al any rate, | thought it was some
thing that did not concern me, and went
back to bed.
Soon after our front door opened ard
some one entered the house think all
of us heard the slightest noise this made
but We thought nothing Of that either, for
our front door is never locked and we
simply were under the impression that one
of the boys had come home. | dropped
of into deep sleep Immediately
when l got up this morning ! wasn't
surprised TO find Mabels hat, coat and shoes
on the rocking chair in our sitting room.
1 thought she had come home some time
during the night, dofied the clothes and
crept into bed, where fully expected she
n
mediately went Into the cellar to get out
the washing machine. In the areaway
I stumbled over something and found it to
be my daughters dead body"
That the girl really went with Wesen-
berg yesterday has not yet been clearly
established. At least no one has been
found who saw them together, nor could
the police learn that he hired team, Eek
stein was taken to police headquarters
and put through the sweating process"
but he told a straightforward story.
On Friday he escorted Mabel to Phila-
delphia where she went to visit her sister.
He stayed only an hour, having gone
merely for the pleasure of being in her
company She told him that Weisenberg
was coming 10 escort her home Satur-
day evening, b'It at his earnest request
she promised she would come back alone
and that he might spend Sunday afternoon
with her. This he did
On Sunday evening she had an appoint
ment on Linden street with WesenberR
Fox stein walked into town with her. There
is Il story that Eckstein and the girl quar-
relied at Seventh and Turner streets, but
Eckstein did not say so. On Monday night
he called at the house ar 100 O'Clock and
told that Mabel had gone out. He says
he was badly disappointed
Eckstein saws that Weiserberg had said
that if she did not stop going with Ecksten,
for five dollars he could have both put out of
the way He also told the reporters this
story:
Some time ago Miss Bechtel spent
night out with Weisenberg. The girl was
awakened by feeling something cold pressed
against her forehead, when she saw Weisen-
berg with q revolver. She told him that size
was not afraid Of that gun. Weisenberg
then took the cartridges out OF his pocket,
loaded the weapon, and made her swear
on Bonded knees that she would never again
meet me
Probably the most puzzing feature Of
the case is the fact that the girls hat shoes
and coat were in the house, while her body
was In the areaway This led to the theory
that she might have been killed during
Of the girl, John, Charles, Samuel and
Thomas, were summoned to police head
quarters, whore they were put through a
rigid examination, but they denied that
there had been any quarrel. The family
say the doors are unlocked all night, 80
the brothers, who are frequently employed
al night, may enter at any time,
The post mortem Tonight revealed that
the girls skull was crushed by blunt
instrument, probably heavy cane The
nose was broken, the frontal bone crushed
and splintered and the crown battered IL,
The police have found no trace of the horse
and carriage used in carrying the girl
home.
toll man about 81 years old, with light
hair, walked into the Detective Bureau at
Polio" Headquarters at ~ 40 O'Clock thi
morning, said he was David Weisenberger,
and asked if he was wanted Detective
Sergeant MannionH didn't recognize tho name,
although one of his men, Detective Knauss
was> in Newark al that time looking for
Weisenberger.
TITS in connection with that Allentown
murder said the tall man II read Of it
IN the newspapers, saw my name mentioned
and came here. I didn't murder Mabel
BechteI, and | don't know anything about
the murder, but I'm mere II I'm wanted
Mannion at once called up the Chief of
Police at Allentown, giving IA description
of the man The Allentown chief asked
that he be held He was detained
Il know tie girl very well and have been
keeping company with her, said " eis"ur
berger Il saw her only the other night
but ! knew nothing Of the murder Nh
read ~ It
The Allentown pol .ce had "A man AT New.