Arizona republican., 1903-10-14
ECKEL ABDUCTION CASE
The Trial of Man for Stealing His
 Brothers Daughter Under Way.

The trial Of the most important case on the crimipal calendar of the Octo- Der term was begun yesterday when the territory vs. William Eckel was called. Eckel was indicted for the ab- duction Of Hetta Eckel, the fourteen year-old daughter of his brother John O. Eckel, with whom he had been liv ing in this city. The offense occurred on June If of this year. Not much was known of the Eckels except that they had been living in this city for some time and it was understood that both had been preachers. William Eckel is a man of clerical appearance. and otherwise does not look like a man who would commit the sort of q crime with which he is charged.
 The father and the mother of the girl had for some time notice~ hses at tentions to the child they were a lit tie more marked than those an uncle might be expected to bestow upon his iavoritc niece.
 His brother remonstrated with him and finally ordered him away from the house. That was some time last May. Eckel went to California, but he re- turned about June 10 and kept him. self cut of sight as much as possible The day before the abduction he sent a note by q messenger boy to the school which the girl attended and la ter he met her. They left that night fo. California. They were located on their arrival at San Bernardino and were arrested in a room there and held until arrangements could be made for their return to Phoenix.
 At the preliminary examination of Eckel here he was held to the grand jury and by that body was indicted.
 The case is curious one, extreme ly criminal on the face of it and the
 face is all that can be seen. There is chance for the exercise of sympathy or prejudice, but fortunately level head ed jury has been secured for the con- sideration of it. The members of the jury are: F. D. Blackmer w. A Mouer, C. J. Arthur. FisaAr c Bailey, c. k. Wilcox, T. A. Woods. I. D. Ford J. A. Fulwiler. Elmer Warren, Robert F'riedel, J. C. Atherton and J. D. Phelps.
 The little girl was put on the stand first. She occupied all the morning ses- sion after the jury had been secured and was again on the stand in the afternoon. She described the meeting between herself and her uncle on the day of her departure. Also the visit to California and the arrest there. An attempt was made by the territory to bring out the fact of an illicit relation but she denied that most strenuously. Her relations with her uncle she said had always been natural. She said that before leaving Phoenix she asked him for some money b get things she needed for the trip and he gave her S"O. She returned the change to him. He was to pay her fare to California and it was understood -nat she was to pay him back. She had learned some thing about the dressinuK:.lg bAsiness, and she expected to make her living by it. She admitted that they had oc- cupied the same Pullman berth and that when they were arrested at San Bernardino she was partly undressed to go to bed. Her testimony altogether was rather more favorable to the de- tense than to the territory.
 Both parents testified. They could speak only of the things they had mo- ticed and which led to the expulsion of Eckel from their home. Conductor StIahl Of the M. & P. had seen them on the train together, but he could not positively identify the girl. She had at tracted his attention by the fact that she wore a straw hat with a dark veil and also wore goggles.
 z. A. Harris, manager of hotel at Maricopa. said that Eckel came to the hotel on June and registered as Will liam Luff and he had the hotel reg ister along with him. It happens that Eckel's full name is William Luffberry EckeI. The or.y other witness of the day was A. J. Allen. porter of a Pull ma near on the M. X, P, by whom 1t was shown that both Eckel and the girl occupied the same berth of the Pullman on the California train.
 At the time of his arrest Eckel had something more than S2,000. His broth CT has brought civil suit for damages against him which will cover what is left of it, and the money was attacied in the hands of the sheriff.