Arizona republican., 1905-11-14
THE TRIAL OF DOUGLAS
 SLAYER OF BENITAS
The Beginning of the Relation of the Story of Tragedy
 at Tempe Last April.

most immediately took place. This was about II o'clock at night.
 Douglas was arrested the next morning and said that he had shot Benitas in self-defense. He said that when he came out he had loaded quirt in his hand and struck him with it. As he was about to strike again, Douglas shot, the ball taking effect in the right side of Benitas, who instant ly expired. The quirt was never found. At the preliminary examina- tion Mrs. Ludeke said that Benitas had no such weapon. and her evidence was, in effect, that the shooting was unprovoked; she said that Benitas had offered no assault, but that Douglas fired as Benitas was stepping out of the doorway.
 l. is said that the woman has now changed her story and denies that her testimony at the preliminary examina- tion was true. She will therefore probably not be put on the stand by the territory, and it is equally unlikely that the defense will have her sum- moned.
 The reputation of the man who was killed was not good, and it is said that he had one notch on his gun, On the other hand, Douglas bore a fair repu tation. He was moderately industri- ous, but did not set the rivers on fire. He did not drink to excess, and he was not quarrelsome. The worst thing kro own about him was his association with Mrs. Ludeke.
 The trial jury was secured a little after noon yesterday, and the trial of tj1c case was begun. The defendant was seated by his sister, Mrs. w. F. Cooper, of Tucson, who took a keen interest in the words of the witnesses. The first witness was Dr. B. B. Moeur, of Tempe, who had examined the body of Benitas. He testified that death was the result of the gunshot wound. The most important part of the testi- mony of the doctor was brought out on cross examination. It was that Be- nitas must have been standing above Douglas when he was shot. That would have seemed favorable to a pos sible theory of the prosecution that Benitas was shot as he stood in the doorway, the door step being higher tran the ground on the outside and also higher than the dirt floor of the house by about six inches. Or the shot might have been delivered while Benitas was standing over Douglas, who might have been crouched to avoid the assault with the quirt. So the testimony as to the relative po- sition of Benitas and Douglas at the moment of the shooting was about as valuable to one side as to the other.
 The next witness was J. R. Encinas, who lived across the street from the house in front of which the shooting occurred. The witness had gone to bed and was aroused by the shot. He began dressing, and then heard Mrs. I.udeke calling, saying that Pedro had been shot. When the witness got in- to the street, he saw Douglas running from the direction of Mrs. Ludeke' $ house, and heard him say that he had shot Benitas, calling him at the same time a bad name. The witness said that he called to Douglas to stop, but he ran on. The witness took a wild shot at him and then fired three other shots into the air to alarm the town.
 Encinas is the keeper of a saloon and lives with his family in a couple of rooms behind the saloon. He said that the month before, Douglas, Mrs. Ludeke and Benitas had had trouble in one of the rooms of his house. He had heard a part of it. but did not see it. When it was over, Mrs. Ludeke had a black eye, Benitas had a badly confused face, and Douglas had a knot on his head. The witness after the fight was over threw Douglas out of his place twice. Encinas testified as to the relations which had existed be- tween Douglas and the woman and between Benitas and the woman.