Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1908-08-01
CAPTURE MAN THEY
ACCUSE OF KILLING
MOTHER or FIANCEE
Police Take August Eberhard
Into Custody at Pat
erson, N. j.
LURED THEM FOR MONEY?
Theory Is That Young Man Murdered
Prospective MotherinIaw and
Took Her Purse of
S2,450.

New York, July 25.-August Eber-
hard nephew of Mrs. Ollie EDerhard,
the Austrian woman who was shot TO
death Saturday near Hackensack, was
taken into custody today by the police
of Paterson, N. j. Eberhard was found
lying on the lawn in front of farm
house. He was suffering from wound
in the leg, which the police believe he
might have received at the time his
aunt and cousin were shot.
Eberhard denies any part in the
tragic death of his aunt. He main
tains he himself narrowly escaped
death at the hands of her slayers.
The police of every city in the coun-
try have been on the lookout for Eber-
hard. 1t is believed that Eberhard
lured his aunt and her 2O-year-old
daughter Ottilie here from their home
in Austria, under pretext of marrying
the latter, with the intention of killing
them for the little fortune he knew they
possessed.
The murderer of Mrs Eberhard took
$2,450 from the bosom of her dress after
shooting her through the heart and
brain. and then threw her body before
a train, where, frightfully mingled, IL
was found when the girl. who had been
shot three times, gave the alarm.
Wrote Letters.
For months Eberhard. who worked
in grocery store on the upper West
Side of New York, has been writing
to Mrs. Eberhard and her 20-year-old
daughter in Austria.
Come to America.
Come TO America and bring your
money" he wrote. Then the daughter
and will marry and we will all be
happy"
This amazing development in the
tragedy came when the autopsy re-
vealed the presence of bullet wounds in
the woman's head. and following the
autopsy came the thrilling story of her
beautiful daughter Ottilie. who was
shot three times, but who escaped from
the murderers of her mother and fled
to the refuge of a farm house.
Young Eberhard had taken his aunt
and cousin whom he met at the steam
er when they arrived from Europe,
over into New Jersey on an outing, and
was with them when the shooting oc-
CURED.
Sold Their Home.
Mrs. Eberhard and her daughter ar
rived as second class passengers. They
had sold out their little home in Wen
ma, and, in response to glowing letters
from young Eberhard, had come to this
country. The girl was to marry her
cousin as soon after her arrival as
would be convenient.
Eberhard met them at the pier and
tel, Tenth avenue and Twenty-third
street. He left them to their own de-
vices until the following morning.
Miss Eberhard is authority for the
statement that her cousin was cor
dial, but he displayed little of that
ardor which SWANS are usually ex-
pected to display.
With equal frankness she admits
that she told Gus" that she had be-
come very fond of musician, Ernest
Held, whom she met aboard the ship.
He played in the Deutchland's or
chestra. When Gus called on them Fri
day morning he escorted her to l446
Amsterdam ave-, where the aunt paid
IS deposit on the rent of a small apart
ment.
1t was then, either in conversation
or from the sight of the large roll
of greenbacks that the young man, ac-
cording to the girl, first discovered the
amount of money the aunt had with
her On Saturday afternoon Gus called
again. The aunt complained of the eX-
cessive heat of the day and suggested
a walk in the park.
The story at this point is told by
the girl with considerable directness,
for she apparently has a clear recol-
lection of the strange chain of events
that led up to the tragedy .#
Ottiie Eberhard told District Attor-
ney Ernest Goester, of Berger county,
how Gus had come to the hotel and
had been requested by her mother to
| take them for an outing in Central
park The young man said he would
rather take them to the country. Otti-
lie says she noticed a revolver in his
pocket, and asked why he carried it.
He told them that it was necessary for
defense in this country.
They went to Hackensack, then far
ther into the country and got off at a
/ lonely station. A storm broke, and the
! sky was overcast with darkness. While
walking along a railroad track, lined
| by freight cars, Ottiie says she heard
| a shot and her mother dropped. She
! cried out that she had been struck by
| lightning. Then Gus grabbed her by
| the arms and pushed her forward.
She began to run. Gus dropped back,
! and she heard two more revolver shots.
! She did not know that she had been
| hit, and kept on running and wander
! ing about until she reached a house
where she was taken in and cared for.
! After she removed her clothing, the
! young woman found that she had been
| wounded in the shoulder and that her
| head and neck had been grazed by two
other bullets.