The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-07-21
CRIME PLANNED
AND EXECUTED
Cruel Murder of Austrian Wo-
man by Her Nephew at
Hackensack, N. J.
DAUGHTER ALSO WOUNDED
MURDERER HAD PROMISED TO
MARRY THE LATTER.


:: Poughkeepsie, n. Y, July 20 ::
- The parents OF August Eberhard =
:. were dismayed today when detec- ::
e tives Informed them that the -
:: young man was suspected OF the =
= murder of his aunt and an at =
= tempt on the life of his cousin at =
:: Hackensack Saturday evening. =
e The father said: y
- This is terrible news-terrible =
= Why. the boy was to- have been =
. married i'm New York yesterday, -
- and We were expecting him 10 ::
- come home today with his br;ie."
:. A close watch will be maintained -
- at the farm in the belief that Au- ::
- gust may return
New York July 2O.-The tale of
crime so revolving and replete with
cruel craftiness as TO be almost unbe-
lievable is told in the case of Mrs. OF
title Eberhard. well-to-do Viennese
widow whose body was found on the
railroad track in lonely section of
Hackensack. y. J., early yesterday. AT
first il was believed the woman had
been struck by train and killed.
Subsequent investigation, however, re-
Nealed that she had been murdered and
her body placed upon the track in an
effort to destroy traces of the crime. 1t
was with this discovery that there came
the first intimation of the deeply laid
and cunningly executed plot which
places the case almost in "A class by it
self in the history Of crime.
Nephew Planned the Crime.
As a result of that investigation the
police are now searching for August
E6erhard. the dead wOman's nephew.
who had impOrtuned Mrs. Eberhard To
come To this country and To bring with
her her little fortune of s.. 600 and her
twenty-year-old daughter. whom Au-
gust had promised 10 marry. II was
largely due TO the story told by the
daughter after the finding of the older
woman's body that the search for Au-
gush was begun and the police i'm every
city Of the eastern country have been
asked 10 take him into custody if
found. He is wanted To tell what he
knows Of the circumstances related by
the girl who was 10 have been his wife.
The young woman herself, however. re-
fuses To believe that August had any
part in the tragic death OF her mother;
but despite her protestation detectives
have gone 10 the home of the mans
parents. who live on a farm near
DutCneSS Junction IN DuIcneSS county
New York. ana the search for him is
being prosecuted in many other quar-
terS-
Marriage Promised.
According To the police Eberhsrd had
been at work for months, carefully
plotting the crime To gain possession
of the little fortune that his aunt i'm
Austria possessed. He wrote many
letters painting in glowing colors the
riches that would be hers II she would
only leave the old home in Austria and
come To this new land. To the wO-
mans daughter. aged 90 also bearing
the name Ottillie, Eberhard promised
marriage. If they would but come 10
America. Finally. yielding To his
pleadings. Mrs. Eberhard and her
daughter set sail for this country. They
arrived in New York last Thursday
on the steamer Deutschland the mother
carrying $500 i'm the bosom of her
dress. Eberhard, who had been en-
plOyed in a grocery store i'm ST. Nicho- !
las avenue. asked his employer for
vacation on the day Of the womans ar
rival. and met them at the Dier. After !
settling them temporarily at a little |
hotel at Tenth avenue and Twenty
third street. he took the elder To a
money changer, where her little store
OF wealth was quickly converted into !
American notes
Trolley Ride Suggested.
- II was the intense heat of Saturday
afternoon which furnished the pretext
for the trip to the country with it's
tragic ending, according Ia the story
told by the daughter. Eberhard sug-
gested "A trolley ride in New Jersey. !
Mrs Eberhard consented 10 the trip
and the three crossed the Hudson by
ferry on their way To the country. At !
Rochelle Park, two miles west of Hack |
ensack. the nephew suggested that they
take a walk and the three left the car
10 stroll through the fields. Evening
found them at lonely spot on the |
tracks of the New York, Susquehanna !
& Western railroad. Eberhard told the !
women he had lost his way. storm |
broke and the trio pushed ahead down |
the track until in deafening crash OF |
thunder. the elder woman stumbled.
Murder of the Woman
Il have been struck by lightning" |
the track. AT the same instant Miss /
Eberhard says. she saw flash COM
ing evidently from behind a car on |
siding near by and then a second and |
a third. As her mother fell TO the /
tracks. the girl felt a bullet Craze her /
own neck, cutting q thin gold chain |
from which iocket was suspended |
Suddenly Eberhard urged her TO run |
and as a second bullet plowed into her /
shoulder she started down the track I
screaming. Once she turned back To /
see IL her mother was following her, |