Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1910-07-21
VIM. FLEECE, BEHIND
PRISON BARS, VOWS
CRIME WAS NOT HIS
On Evidence Given by Young
Eichtencamp, Man With
Whom Victim Lived Is
Lodged in Jail.

PonCa, Neb., July 22.-Through the
prison bars Of the county Jail at this
| place William Flege, retiCent stOlid.
pale, showing plainly the effects Of "a
night in jail repeats: Il no killed
Ser,' but will not discuss evidence. He
| was arrested yesterday. charged with
| the brutal murder of his sister Louise,
| committed with diaboliCal cunning,
june so. The Elusive motive for the
crime, which has been lacking since
| detectives began probing the mystery,
1t is thought, has been found. Albert
| EiChtenCamp, the 1S-year-Old farm
| hand, under suspicion from the first.
| lndcr the pressure of persistent Qucs-
siOntng yesterday made statements
! that the officers thought warranted the
| first arrest No signed confession was
| made. but extracts of the statements
made by the boy are in the possession
Of c. a. Kingsbury, county attorney,
| Of Dixon county.
Horrifying as it, the motive, that
the police say, impclled the brother to
STAY his sister, was that he wanted
her place filled by Miss Ida Hendricks,
| his sweetheart, who it is said refused
to marry him while his sister kept
| house. According to the statements
made by young EiChtenCamp the
murder was committed n few minutes
after dinner and was prPCipitated by
an argument before the meal. William
had purchased an automobile some
time before and had been running it
every available minute and often was
out late at night. When he told his
sister that he was going to Dixon on
The afternoon of the murder. she told
him that he had 'bcttcr stay home
blowing instead of running all over" in
his machine. This young EiChten-
camp, is alleged to have said. infuriat-
I'd William and high words followed.
Then he secured his revolver followed
The girl out in the yard and deliberate
y killed her EichtenCamp says he
was threatened and ran to the barn
and went, to the field and worked as
usual. According to the program
which William had made he reported
finding the dead body at 6 o'clock in
the evening.
People Kept in Dark.
Though the statement of the farm
hand and the arrest of William was
made at Wayne, no intimatiOn of what
was going on was given to the people
IF the little city, who since early aft
srnoon had been gathering and talking
N excited groups. 1t was not thought
safe in the face of disclosures to keep
either young EiChtCnCamp OF William
| Flege in Wayne over night. AS clew
after clew have been run to earth only
to dissolve in the grasp, the finger of
until it came to be accepted in the
community that William and Eichten-
camp knew something or all about the
affair. After William was arrested he
was taken to his home in an autOmO-
bile, given time to change his clothes,
whence he was taken to POnca and
lodged in Jail. In another machine
Eichtencamp was also taken to POnca,
where he will sleep in the sheriff's
house and be kept under constant sur
veilIance.
Officers from both Wayne and Dixon
county have been working on the case
night and day as have also Detectives
Davenport and Smith. During the last
few days as the trial grew hot and
certain persons WorC eliminated from
suspicion, the isolated farm home was
thrOnged with officers and every mo-
ment consumed in asking questions
About a week a 60 Young EiChtencamp
was put through the sweating process
and officers became confident that he
was not telling all he knew. Yesterday
noon Sheriff MeaTs, of Wayne county,
went to the house and before he left
the boy had promised to tell the truth.
Some time later other officers arrived
at the house prepared to exhume the
body of the girl, but concluded to wait
until Eichtencamp's story had been
learned. The entire afternoon was con-
sumed in getting the boy to tell his
story. When he finished, he was in
| tears and almost Frustrated by fear.
According to Mr.. Kingsbury cit came
to point where each was accusing the
other, and the boy told to save him
self"
FIege Helps Officers.
| Every day since the murder was
| committed William Flege has driven
officers in his automobile all over the
country in his frantic effort to catch
| the murderer. No one more than he
! has seemed more anxious that justice
| be done. When 1t was proposed to of
fer a reward he was only too glad to
pledge his part, and accordingly 81 800
was offered. On the day following the
| crime, when reporters visited the scene,
though 1t was dark and the sepulChral
silence about the lonely farm OPP
pressed, William asked first of all IL
they would like to see the body and
offered to pilot the way.
The murder of the German girl was
| one of the most battling which Nebras-
ka officials have been called upon to
unravel. The scene Is nearly seven
from the travelled road. She kept
house for her brother. Young Eich-
| tencamp had been at the house since
| he middle of March. June 80 the three
sat down to dinner at the farm home
! Shortly afterward, according to the
| stories nTSL LOIQ the authorities, " Ill
lam drove away in his automobile, took
! in his brother Fred and proceeded to
! Dixon. The farm hand went to the
| field and, returning at o'clock, found
the body lying in the front yard guard
| ed by Bruce, a large dog. A bullet had
entered the back of her head, fired so
close that it set fire to her sunbonnet;
another entered her right breast, went
downward under the skin to the fifth
rib, shattered that bone and lodged in
the spine. Eichtencamp took his time
and called up Fred Flege, a mile away,
and told him something was the matter
with Louise, neglecting to say that she
was dead. William was found at the
Hendricks home and walked across the
fields to the house instead of coming
| in his machine, which he said was be-
| ing washed.
| Officers say that William Flege and
young EiChtencamp have been under
observation every minute since the
crime and that suspicion has always
pointed in their direction.
| Held Tramp Theory.
A tramp had been seen in the COM
munity the day before, and a theory
was soon formulated that he had COM