The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-10-14
AGED PHYSICIAN TO
FACE TRIAL
Sensational Case to Be
Brought to Trial in South
ern California.

oduId fkOSd, Cdl,, OCI L = w nat
promises to be one of the most SEN
sational criminal trials that has
taken place here in many years is
scheduled to begin the latter part
Of next month, when DR.. Willard =.
Burke is brought into court to an
swer to the charge of attempting to
murder Miss Lu Eta Smith and her
II months old illegitimate son. of
whom Dr. Burke is said to be the
father
The wealth and prominence of the
accused physician, the unusual meth
cd which he is accused of employing
in his alleged attempt at double muir
der, and the subsequent flight of the
intended victim to Japan to avoid
testifying at the trial are some of
the remarkable elements in a case
which has already attracted wide at
tention and the trial of which will
undoubtedly be followed with much
interest
DR.. Burke, who is a man we'll
along in years, is the proprietor OF
a large sanitarium at Alturas, five
miles north of this city. On the
night of February 5 last the patients
and attendants of the sanitarium
were startled by loud explosion in
the sanitarium grounds. Upon in
vestigation it was found that the ex-
plosion had occurred beside a house
tent in which slept Miss Lu Eta
Smith and her infant son. Further
investigation showed that the explo-
sion had undoubtedly been caused by
a stick of dynamite. The perpetra-
tor of the outrage, however, had
made a poor calculation in placing
the explosive The lives of the in
tended victims were spared, though
it was many weeks before the wo-
man recovered from the shock.
Miss Lu Eta Smith, the intended
victim, was a student at the Univer-
sity of California when she met DR..
Burke. Later she went to live at
the sanitarium, where her child was
born. The child was named Willard
p Burke Smith.
The investigation of the authori
ties following the explosion led to
the arrest of DR.. Burke and his in
dictment on the charge of attempted
murder. The officers claim to have
discovered that, a few days before
the explosion, DR.. Burke obtained a
quantity of dynamite and took it
with him on his return to Santa Rosa
from visit to the Phoenix mine,
near Oroville, which he owns.
One of the peculiar features of the
case was the disappearance OF Miss
Smith when the date set for DR..
Burke's trial approached and her
return Some time after
the dynamiting episode the woman
left this vicinity and went to Ber-
kelley. Subsequently she left Ber-
kelley, and was next located in Jap
an According to report she was
given a sum of money sufficient TO
take her and her child to Japan and
was promised regular remittances so
long as she remained there. But it
is said that the promised remittances
failed to materialize and the result
was that through the generosity of
some Americans whom she met in
Toxic she was enabled to return to
California. However this may be,
it is certain that she placed herself
in communication with the authori-
ties here and is now in readiness to
appear as the principal witness for
the prosecution when the case of
DR.. Burke comes up for trial next
month.
Struggling to the end with all the
resources of man possessed OF
wealth and unusual cunning the aged
physician now realizes that he must
stand trial on the serious accusations
made against him. Failing to OBJ
tain a further delay in the trial he
is now engaged in preparing de-
Tense to the charges against him.
His attorneys are Hiram w. john
son, the republican candidate for
governor of California, and J. Rollo
Leppo of this city. The prosecution
will be conducted by District Attor-
ney Clarence f. Lea and his assist