911 call released in teen slaying

SPRING HILL –
The woman on the 911 call feared for her own life.

She and her parents had just discovered her younger brother’s body in a makeshift grave in the backyard.

His suspected killer, the oldest of her two younger brothers, was inside the house.

The distraught woman was forced to repeat herself several times. Her voice shook and she spoke too fast for the operator on the other line.

“He killed my other brother and buried him in my dad’s and mom’s backyard,” said the sister as her voice shifted to a higher pitch. “My brother is here and if he sees us digging up the body he’s going (expletive deleted) kill us. Oh my God.”

She was sobbing. The 911 operator was begging her to slow down.

The woman’s name was not released by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office. She does not live at the house at 8456 Peoria St., but was there Monday afternoon.

Authorities said it was she who beckoned the father to dig in the backyard. The family hadn’t heard from or seen Sean Paul Eckard since Friday and they suspected his older brother had buried him there.

Sgt. Donna Black, a Hernando County Sheriff’s spokeswoman, could not release the name of the 911 operator, who at least a couple times doubted the caller’s story.

After the frantic woman told her about the body being discovered, the operator responded, “How do you know this? What do you see?”

Seconds later, she asks the caller, “How do you see him if he’s in the ground?”

The woman assured her what she was saying was the truth.

“He’s in the (expletive deleted) backyard in the dirt,” she said.

Remembered for being generous, quiet

The sheriff’s office reported Sean Paul Eckard, 19, was strangled by his older brother, Stanley Elias Eckard, 21, who then buried him.

He later told detectives he was going to move the body later after his parents went out of town, deputies said.

The killing was thought to have occurred late Friday or early Saturday.

At 3 a.m. Saturday, the suspect’s mother saw her oldest son digging and asked what he was doing. He told her he was burying the clothes of his ex-girlfriend, deputies said.

At the behest of a family member, the father, Sam Eckard, started digging at the same spot Monday and unearthed part of his youngest son’s body.

The family called 911 shortly after 1:15 p.m.

Sean was known by people to be a polite, soft-spoken teen.

When a neighbor’s dog ran loose, Sean brought it back to its owner.

If an older neighbor’s grass grew too high, he would knock on her door and ask to cut it.

“He smiled. He was polite,” said Carlos Altamirano, who lives across the street from the Eckard house. “I’m really surprised something like that could happen around here. It’s kind of a quiet neighborhood. It’s unbelievable.”

On Monday and Tuesday, Altamirano could look out his living room window and see yellow tape circling the Eckard house. Several deputy cruisers, forensic vehicles and news vans were lined up and down the street.

He and other neighbors were still in shock over what they had heard a day earlier.

Stanley Eckard was taken in for questioning Monday afternoon without incident, Black said.

He officially was charged in the killing late that night. He remains in the Hernando County Jail without bond.

During a court appearance Tuesday, he requested a public defender to represent him. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 28.

A grand jury is expected to hear the case and decide on a murder indictment in the next few weeks.

Black said the case was still open and would not comment on too many specifics.

She said the body still remained in the shallow grave Tuesday morning as forensics specialists continued to collect evidence.

During the 911 call, the victim’s sister said she did not know how he was killed.

“I don’t think there are any weapons in the house,” she told the operator.

She said her mother was inside the house with her older brother. A friend of his was at the house, identified on the 911 tape as Danny.

Black said the friend was cleared of any wrongdoing.

The caller also said the father was lying over the body in the backyard.

“I don’t want to go back there,” the sister said crying.

Quiet neighborhood rocked by the news

Neighbors on Tuesday spoke highly of the youngest Eckard sibling.

“He would come around and ask if there was anything he could do for you,” said neighbor Buss Bacorn of the victim.

“He was a very nice young man,” said Aaron Lampton, who lives diagonally from the Eckards. “He was well-mannered.”

Friends and family members from out of town arrived late Tuesday morning and spoke privately to a sheriff’s deputy. They had placed a sign that read “Sean Paul RIP” on a street sign in front of the house.

All of them declined to speak to the media. One of them asked television crews to cease filming.

Stanley Eckard has never been convicted of a crime, according to court records.

In April 2007, when Eckard was 18, he was arrested on a fraud-related charge, which later was dropped by the prosecutor in the case.

Bacorn worships at nearby Grace Presbyterian Church, within walking distance. He said Sam Eckard is employed there as a custodian.

Bacorn said he often sees him ride his bicycle to work or drive home in a van owned by the church.

Bobbe Hawley, an administrator at Grace Presbyterian, confirmed Eckard’s employment and said he and his wife are regular churchgoers. They rarely brought their sons with them.

“They are such wonderful people,” Hawley said. “Everyone here is very fond of them … It’s really awful what happened.”

Residents said didn’t know what happened. One neighbor said the Eckards moved to Spring Hill from California three years ago, but knew little else.

None of the residents interviewed suspected anything was wrong prior to Friday night. They refused to speculate out of respect for the family.

“You’d hear arguments, but you know, kids will argue,” said Gary DuGray, who lives across the street along Peoria.

“It’s all very shocking,” said his wife, Vera DuGray. “My heart goes out to the parents. That’s got to be the worst nightmare in a parent’s life.”

TBO.com contributed to this story. Reporter Tony Holt can be reached 352-544-5283 or [email protected].