SYCAMORE – The older brother of Maria Ridulph became emotional as he testified this morning that his sister was a beautiful girl who was always smiling.

Charles Ridulph was called as the state's first witness this morning as Jack D. McCullough's kidnapping and murder trial began at the DeKalb County Courthouse. Ridulph described his younger sister, the neighborhood where the family lived and the searches that ensued after Maria went missing.

Sycamore was a safe town where everyone knew each other, he said, and children frequently played at the corner of Archie Place and Center Cross Street, where Maria was last seen. He called her the baby of the family who had the run of the house, and said she was a smart, active, outgoing girl.