Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-03-23
PROBABLY AMURDER
Mystery Shrouds the Death Of
Mrs. Sickle.
HER LOVER Is SUSPECTED
he is a Young Man and Caused Her Sep
arasion from Her Husband.

When She Was Last Seen She Wore q Seal
When Her Body Was Found In the Pas
saiO River These Articles Were Gone
This Leads to- the Belief That Robbery
Was Probably the Motive for the Crime
Her Career nc RookawUy.
NEWARK, n. J., March 23.-The identi-
hcation OF the body Of the young woman
found drowned in the Passaic river az
that of Mrs. Libbie II. Sickle of Rock
away; Morris county, N. J., has caused
a sensation. There il a strong suspicion
that the woman met her death by foul
play. She had been away from herhoma
in Rockaway for Eve weeks and none of
her friends there knew where she had
gone When she went away shs wore a
sealskin sacque, a $3.50 diamond ring
and gold watch and chain.
Il is believed that Mira. Sickle was
murdered, and there is q suspicion that
she met her death at the hands nf her
lover. 5-.
The woman's friends hasa.bean search
ing for her her ever since she left hoEne.
The publication in the newspapers o3 the
finding of the body on Sunday night was
SAC AACohS ~ OAAhBAAA OGs = OOSO4p 0uU
woman's brothersin-law, to Newark. He
had no trouble in Identifying the body.
Mrs Sickle was about IS years Of age,
She was married to Byram Sickle, q
Rockaway business man, buk was d.
vorced from him about year ago. Her
father is John V. Menagh, q resident Of
Rockaway.
Mrs. Stickles's conduct was the subject
of much village talk for year or more
har
from her.
There was great indignation among
the people because she had infatuated a
young man, her husbands clerk, who
was scarcely 81 years of age. The
woman's husband was most devoted to
her, and as his business as proprietor of
q general store and postmaster kept him
very busy, he had his young clerk drive
Mrs Stickles out in her carriage nearly
every pleasant day.
Their rides soon grew more protracted,
and people began to make remarks.
None of these came to the husbands
ears, but they did reach the young mans
mother. She went to her boy and asked
him to tell her the truth of the story.
He admitted that he had done wrong and
told her of his infatuation for his en-
p'oyer's wife,
With tears in her eyes the mother went
10 MrS' oblCKIo Auu pUoA0eu WIN nor TO
send her boy away.
Eventually the husband heard the re-
ports about his wife aud he separated
from her, pending suit for divorce.
Though husband and wife continued
to live in the same village, they did not
speak to each other.
Mr.. Sickle, who had put his case in
the hands of q Morristown lawyer, OBJ
tanned a divorce with but little publicity,
10 ~, \
suit.
The body will be conveyed to Rocka-
way, where the funeral will take place
There is a mark about an inch in length
over the right eye of the corpse, which
could have been made by q blow from q
blunt instrument or by the body coming
in contact with an object in the water.
The canal boats which run between
Newark and Rockaway through the Nor
ris canal pass the place where the body
was found. This is regarded a. signif-
cant by those who entertain the theory
of foul play. 1t is thought that the
woman might have been forcibly placed
on board of one of the canal boats and,
after being assaulted and robbed, thrown
overheard.
When her body was found the face
wss covered with mud, indicating that
her head had stuck in the mud at the
bottom of the river. Another Suspicious
fact was that the woman's shoes and
stockings were missing, as we'll as her
hat and cloak. No trace Of theEe has
been found along the bank Of the river
or the Passaic fats.
A rough looking fellow called at the
Morgue last evening and viewed the
body. The police were notified, and he
was taken to police headquarters and
put under q severe examination. He
told Superintendent Brown and Chief
Pepper a very contradictory story. He
explained that he saw the account Of the
drowning In the newspapers and think
ing 1t might have been the body of his
mother, he went to the morgue