The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-03-25
KILCULLEN HOME
FROM NEWARK, N. J.
Went Their Expecting TO Find the Body
of His Brother.in.Law.
WAS A CASE OF MISTAKEN IDENTITY
John McNamaro Had Worked for a
Time in Newark and u Number OF
Those who were Acquainted with
Him were Positive IL Wns His Body
Was Found in the Palace Hotel.
Man Registered as james sickies,
OF Perth Amboy.

John Kilcullen, of South Washington
avenue, who received a telegram We'd
nesday, stating that his brother-in-law,
John Mcnamara, had committed sui
eide in the Palace hotel at Newark,
returned from that city at 1905 O'Clock
this morning, where he went to make
arrangements for the removal or the
remains of the supposed suicide to this
city. Mr. lSilcullen was met at the
train by a Tribune reporter.
He said that upon his arrival at New
ark, he went to the Palace hotel, and
was directed to Hollle's morgue, where
the body laid. At a glance he saw 1t
was not his brother-in-law, and i'm
mediately tclegraphed to his wife, in
forming her of the fact. Before the
telegram was sent Mcnamara had
walked into hts sisters home, having
read the account of his supposed death
in the evening papers.
When asked by the reporter how the
dead man was identified as Mcnamara,
Mr.. Kilcullen said:
"The whole matter is a blunder on
the part of the chief of police of New
ark. The man was said to be my
brother-in-law by the patrolman on the
beat; Peter Murray, a saloonkeeper,
for whom Mcnamara had worked; Mrs.
Lot, where John boarded, and a print
er named James Connolly, also young
man from Wilkes Barre. They all as
serted it was John Mcnamara. My
cousin, Thomas Kilculleu, formerly of
Olyphant, but now Il street car man
in Newark, upon seeing the account in
the papers, went to the morgue to see
the remains, and he told the chief of
police and the coroner that it was not
Mcnamara, fer he knew the latter in
tm9tely. He told them not to tcle-
graph to me, as he was positive that a
mistake was made in the Identification.
NOT YET IDENTIFIED.
who is the dead man? n one knew.
He did not end his own life. A defect
i've gas jet in the room where he was
found, was the cause of his death. The
clerk at the Palace told noe that the
fellow came TO the hotel about o'clock
last Saturday morning and registered
as James Sickles, of Perth Amboy, N.
j., but the clerk doubted that he was
giving his right name.
lie did not leave a call, and at 2
o'clock that afternoon an attempt was
made to arouse him. No response was
received to the ringing Of the bell in
his room, and finally the door was fore
cd open, and the large volume of es-
Gaping gas told the tale The man was
found dead in the bed. The body was
removed, and later upon investigation
it was found that the stop-cock was in
| bad ORDER
after the body was placed in the
morgue, the patrolman on that beat,
I g L.
| body, and to one of the men standing
around he said: This fellow is Mac,
who used to be a bartender up in Muir
| rays
Peter Murray was sent for, and
| he, after viewing the remains, said 1t
was his former employe. Then Mrs.
Lot, the boarding mistress, came and
| identified the dead man as Mcnamara,
who boarded with her on Grove street.
| Connolly, the printer, said it was John,
| and claiming that he was his step
| brother, asked for the SS5 that Were
| found in the pockets. Murray told the
| coroner that Mcnamara had an uncle,
! John Kilcullen, in Scranton, also an
other uncle, P. Fl. Coyne. of the Coyne
house. These statements all came out
| in the Newark papers, and my cousin
! IhOnlaS hllcullen went 10 the mOrSue
| and in an instant knew it was not the
man the other persons stated it was
and told the chief not to wire me. The
chief believed that Murray and the
others were right, and that explains
the mistake"
NOT KNOWN AT PERTH AMBOY
The authorities at Newark are unable
to find out who the deceased is, mes
sage was sent to Perth Amboy, but
no one in that town knows of James
Sickles, the name registered at the
| Palace hotel.
Mcnamara. at the home of his sis
ter, Mrs. John Kilcullen, discussed the
matter yesterday afternoon with a
, Tribune reporter.
Mcnamara could offer no eXplana-
tion of why the names of Kilcullen and
Coyne should have been used in the
telegram to the Scranton police unles:
| given to the Newark authorities by
some one who knew Mcnamara ir
Newark and had heard him mention
those people casually in conversine
about his friends and relatives.