The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-09-16
DEADFOR LOVE OLA WOMAN
4. Il. cOBB KILLS HIAsELF IN MRS.
MhIBB0N'S HOUSE RYE

Her-Accused Another woman of CAUSING
His Unhappiness-Mrs. HcKtbbon Away
with a44-calibre revolver In his hand and a
bullet wound In his temple. the body Of Arthur
II. Cobb. a stalwart. handsome Englishrnan
was found yesterday morning on the
| moor OF one Of the bedrooms In the
country homo OF Mrs Bertha McKibbon
on the Boston Post road at Rye. Mrs Bridget
Fitzpatrick. the housekeeper. discovered the
| body and notified Coroner Banning. The
coroner found q number OF letters which
showed that the Englishman had killed
| nlmsen on account OF love affair
| with the mistress Of the house
who had departed for Colorado Springs
on Thursday. The letters failed to clear up
tho mystery In the affair, however. In fact,
they only served to entangls matters all the
more.
Mrs McKibbon came to Rye last spring
She 10 about % years old and is handsome Q.
she Drought to ]. A. Laqueer Of that village
the best OF references from New York real
estate agents as to her financial standing. and
she leased q house from Mr.. Laqueer. paying
MIN $1,000 in advance for ave months rent.
MRS. MeKibbon had three valuable horses
ana pack Of seven hounds when she moved
INTO the house. She always wore expensive
ana becoming gowns. and was frequently
seen riding through the village. She had not
Deem there many days before Cobb ap-
peared. He stayed the rest OF the summer as
her guest. Mrs. McKibbon did not attempt to
make friends with any OF the residents OF the
village She seemed to be perfectly satisfied
to ride every day with Cobb as her escort and
entertain q few friends who called ally.
Cobb was 20 years old. He was a maRnif-
cent horseman. In England, he was a men,
Der OF the Queens Life Guards He had been
In America for seven years. Four years he
spent In Canada. bnt the last three years he
was In New York. whore he was employed as
riding master In Durland's Riding Academy
a. central Park West and Fifty ninth street,
IL was said at Rye yesterday that Cobb frst
made the acquaintance OF Mrs McBibbon Mt
the riding academy and that he I'm m ediately
Toll In love with his beautiful pupil Whether
she reeiprocated the feeling or not 10 not known,
The almost daily rides Of the pair ocoasioned
great deal Of gossip In the village, especially
es they Kept severely to themselves. The gossip
was increased lately when another flne appear
Ing couple visited the homo Of Mrs. McKibbon
and Joined her and Cobb In their rideA The
visitors are said to have been known as J.
cleveland Osgood and Mrs. A. r. Shslgrim,
but nobody In Rye knows whore they
oame from. The servants said Yesterday they
had understood that both Osgood and Mrs.
shelgrim were from tho West. and that they
were soon to be married. Mrs. MoKibbon's
mother and her aunt. who are said to live in
Now jersey. also visited her for a part OF the
summer. but left Rye several weeks ago.
On Thursday. Mrs. MoKibbon. Cobb, Mrs.
shelRrim and Osgood started for New York.
Mrs. hcKibbon said to the servants that she |
was going to Colorado Springs with O.good and |
MIRA Shslgrim and that she would not return
Tor at least two months. She did not say !
whether or not Cobb was Going with her.
The servants were surpt when Cobb |
returned to the house on Thursday |
night. Mrs. Fitzpatrick. the housekeep. |
er prepared dinner for him, but |
he told her he was too sick at heart to eat any.
thing and that he believed he had better end
everything. Mrs. Fitzpatrick did not attach
much Importance to his remarks, but she
noticed that he did not touch his dinner and
mat no wrote several letters In the library
before he went to his room.
She went to tho room yesterday morning n
awaken him. Knocked at the door and got no
response. She tried the knob and found TINT
he door was not locked. Opening it she
Jaw Cobb's body lying the floor The
pistol In his hand and the hole in HIS
head showed how he had como ny his
ieath. She screamed. and John Keller. the IL
ran upstairs to see what was
he matter. He promptly notified the police.
coroner Banning searched the pockets OF the
lead man and found two notes. In one OF
hem the writer said:
10 the Press: This 10 for the public II IA
lot a foolish love affair. 1t 10 caused by a wo-
nan who calls herself Mrs. A. r. Shslgrim
The misrepressnted herself to me and by nv
iding and driving with her when she was
earning lost my possessions and also
AZ reputation. She has this day enticed a
cry dear friend OF mine away from her home
nd friends. She had to deceive her to get her |
way to Colorado with her. She alone is to
lame for this trouble. ARTHUR E. COBB"
The other note was unaddressed and WAS
rlef. 1t simply said: TELEGRAPH to Mira
loKibbon. care OF j. @. OsEood. Denver. Col"
According to ths servants. some OF Mrs.
(cKibbon's gdests early in the summer called
or Mrs. Bingham" They did not ask
ny questions. as Mrs McKibbon treated them
indy and generously and was an ideal en- .
loyer. They said they did not know who -,
[rs. MoKibbon or Bingham was. She had ;
I'D them she was widow. She always had
lenty OF money. but they did not know ,
here 1t came from. They declared that with
10 exception OF Cobb and OsRood she never had
~ mon visitors and that Osgood was 40
raped up in Mrs. shelgrim that he never &
aid much attention to his hostess. They vara
90 unable to tell whether Mrs. McKibbop was
deeply attached to Cobb as he evidently was 7
her. They thought he had killed bim.elr \
'cause no had been unable to accompany her \
the Western trip. >
Durland'S Riding Academy was closed last n
ght. but at the Hotel Westerly, at Fifty a
urth street and Sixth avenue. which is the I
sort OF most OF the riding masters, the men n
charge admitted that he was familiar with n
. names OF the persons concerned in the q
lgedy. BE refused to talk about the m after, d
John Reisenwebber'S The Circle" at n
fty.seventh street and Eighth avenue. A 7
eat many OF the patrons rememb ered Cobb. y
Roy said he had been we'll known In the Il
staurant for three or four years. and that he Ii
d always had a reputation for con- a
icuouS dress. For a month or two h
had been seen in the city inirAquently. and
each occasion he was accompanied by a d.
city woman. He was with her at the trottIng ii
90 at the Empire Racing Associations track II
ar Yonkers last week. and was seen to make A
number Of large bets with money that the Al
man gave TO him. W