The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-05-21
A MYSTERIOUS DEATH
BODY OF REV. E. S. PHILLIPS, OF
HAZELT0N. FOUND IN new YORK
Several Days After Death
I'm the Rooms of q Maj Named STAN
ley, who Tells q strange Story. De-
nyfn9 That it Is the Body Of Phillips.
Stanley Held for Investigation.

NAhNh ofChoC hdS DcCu lucHlIleu d
that Of Rev. Edward :. Phillips. OF
St Gabriel's church. Hazelton. Pa. who
recently mad a conference with ]. Pier
pont Morgan in reference to the
threatened strike in the iron and coal
regions OF Pennsylvania. Kirk STAN
ley. in whose rooms the body was
found. is under arrest as a suspicious
person. Decomposition had advanced
so far when the body was discovered
that an examination was not sufficient
to reveal the cause OF death.
Stanly has been subjected to a rig
orous examination and is said to have
told conflicting stories.
Mrs. Bernius. from whom stanley
; leased four rooms, in one of which the
body was found. says that her tenant
claimed to be from San Francisco and
called himself d Stanley" He was
accompanied by a young woman
whom he introduced as his wife. The
body was discovered by Mrs. Bernius'
daughter who went into Stanley's
apartments to remove some bedding
which was hanging out of the window.
The police were Immediately notified
and a search Of the body disclosed a
number of papers Among them was
a letter from Job Mitchell, president
of the United Mine Workers and ad-
dressed to Rev. DR.. Edward S. Phillips,
| HaZelton. Pa. There were also several
kilograms from Mitchell addressed to
the priest. a half fare railway coupon
/ such as is issued to clergymen and sew
eral receipts made out in DR.. Phillips
name.
Stanley was arrested at midnight.
The prisoner seemed to be suffering
from the effects of drink or drugs. His
manne was that of a man who was
badly dazed. He said his name was
Kirk Stanley. and that he had come
to this city about a year and a half
ago. He said they called him doctor,
but he had no diploma; that he was a
massage operator and intended to open
an office here.
The body of Father Phillips was re-
moved to the morgue. DR.. A. F. Dough-
erty, of W~ilkesbarre. who said he is a
: nephew of the priest. identified the
body. He said Father Phillips had
come to the city to buy some statuary
for his church..
Coroner Bausch committed Stanley
to the tombs in default Of $4,000 bail,
to await the result of the autopsy.
After the autopsy on the body of
Father Phillips had been completed
Coroner Bausch a that no marks of
violence had been found on the body.
The condition of the organs showed
that the man had suffered from chrome
%nephritis and fatty liver. The Sor~ -
said that. owing to the suspicious CIR
cumstances surrounding the case. it
was deemed advisable to have the vital
organs analysed.
Stanley was arraigned in police court
and was to the custody of
the coroner. He refused to make any
statement in the court.
Coronr Bausch visited Stanley in
his cell today and there after much per-
SuaSion the prisoner told the following
remarkable story to the coroner:
1T is true I knew the priest and this
is the way l became acquainted with
him. I left my home about midnight
May Sth and walked over to the corner
of Ninth avenue and Fiftieth street.
There 1 saw standing on the corner
the priest talking with two girls. He
was somewhat intoxicated and so was
I. for 1 had been drinking in my room.
The priest was in good humor n sc
were the girls. They spoke to me as 1
approached them and stopped. After
a little conversation I asked them to
come with me to my rooms where We
woul have some whiskey. They all
accepted the invitation, and in a few
minutes we were seated in my sitting
room drinking whiskey.
1.-The girls remained with is about
two or three hours and then left, say
ing they had to go home. After they
left both the priest and I were taken
i'll. 1 didn't know whether the girls
had put anything In u drinks or not,
but we were nauseated. The priest took
a small bottle of medicine from his vest
pocket, and swallowed a little and then
told me to do the same. I did so, and in
a little while we both felt better.
1T was then the priest told me he
NO q Dnroan Catholic p1or0vman He
! did not tell me his name.
LAS dawn was breaking I told the
priest 1 thought 1 would take a little
walk as the air would do me good and
I ask him to accompany me, but he
! said he would rather rest where he
was. I went out and returned, l should
say two hours later.
When I got back the priest was
gone. That was the last time I ever
saw him. The lead man in the room
I which Captain Donohue showed me
was not the priest I knew. The dead
man looked like a negro"
Stanley could not describe the two
girls nor would he admit having had
a woman there whom he called his wife.
DR.. O'Hanlon, who made the autop-
sly, said: The autopsy showed nat
the man suffered from chronic Bright's
disease. fatty liver and fatty heart, any
Of which would have been sufficient to
cause uSdlH. vi SouISC lC hiAShS g.
been given a hot path and might have
been smothered. There were no signs
of alcoholism in the stomach
DR.. A. S. Dougherty, Of Ashley Pa, a
nephew of the priest, said:
TT may be that Father Phillips was
lured to Stanley's place for the pur-
pose of robbery and that he died that
night. I do not believe hat the muir
der theor~ is tenable. I ave known
Father Phillips for twenty-five years
and this is the second time I have
known of his going out on a spree.
Shortly before he left Hazeiton FOL
forNewYork ,my mother visited him AND
told me after her visit that she did no
find him to be the same man that h
was formerly; that h feared his nerv
Gus system was giving away n tina
he was decidedly unstrung."
Captain Titus said tonight that he hat
important clues, and while he did no
care to commit himself. he was salts
fed that a woman in the case would b
!, arrested shortly.