Mrs. Humphrey Sullivan
November 17, 1905
Arizona Republican Newspaper

The murder of Mrs. Humphrey Sullivan near Tucson has 
brought out a former husband from whom she had never 
been divorced, who lived less than a hundred miles 
away and knew of the second marriage of his wife.  
Says the Tucson Citizen:

It was learned today that the woman who was murdered 
on the Sullivan Ranch last week was Mrs. Phil Naugle, 
although she went under the name of Mrs. Humphrey Sullivan.  
The murdered woman was twice married, although she never 
secured a divorce from her first husband.  The first 
husband, Phil Naugle arrived in Tucson this morning 
from Florence.  The first intimation of the murder 
that he received was from a Tucson newspaper, which 
he happened to glance at casually in Florence.  He 
immediately decided t come here to look after the 
estate.  He does not care about the property for 
himself, but is willing to look after the interests 
of his former wife's relatives in California.

Naugle lived here about five years ago and was employed 
by several local contractors as a carpenter.  He bought 
the Sullivan Ranch wit the expectation of starting a 
dairy.  He gave a mortgage on the property and later 
turned the ranch over to his wife who agreed to assume 
the mortgage.  Mrs. Naugle first met Humphrey Sullivan 
in a business transaction.  Sullivan furnished Mrs. 
Naugle with enough money to pay off the mortgage on 
the ranch.

Sullivan and Mrs. Naugle became very friendly and 
Naugle, noting how his domestic affairs were going, 
decided to leave.  He packed his belongings and 
quietly left Tucson for Florence.  He is a quiet, 
sober, industrious mechanic and has since worked at 
his trade as a carpenter in Florence.  Sullivan and 
Mrs. Naugle were married shortly after Naugle left, 
securing a marriage license here in Tucson.  They 
afterward lived on the Sullivan Ranch.  They quarreled 
frequently and the ownership of the ranch passed from 
the woman to Sullivan and back again.

During all this time the woman knew the whereabouts of her 
real husband and frequently wrote him.  In her letters she 
complained of the brutal treatment accorded her by 
Sullivan.  She declared about a month ago that she 
would not again live with Sullivan.  Sullivan got into 
trouble about a year ago by cashing some worthless 
checks.  He disappeared but later returned to the ranch 
and lived in a tent hidden in the sage brush.

Sullivan became bolder and finally came down town.  He 
was here the night of the Eagles smoker--October 24.  
He remained out drinking nearly all night and it is 
presumed quarreled with his wife, when he arrived home 
in the morning.  He was downtown again the next day but 
from what can be learned he was not seen again.  Naugle
believes that Sullivan is the murderer of the woman and 
this belief is shared by the officers.


More on the case
November 17, 1905

A friend of Humphrey Sullivan, charged by the coroner's jury 
with the murder of his wife, Mrs. Lola Sullivan stated 
that he was fully convinced that Sullivan would never 
show up alive, says the Tucson Star.  He said he was 
with them until late the last night Sullivan was in 
Tucson; that several times during their conversation 
Sullivan took a phial of strychnine out of his pocket 
and nervously held it up.  He said that he believed 
that Sullivan had fully determined committing suicide, 
as his actions and conversation duirng the day 
indicated it.  That same day Sullivan went down to 
Benson returning that afternoon.  It is believed that 
he intended to commit suicide at Benson but for some 
reason his nerve failed him and he returned to Tucson.