By Jeanne Sager
HONESDALE, PA — May 30, 2003 – With the one-year anniversary of Marilyn “Lyn” Phillips’ death fast approaching, the Wayne County District Attorney’s Office has convened a grand jury to determine whether criminal charges will be filed.
Phillips, co-owner of the Main Street Callicoon eatery Lyn and Randy’s Callicoon Saloon and Beanery with husband of 28 years John Rand “Randy” Phillips, died last August under mysterious circumstances.
According to police reports and information acquired by Democrat reporters in recent months, her body was discovered by Randy on the side of Cooley Creek Road near her Abrahamsville, Pa., home early one Sunday morning, her face battered by an apparent blow to the head (which experts surmise was the cause of death).
The night before, police reports show, the couple drove an employee home from the bar after a blues band played at the saloon. But there has been no conclusive evidence to this point to explain how Lyn’s body ended up on the roadside.
Since that time, Randy Phillips has been questioned several times but never charged or even mentioned as a suspect in the case by the DA’s office.
Rumors have swirled through Callicoon about the events of that night for months – coming to the forefront again in recent months as Phillips sold the old tavern to second homeowners who are set to reopen the place as Matthew’s On Main next month.
The grand jury is expected to convene in July in Honesdale, Pa., to study the evidence in the case and determine whether there will be criminal charges. There’s no word from the DA’s office on who those charges might be filed against – if, in fact, any are levied at all.