George Sipel

George Sipel was an American No-Maj pig and cattle dealer who lived in Middlebrush, New Jersey in the early 20th century.

Sipel was subpoenaed to testify in the the trial of Mrs. Hall for the 14 September 1926 murders of Rev. Mr. Hall and Mrs. Mills. A Mrs. Gibson had reported that she had seen Mrs. Hall in De Dursey Lane with a male companion on the night of the murders. Sipel was to be questioned as to whether he was driving the automobile that Mrs. Gibson claimed illuminated the faces of Mrs. Hall and her companion. Mrs. Gibson claimed that she heard that Sipel had told his friend, John Garry, that he had seen Mrs. Hall that night. Sipel denied this claim and reportedly showed a "frantic eagerness" to avoid testifying. The testimony of Sipel was said to call into question alternate testimony from Nellie Lo Russell on the whereabouts of Mrs. Gibson on the night of the murders.

Behind the scenes

 * The text of the article mentioning George Sipel in the prop issue of the New York Chronicle featured in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was taken from the real 21 November 1922 issue of The Evening World. This represents an anachronism, as the film is set in 1926, but the actual events referenced occurred in 1922.