On April 6, 2013, I posted a blog article entitled, “Police Search for Irvington Man Who Threw Hot Oil on Sleeping Ex-Wife.” In the article, I described an incident wherein Byron Stokley, a 47-year old Irvington man (pictured left), gained entry into his ex-wife’s residence, waited for her to fall asleep, and then allegedly threw a pot of hot oil and water on her. She was subsequently hospitalized and suffered severe burns to her face and upper body.
Thereafter, on April 15, 2013, I posted a follow-up article entitled, “Reward Offered for Irvington Man Who Threw Hot Oil on Sleeping Ex-Wife,” in which I indicated that the Essex County Sheriff’s Office was offering a reward for information leading to Stokley’s arrest. At that time, charges had been filed against him for various domestic violence related offenses including Aggravated Assault and Weapons offenses.
Authorites have now confirmed that the body pulled from the Passaic River on Thursday was Stokley’s. His cause of death was ruled as drowning, although no toxicology results will not be available for weeks. At that time, authorities will likely make a determination as to whether Stokley committed suicide or was the victim of foul play.
For more information, see the Star-Ledger article entitled, “Body of man accused of attacking wife with hot oil pulled from Passaic River.”
