Deputy Sheriff Willard Hall

Willard Hall

Deputy Sheriff Willard Hall and Deputy Sheriff David Galloway were shot and killed while attempting to serve an arrest warrant on a man at another man's home.

As the two talked to the homeowner and the suspect, the homeowner's wife opened fire from behind a door with a shotgun, killing both. When the sheriff and others arrived at the home, the woman confessed she shot both after their conversation turned ugly, and a deputy drew his gun and grabbed her husband. She said she opened fire because she feared for his life. Both men and the woman's 16-year-old son stated that they did not know what had happened. All four were arrested and jailed for murder.

The man, 58, who had the warrant was acquitted of killing Deputy Contable Isom Miles in 1923, but was convicted of murdering a man in 1929. In March of 1948, he was rushed to a hospital after a piece of meat got stuck in his throat. The food was successfully removed, but the stress caused him to have a heart attack, and he died an hour later. The woman's husband, 52, was convicted of two counts of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 42 years. He was paroled in May of 1954. In April of 1949, the woman, during her trial, held to her story that she killed to save her husband. Her husband and son stuck to their story, claiming they did not know what had happened. She was acquitted. Charges were dropped against her son.

Deputy Hall had served with the Letcher County Sheriff's Office for 25 years. He was survived by his wife and three sons.