Constable Robert Murphy

Robert Murphy

Constable Robert Murphy died eight days after being stabbed while attempting to serve a warrant in Bath Township.

The subject of the warrant was a 75-year-old man who was wanted for assaulting a female neighbor. When Constable Murphy first spoke to the man, the subject refused to accompany him and instead said he would appear the next morning.

Constable Murphy left the cabin but later returned to take the man into custody. He was met on the doorstep by the man who had pulled a butcher knife that he had hidden between logs in the wall. The man thrust the knife into the left side of Constable Murphy, who succumbed to his wound eight days later.

The man was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. On May 27th, 1825, as he stood on the gallows, the governor arrived by horseback from Indianapolis to grant him a pardon.

Constable Murphy had only recently been appointed as a constable. He was survived by his five brothers, three sisters, parents, and paternal grandparents.

Constable Murphy is the first known law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in the state of Indiana.