Deputy Sheriff Leamon "Slim" Martin

Leamon "Slim" Martin

Deputy Sheriff Slim Martin was beaten to death in Cool Ridge, West Virginia, with a hammer and his own pistol by two men he had just arrested.

He stopped for dinner with the suspects at about 6:00 pm. At some point after dinner, one of the suspects struck him in the back of the head with a machinist's hammer, and a fight ensued. The other suspect seized his gun and beat him with it.

They dragged his body into the woods and took his patrol car. They were involved in a crash a short time later and fled the area on foot. They were apprehended two days later.

Both suspects were sentenced to life in prison but were paroled in 1954.

Deputy Martin was a United States Army WWI veteran who had served with the Raleigh County Sheriff's Office for at least a year. He had previously served with the West Virginia State Police for ten years. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.