Constable Robert Murphy died eight days after being stabbed while attempting to serve a writ on a subject for assaulting a female neighbor.

   When he first spoke to the man, who was living on the property of his son-in-law in Union County, the subject refused to accompany him and instead said he would appear the next morning. He left the cabin but later returned to take the subject into custody.

   Constable Murphy was met on the doorstep by the man who had pulled a butcher knife which he had hidden between logs in the wall. The suspect thrust the knife into the left side of Constable Murphy, who died from the wound he suffered eight days later.

   The 84-year-old suspect was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. On May 27, 1825, Governor James B. Ray arrived by horseback from Indianapolis to grant him a pardon as the offender stood on the gallows.

   Constable Murphy, from Bath Township, was recently appointed the township constable. He was single and survived by his five brothers, three sisters, parents and paternal grandparents.

"My days on earth were few, the longer is my rest.

The Saviour call'd me soon, because he thought it best."

Constable Murphy's epitaph

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This officer, discovered in 2010, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the Franklin County Sheriff's Department.

Read more on Constable Murphy being remembered on the 200th anniversary of his death in our News Release.