Detective Walter Starrett was killed instantly when he was shot by a suspicious person on Christmas Eve in the switch yards in Mitchell.

   He had encountered a subject in the yards near the Lehigh Cement Mill No. 2 at the Meridian Road crossing. As the two exchanged gunfire, he was shot once in the heart.

   The 32-year-old man, who was wounded, left the scene but later informed police of the incident. He stated that he was passing through the yards on his way home when he was shot at by an unknown man who police determined to be Detective Starrett.

   A grand jury declined to return an indictment when the man claimed self-defense.

   Detective Starrett, from Mitchell, was survived by his wife and three children.

The responsibilities of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Police Department (1828–1987) are now under the jurisdiction of the CSX Transportation Railroad Police Department.