MURPHY, John M.

Newspaper Unknown December 1885 The body of Deputy Sheriff Murphy of Prescott, A.T., was found concealed in the cellar of the man who waylaid and murdered him. Above information found on the Find A Grave website. ------------------- Newspaper Unknown December 1885 Deputy Sheriff John M. Murphy Yavapai County Sheriff's Office, Arizona End of Watch Sunday, December 20, 1885 JOHN M. MURPHY Deputy Murphy was shot and killed in Walnut Creek by man he was questioning about the theft of a gold watch. The man had previously murdered a prospector and thought that was why Deputy Murphy was coming to question him. He saw the deputy approaching, hid, and then shot him in the back. After murdering Deputy Murphy, the suspect buried the body under his cabin and then fled the area. The suspect's wife then told sheriff of what had happened. The man was later caught, convicted, and hanged on February 5, 1886. Deputy Murphy was interred in Citizens Cemetery in Prescott, Arizona. --------------------- The Daily Tombstone, Tombstone, Arizona Wednesday, December 23, 1885, page 3.3 Deputy Sheriff Murdered. Prescott, Ariz., 22 - A courier has just arrived from Walnut Creek, forty miles west of here with intelligence that Deputy Sheriff J. M. Murphy had been murdered there last light while attempting to arrest D. W. Dilda, charged with burglary. Murphy was warned of the desperate character of the man and was offered assistance, which he refused. Shortly after leaving the neighboring ranch, firing was heard and Murphy's failure to return instigated a search for him. they found where he had apparently fallen and been dragged away, but the body has not been found when the courier left. Sheriff Mulvenon and posse have just left, heavily armed, for the scene of the tragedy. If Dilda is captured he will probably be lynched, as Murphy was one of the most popular men in Yavapai county. ----------------- Long story of the murder published in the Arizona Champion, Peach Springs, Arizona Territory on Saturday, December 26, 1885, page 3.2

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Arizona Gravestone Photo Project
Posted by Judy Wight Branson on January 17, 2019

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