Keeper Jeremiah Murphy

Jeremiah Murphy

Keeper Murphy and Warden Peter Mallon were shot and killed when three prisoners tried to escape the Tombs Jail. Pistols had been smuggled into the jail for all three prisoners. The three men faked an illness and were brought to the jail doctor. While they were in the doctor's office, they pulled their guns and attempted to escape. Warden Mallon heard the commotion from his office and came running to stop the escape. The suspect shot and killed him as he entered the doctor's office.

The suspects then fled into the courtyard of the prison where they exchanged shots with Keeper Murphy and his partner. Keeper Murphy was killed and his partner was wounded. As the suspects continued their escape attempt, two were shot and wounded by responding New York City Patrolmen. With no escape possible, all three suspects committed suicide.

Two of the suspects were members of a New York City gang that had robbed merchants. On February 20, 1925, a third member of the gang had murdered Guard Robert Holtman of the Maryland State Division of Corrections, during a successful escape attempt from the state penitentiary in Baltimore, Maryland. The suspect was apprehended in New York, returned to Maryland, and executed on August 14, 1926.