Sunday April 16, 1961 was a sunny and pleasant day. It was 9 a.m. and folks were in church or were taking it easy and enjoying the nice weekend. On what was normally a fairly quiet day of the week, Deputy Sheriff Edward G. Byrne was on duty and was responding to a call about suspicious activity at the Hilltop Tavern in the 6200 block of East 10th Street. The 23-year-old Byrne had been appointed to the Sheriff’s Department in July of 1960. He was considered a very precise and careful officer. Married, Byrne was to be a father in several months. By the time Sheriff Byrne arrived on the scene, the tavern had been burglarized and the three suspects were fleeing the scene in a 1958 Oldsmobile. Byrne pursued the Oldsmobile and turned on his flashing lights. Both vehicles pulled over to the north side of 10th Street across from the cemetery entrance. Byrne got out of his car and went up to the Oldsmobile. There were three men inside: John W. Waller, Ralph Eugene DuBois, and Michael T. Callahan. The three claimed they hadn’t been at the tavern even though Byrne had apparently seen them pull out of the driveway. Byrne went back to his car to check the license plate and registration. The three suspects got out of their car and approached the sheriff’s vehicle. Callahan came up to the driver side window and pulled out a .45 caliber automatic pistol. He yelled “Forget it, you’re dead!” and emptied the .45 into Deputy Byrne’s head. A policeman living nearby heard the shots and saw Byrne’s unattended car lights still flashing. He called for backup. The incident made national news.
Two of the three were quickly apprehended. Walker and DuBois both identified Callahan as the shooter. Callahan was located two days later in a farm house in Johnson County. He surrendered without incident. Although Walker and DuBois both had long criminal records, shooting and killing was not among their past crimes. Not so with Callahan. An extremely violent and dangerous man, there was an outstanding FBI warrant on him on a counterfeiting charge. A Chicago native, the 36-year-old Callahan had spent much of his life in prison. He owned a carpet cleaning business in suburban Chicago, which was a front for various criminal activities. Described by his accomplices as a very frightening man it was not hard to see Callahan as a cold-blooded killer.
All three men were sentenced to prison. Callahan was originally sentenced to death but the sentence was changed to life in prison at a state mental facility. Walker died while serving his term.
Byrne was the first Marion County Deputy Sheriff to be murdered while on duty. He is still remembered and honored for his sacrifice. All this happened on a sunny April day, 55 years ago.