Day Warden William Harry King
Burlington County Sheriff's Department
New Jersey
End of Watch: Friday, November 5, 1920

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: Not available
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Assault
Date of Incident: Friday, November 5, 1920
Weapon Used: Blunt object
Suspect Info: Not available

Warden King was killed when he was assaulted by an inmate with an iron poker at the Burlington County Jail.

Warden King had opened the inmate's cell door to give him medicine. At that time, all cells had fireplaces and the inmate used the fire poker to beat Warden King in the hallway. It is thought the inmate was after the trustee and Warden King tried to stop him.

The inmate, who was suffering from delirium, attacked and killed the jail trustee-who he might have known. The inmate was never tried for the slayings and spent the rest of his life in a mental institution.