Railroad Detective Robert Lee Kinman

Robert Lee Kinman

Railroad Detective Robert Kinman was shot and killed as he and another railroad detective investigated a group of trespassers in the railroad yards in Ashland, Kentucky.

The yard master had notified the detectives after he saw a group of men in the yard and suspected them of being boxcar thieves. The detectives located on of the men standing along a train and discovered he was carrying 20 pints of liquor. As they talked to the man one of his companions emerged from underneath the train shot both officers, killing Detective Kinman. The subjects fled the scene but were eventually arrested.

The man who shot Detective Kinman had recently been released from prison after serving a short sentence for murdering a woman. He was convicted of Detective Kinman's murder and sent back to the state penitentiary. He escaped from prison in 1921 with two other inmates.