Special Agent Pete Earl Lackey
Illinois State Police
Illinois
End of Watch: Monday, November 27, 1972

Biographical Info
Age: Not available
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Date of Incident: Monday, November 27, 1972
Weapon Used: Edged weapon; Knife
Suspect Info: Acquitted

Special Agent Pete E. Lackey's throat was slashed as he was on his way to work in Springfield. Agent Lackey was to testify at a drug trial that morning. The suspect in the case who spotted him driving toward the city ambushed him. To get Agent Lackey to stop, the assailant rammed his car into the rear of the agent's automobile. Agent Lackey pulled over to the shoulder of the road and the attacker leapt in the passenger side window with a large hunting knife in his hand. As Agent Lackey attempted to reach for his weapon, his assailant slit his throat.

A group of nurses saw the beginning of the struggle as they were driving past the scene. They turned their car around and went back to see if they could help. In the brief time it took them to return, the killer fled and Special Agent Lackey had died.

The suspect was later arrested and brought to trial in Decatur. A jury acquitted him. In 1981, the killer admitted his crime in an interview with a reporter from Springfield's "State Journal Register". A chronic drug abuser, the killer died in a psychiatric hospital.

Special Agent Pete E. Lackey was the first Illinois Bureau of Investigation agent to be killed while on duty; he was a 2-year veteran of the agency. His wife and two children survive special Agent Lackey.