Jacksonville Police Department, North Carolina
End of Watch: Thursday, May 28, 1981
Age:
Tour of Duty: 5 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Assault
Date of Incident: May 28, 1981
Weapon Used: Person
Suspect Info: Sentenced to life
Detective William Whitehead drowned after being beaten unconscious, handcuffed, and pushed into a river by two suspects.
Detective Whitehead was questioning the two men outside of a bar on suspicion of sexually assaulting a juvenile female. The two men attacked him and handcuffed him behind the back with his own handcuffs. They then threw him into the New River, under the Old Bridge at, Court Street. A medical examination determined that Detective Whitehead was alive when he was thrown into the river.
Both suspects, Marine deserters, 23 and 24 were apprehended on February 17, 1983. One was apprehended in Davenport, Iowa, and the other in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
One of the suspects was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. He was denied parole in January 2015. The other suspect was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to 15 years. He was paroled September 7th, 1988.
Detective Whitehead was a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War and had served with the Jacksonville Police Department for five years. He was survived by his wife. A week before his death he was awarded the J. Edger Hoover Distinguished Service Award for his work on a string of armed robberies, 11 rapes, and several homicides.