Illinois Bureau of Investigation, Illinois
End of Watch: Monday, November 27, 1972
Age: 30
Tour of Duty: 2 years
Badge Number: Not available
Cause of Death: Stabbed
Date of Incident: November 27, 1972
Weapon Used: Edged weapon; Knife
Suspect Info: Acquitted
Special Agent Pete 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 defendant in the case spotted him driving toward the city and ambushed him. To get Agent Lackey to stop, the man rammed his car into the rear of the agent's automobile. Agent Lackey pulled over to the shoulder of the road and the attacker jumped through 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 man was later arrested and brought to trial in Decatur, but was acquitted. 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 Lackey had served with the Illinois Bureau of Investigation for two years. He was survived by his wife and two children.