Deputy Sheriff William Sweem

William Sweem

Deputy William Sweem and Sheriff William Mull were shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man who had just murdered the family who lived next door. The suspect attacked the female neighbor with an axe and then shot and killed her two young children before walking into town. Sheriff Mull and Deputy Sweem located the man inside a local bank and confronted him. The suspect then shot and killed both before fleeing the scene. The man committed suicide later in the afternoon when he was surrounded by a posse.

Deputy Sweem had been appointed a jail guard by Sheriff Mull only two days before his murder. He was survived by his wife and three children.