Constable Martin F. Windt

Martin F. Windt

Constable Martin Windt was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a man for disorderly conduct in West Homestead.

The 19-year-old subject had been involved in an argument with his parents and was speaking with his friends when Constable Windt located him and asked to speak with him. The subject took a few steps back, drew his weapon, and fired several shots. Constable Windt was struck in the head and abdomen. He was taken to Homestead Hospital where he succumbed to his wounds shortly after midnight.

The youth fled to his girlfriend's home where he shot and killed her mother when she refused to let him in. He then shot and killed a neighbor who went to see what was happening when he heard the shot. He then fled into the nearby woods pursued by a posse. He was able to escape the posse and remained at large until March 17, 1920, when he was arrested in Youngstown, Ohio. A returned war veteran who knew him recognized him and informed police.

On June 19, 1920, the suspect, now 26, was convicted of Constable Windt's murder and sentenced to 15 to 19 years. He was never tried for the other two murders. His parole was denied on December 21, 1925.

Constable Windt also served as a detective with the Pennsylvania Railroad Police Department. He was survived by his wife. His mother, so grief stricken after he died, committed suicide.