Patrolman James Hugh Marshburn

James Hugh Marshburn

Patrolman James Marshburn was shot and killed by an escaped convict on I-95 five miles north of Lumberton.

He and another patrolman came upon two escapees walking down the southbound lane a short distance from a stolen car they had just abandoned. As the officers exited their patrol car, both escapees opened fire with .45 caliber pistols. In an exchange of shots, Patrolman Marshburn was shot three times in the stomach, and one escapee was killed. The other convict dropped his gun and ran into the nearby woods. Patrolman Marshburn died at the hospital 90 minutes later.

The suspects had escaped from a prison work detail in Raleigh. They used stolen guns taken earlier when they broke into a National Guard building.

The other escapee was captured four hours after the shooting when bloodhounds flushed him out of the woods. He had been sentenced to prison in 1953 for armed robbery, motor vehicle theft, and felony breaking and entering. He received an additional 35 years for Trooper Marshburn's murder. He was released from prison on May 2, 1991.

Patrolman Marshburn had only served with the North Carolina Highway Patrol for less than two months. He is survived by his mother and three sisters.

In 2025, a bridge on North Carolina 130 over Interstate 95 was renamed the Patrolman James H. Marshburn Bridge in his honor.