Constable
Oliver William Wilhoite
Hendricks County Sheriff's Department
Friday, May 26, 1911

Age: 58
Served: 7 years
Badge #:
Not Included
Not Included

Incident Details

Cause of Death:
Gunfire
Date/Time of Incident:
Friday, May 26, 1911
09:30 am
Incident to Death Duration:
Same day
Incident Location:
Hazelwood-Clayton Road south of Clayton
Incident County:
Hendricks
Incident Township:
Liberty
Weapon Used:
Revolver
Suspect Disposition:
Discharged
Burial Place:
Danville South Cemetery, Danville

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   Constable Oliver Wilhoite was shot and killed as he attempted to serve a writ of restitution on a subject who had refused to vacate his father's property.

   He and a deputized citizen proceeded to the residence, about two miles south of Clayton, to serve the writ. Upon their arrival, they were met with no resistance, took the subject's shotgun and removed his belongings outside.

   As the deputized citizen retrieved materials to secure the front door of the residence, he heard three shots. The subject had pulled a revolver and fatally shot Constable Wilhoite.

   As the deputized citizen went for assistance, he saw the subject running across a large field, assuming he was attempting to escape. The subject instead went about a quarter of a mile to his 32-year-old cousin's house. There he confronted her, as she had objected to him wanting to marry her sister, and fatally shot her in front of her 5-year-old daughter.

   The 37-year-old man returned to his father's property until being taken into custody. He was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder for killing his cousin, sentenced to life in prison and later discharged.

   Constable Wilhoite, from Danville, was the Center Township constable re-elected to a four-year term in office. He was survived by his wife, daughter, four grandchildren and three sisters.

Historical Note

Constables were created during the Indiana Territory and continued to exist after statehood in 1816. Depending on the time period, they were either appointed or elected to their positions at the township level with one- or four-year terms in office. Constables had police powers to make arrests with countywide jurisdiction. Since 2004, constables are only authorized by state law in Marion County townships having a small claims court where they are elected to four-year terms in office.
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This officer, discovered in 2009, has not been submitted for consideration as an eligible line of duty death to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund by the Hendricks County Sheriff's Department.
Read more on our research on Remembering Our Fallen Township Constables in our News Release

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Constable Oliver William Wilhoite - Hendricks County Sheriff's Department - INLEM.org