Debs Heffren

Debs Heffren was held in an Indiana jail when a mob of about twenty-five to forty masked men broke in during the early morning of June 29, 1873. The deputy sheriff refused to surrender the keys, so the men smashed the locks of Heffren's cell, shot him, and took him to a railroad bridge near the depot, where they hanged him. The inquest physicians testified that his wounds would not have been fatal.

Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. Inquest physicians testified that his wounds would not have been fatal.

Reported by: inquest physicians.

Source

• The Findlay Jeffersonian, July 4, 1873, page 2 The Findlay Jeffersonian, July 4, 1873