Delos Heffron
Deles Heffron was held in the jail at Salem, Indiana, in June 1873. A masked mob of about 25 to 40 men came to the jail in the early morning, and the deputy sheriff refused to hand over the keys. The men broke through his cell doors, shot him and hanged him from a railroad bridge near the jail. One account says the sheriff was seized and confined, while another says the sheriff and guards did not stop the attack. At the coroner's inquest, the examining surgeon reportedly said the shots would not have caused death.
Cause of death, as reported: Taken from custody and lynched. A masked mob seized Deles Heffron from the Salem, Indiana jail, shot him and hanged him from a railroad bridge; the examining physician at the coroner's inquest said the shots would not have caused death.
Reported by: northern newspaper reporting on the mob (reprinted in the Memphis Daily Appeal) (reporters); examining surgeon at the coroner's inquest (medical examiner or coroner); Louisville dispatch reprinted in the Ottawa Free Trader (reporters).