In the autumn of 1984, the life of New York State Police Investigator Richard Benjamin Snyder was cut short in a tragic and violent ambush. Investigator Snyder, a decade-long veteran of the state police and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War, was conducting an investigation in Mamakating when he was killed.
On the evening of his death, Investigator Snyder arrived at a residence on Corn Field Road after 8:00 p.m. There, he was ambushed by a man he had previously arrested.
The individual had reportedly made threats to kill the officer who had taken him into custody. The suspect shot Investigator Snyder three times with a. 222 caliber rifle, killing him at the scene.
Following the murder, the assailant placed Investigator Snyder's body in the trunk of his own patrol car and drove to New York City. While authorities were investigating the disappearance of the officer, the suspect took his own life, hanging himself near Princeton, New Jersey. At the time of the murder, the suspect had been released on bail for charges of conspiracy and attempted robbery and was also a person of interest in at least one other local murder.
Investigator Snyder's body was discovered on October 2, 1984, in the trunk of his abandoned patrol car near Wards Island in New York City. He was survived by his wife and two daughters.
