In the early morning hours of June 20, 1903, a male Special Police Officer named Maurice Ahearn, aged 32, was shot and killed in the Rochelle Park neighborhood of New Rochelle, New York. While on patrol, he encountered a man carrying a bag over his shoulder. When Officer Ahearn questioned the individual about the contents of the bag, a confrontation ensued. The man, identified as Francesco Raffo, shot Officer Ahearn multiple times, leaving him for dead on Manhattan Avenue. Residents, awakened by the gunshots, found the fallen officer, who succumbed to his injuries at the scene.
The investigation into the murder of the four-year veteran of the New Rochelle Police Department quickly led to a suspect. Francesco Raffo was arrested and, following a police ruse where he was led to believe his accomplice had confessed, he admitted to the killing. Raffo claimed he acted in self-defense, an assertion contradicted by the fact that Officer Ahearn's own weapon was found holstered and fully loaded in his pocket.
Francesco Raffo was initially convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to be executed. However, after a retrial, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to twenty years in prison. Raffo's life ultimately ended in violence when he was stabbed to death by another inmate while serving his sentence.
