Do you know who murdered Burt Henry McMahon? Burt Henry McMahon, a 47-year-old Caucasian male, traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada, in February 1982 for a business convention. An oil executive from Sonoma, California, he was a co-owner of the North Bay Oil Company. On the evening of February 16, 1982, after the conclusion of the Inter-Mountain Oil Company Convention at Caesar's Palace, McMahon joined about 135 other attendees for a banquet dinner at the Library Buttery and Pub restaurant.
He was last seen alive at approximately 8:45 p.m., waving to friends as they departed in a rental car, leaving him standing in front of the restaurant.
Within a remarkably short timeframe, tragedy struck. Around 9:30 p.m., a passing motorist discovered McMahon's body on the side of East Lake Mead Boulevard, near Sunrise Mountain. He had been shot multiple times in the head and body. The location where he was found was a considerable distance from the restaurant, a drive estimated to take between 23 and 26 minutes. His own rented car was found undisturbed in the restaurant's parking lot where he had left it.
Investigators were quick to rule out robbery as a motive for the brutal slaying. McMahon's cash and jewelry were still on his person when his body was discovered. Detectives from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department pursued various angles in their investigation, including the possibility of connections to organized crime, but these inquiries yielded no solid leads. They also considered a scenario involving a prostitute, but found no evidence to support this theory. McMahon had no criminal record in California and was a married man with a teenage son.
Despite extensive investigations, the murder of Burt Henry McMahon remains a mystery. No suspects have ever been identified, and no arrests have been made in the case. The swift and violent nature of the crime, coupled with the lack of a clear motive, has left law enforcement with few clues to follow. His death is considered an unsolved cold case. Two years after his murder, the North Bay Oil Company, which he co-owned, ceased its operations.
