Walter G. McQuarry, a 40-year-old White male patrolman in Warwick, Rhode Island, was killed on June 27, 1911. On that foggy evening, after midnight when the gas streetlights had been extinguished, McQuarry stopped to help a person in a vehicle change a tire. He was assisted by his friend, Charles Follett.
After successfully helping the motorist, McQuarry and Follett began walking home. They soon encountered a man carrying a large bag. McQuarry reportedly joked with the man, asking if he had been robbing clotheslines. In a sudden act of violence, the man pulled out a pistol and shot Follett in the face. He then shot Patrolman McQuarry once in the face and again in the chest.
Authorities were called to the scene in the Apponaug village of Warwick, but McQuarry was pronounced dead. The initial investigation suggested the assailant had stolen a large amount of cloth from the Greenwich Bleachery. A suspect was identified as Celli Gietano, who was believed to have fled to either New Bedford, Massachusetts, or Providence, Rhode Island. Despite efforts to locate him, Gietano was never apprehended, and the murder of Patrolman Walter McQuarry officially remains unresolved.
