On April 29, 1974, Patrolman Morris E. Greenwalt, a 51-year-old male officer with the Hazen Police Department, was tragically killed during a traffic stop on Interstate 40. Greenwalt had served with the department for six years and was a husband and father of two. His life was cut short when he pulled over a pickup truck occupied by three women who were suspects in a recent armed robbery of a grocery store.
Unbeknownst to Patrolman Greenwalt, the three women, aged 19, 23, and 24, were
fugitives, having escaped from the Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women just two days prior. During the stop, one of the women opened fire, striking the officer. As he lay wounded on the ground, another one of the suspects took his service weapon and fired all of the remaining rounds into him. The three women fled the scene in the stolen pickup truck.
Later that same day, all three suspects were apprehended. In the subsequent investigation, the two older women attempted to place the blame for the shooting on the 19-year-old. However, chemical tests revealed that both of the older suspects had recently fired a weapon, while the youngest had not. The two women, aged 23 and 24, were ultimately convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. The 19-year-old was convicted of being an accessory to murder and received a sentence of 11 years.
