In the late summer of 1954, a sudden act of violence shattered the peace of the small town of Dewitt, Arkansas. On the evening of September 2nd, City Marshal Burt O. Burbank, a 47-year-old male, was carrying out his duties, responding to a report of a disturbance at a local rooming house. The nature of the call was not unusual for a lawman in a small town, but the events that followed were anything but ordinary.
Upon arriving at the residence, Marshal Burbank approached the front door to investigate the situation. As he knocked, a shotgun blast erupted from within, striking him in the head and killing him instantly. The suddenness of the attack left no time for the marshal to react or defend himself. The quiet evening was irrevocably broken by the sound of gunfire and the loss of a dedicated public servant.
In the aftermath of the shooting, a suspect was identified and taken into custody. Walter Baxter, a 44-year-old man, was arrested in connection with the murder of Marshal Burbank. He was subsequently tried and convicted of first-degree murder, with the court handing down the sentence of death. However, legal proceedings that followed saw the Arkansas Supreme Court remand the case for a new trial. Upon retrial, Baxter was once again found guilty of first-degree murder, though this time his sentence was commuted to life in prison. The motive for the shooting, which stemmed from the initial disturbance call, brought a tragic end to the life of City Marshal Burt O. Burbank and left a lasting scar on the community he served.
