In the winter of 1906, a violent encounter in Covington County, Mississippi, led to the death of Sheriff James Asaph Robertson, a 45-year-old male. The events unfolded on January 30th, about a mile west of the town of Collins. Sheriff Robertson was attempting to arrest a man who had been involved in a physical altercation in Collins earlier that day.
As Sheriff Robertson approached the suspect's home during the night to make the arrest, the situation quickly escalated.
The suspect managed to evade capture by escaping through a window. In the ensuing chaos, the suspect's son-in-law opened fire, striking Sheriff Robertson and inflicting a fatal wound. The sheriff, a husband and father to nine children, succumbed to his injuries.
In the aftermath of the shooting, authorities successfully apprehended the original suspect involved in the fight. He was subsequently brought to trial for his alleged role in the events that led to the sheriff's death. However, in 1907, a jury acquitted him of the charges. The man who fired the fatal shots, the suspect's son-in-law, was never captured by law enforcement and remained at large.
