"One of the earliest documented homicides and escapes from the (Missouri) penitentiary took place in June of 1841. A group of convicts plotted to kill their overseer, Mr. William Bullard, while lessees Burch and Gordon and a number of the guards would be away from the prison. Shortly after the noon meal, three convicts who worked in the saddle s hop summoned Bullard under the pretense of inquiring about their work. As soon as he entered the room, one asked him a question to divert his attention while another struck him a might blow with a mallet. After several more blows proved fatal, the group grabbed his keys and two pistols. They headed toward the gate and along the way picked up a few more prisoners eager to make a getaway. Nine succeeded in slipping free of the walls. The alarm was immediately sounded, and citizens managed to capture one of the men who was sick and unable to keep up with his comrades. The other escapees hid in the deep ravines near the river until nightfall when they managed to sneak away to freedom. Eventually, a prisoner was caught and charged with the murder of Bullard. Although he defended his innocence to the end, he was hanged outside the wall. William Bullard, the first officer killed in the line of duty, is buried in an obscure location in Old City Cemetery in Jefferson City."

source: Somewhere In Time, 170 Years of Missouri Corrections by Mark Schreiber and Laura Burkhardt Moeller.

Contributor:
Nancy Arnold Thompson∼Missouri Department of Corrections
Missouri

Officer Bullard was killed after being assaulted by several inmates during an escape. As one of the inmates distracted him another struck him in the back of the head with a hammer. He was then held down and beaten to death before the suspects stole his keys and gun. A total of nine prisoners escape.