Harmon Murray Escapes Again: Another Deadly Exploit from Northern Florida’s Boogeyman

Image from a newspaper article titled “Frontier without law was Florida before turn of the century.” Tampa Bay Times Sun, May 26, 1957 ·Page 139, retrieved from Newspapers.com.

By cover of darkness, the posse cautiously approached a house on 10th Street, Fernandina Beach, Florida. There were ten of them and only one of their prey, but not one among them could break his nervous gaze from the house.

The lone renegade rumored to be inside was no ordinary outlaw — he was Harmon Murray, and his murderous exploits across northern Florida and southern Georgia had long preceded his presence in that house. Like some creature of darkness spawned from Hell itself, he’d already proven himself to be fantastically elusive, having escaped the clutches of the law and bounty hunters multiple times, often leaving death in his wake.

Crickets chirped indifferently in the hot night as the men circled the house. Deputy Sheriff Joe Robinson, honoring the expectations of his position, took lead. He crept towards the house, hands gripping his rifle tightly.

Things were beginning to feel alright just before a gunshot broke through window glass and blasted him off his feet. Following the shot outside leapt Harmon Murray himself. Firing off more shots as he went, he bounded like a panther across the porch boards as Robinson breathed his final, labored breaths.