On July 4, 1889, at 1 a.m., City Marshal Charlie Wilson and his brother Deputy Marshal Keno Wilson were on patrol when they heard gunshots near a downtown hotel. As they approached to investigate, they saw John Murray on horseback holding a kerosene lamp taken from one of the streetlights. As Charlie Wilson grabbed Murray’s horse by the bridle, the outlaw drew his gun and shot him through the heart. The Marshal was dead before he hit the ground. Keno Wilson managed to pull his gun and fire three shots at Murray as he fled into the night. Several hours later a group of armed citizens captured the uninjured killer near the Mission San Luis Rey. Murray was eventually tried but his conviction was overturned on appeal. At his retrial Murray was re-convicted but the ordered death sentence never was carried out. On April 14, 1892, he died in county jail, his scheduled hanging still a few weeks away.