Marshal Lee Franklin Isbell
Richfield Police Department
Date: August 5, 1921
Cause: Gunfire, homicide
Age: 47
Survivors: wife, 10 children
Date of Incident: July 18, 1921
Time of Incident: 2230 hrs.
Duty Status: On duty
Suspect Status: In custody
Trial Outcome: sentenced to life in prison, served five years


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Courtesy of the ODMP
Incident Details: Marshal Isbell was shot and mortally wounded by a man he attempted to arrest for public intoxication. Approximately one half hour prior to the incident, Marshal Isbell had warned the man about being drunk in public. He accompanied the man to an automobile and told him to remain inside until friends returned to take him home.

After the marshal continued his rounds, the man left the vehicle and entered a nearby store. When the marshal returned and attempted to take the man into custody, the man drew a revolver and shot the marshal in the stomach. A second shot into the fallen marshal was prevented by citizens who overpowered the suspect and held him for police. Marshal Isbell was taken first to a local hospital and then to his home. He died from the effects of his wound eighteen days later.

The suspect was convicted of second-degree murder and served five years in prison.

Michael Isbell, the grandson of Lee Isbell places a rose in the wreath at the Utah Peace Officer Memorial, May 6, 2005, which finally honored his grandfather. Information of Lee Isbell's death was not made available until 2004. Lee's family also received his Purple Heart presented by the Utah Peace Officers Association.


On the evening of July 15, 1921, Marshal Lee Franklin Isbell, 47, made his final round of Richfield’s business district. Before the night was over, Isbell would be gunned down by a man he knew well and once helped get out of prison.
Lee Isbell was born August 19, 1873, in Pleasant Grove, Utah, to Alexander F. and Teresa Jones Isbell. The young family had moved to Utah following the Civil War, a bloody period in Alexander’s life. Records indicate that Alexander and his uncle enlisted in the Confederate Army, joining almost certainly what was the Buttahatchie Rifles, later constituted as Co. G, 41st Mississippi Infantry. The 41st Mississippi was involved in some of the bloodiest fighting in the western theater of the war.
Following the war the Isbells were married. They moved to Missouri for two years before heading further west, arriving in Utah in 1868. The growing family briefly made their home in Ogden before relocating to Pleasant Grove. Here they converted to Mormonism and a future Richfield city marshal was born.
Almost immediately following his birth Isbell’s parents moved the family a final time to Sevier County. Isbell received his formal education in Richfield and helped his father with the family farm and dairy.
At the age of 21, Isbell married Martha Nielsen. The couple made their home in Richfield and eventually had twelve children, several of whom died in their infancy.
Although the exact date is not known, Isbell was appointed city marshal several years prior to his death. He was considered a tough but fair officer by most, but at the same time an officer with a particular soft spot for mischievous young boys. Those who got into trouble soon discovered that Isbell wasn’t shy about interceding in the system on their behalf. The marshal was so effective at dealing with troubled youth that he was appointed the juvenile probation officer for the district court in Sevier County just month prior to his death.
Although five years his senior Isbell knew and was on friendly terms with local troublemaker Benjamin F. Carter, despite the fact that their fathers once tried to kill each other. Carter’s father, also Benjamin, had served in the 58th Indiana Infantry of the Union Army during the war. Ironically, his unit and Isbell’s saw action against each other throughout the war, most notably in the battles of Shiloh, Chickamauga, Murfreesboro, Franklin, and Atlanta.
Carter was born in Sevier County in 1878. He served seven months in the army during the Spanish-American War, was discharged honorably, and married Mabel Beck in 1901. The marriage was tumultuous and ended in divorce two years later.
Carter worked as a butcher and occasionally as a miner. In the summer of 1908, he and several other men were drinking at a billiard hall in the mining town of Kimberly, located in the Tushar Mountains above Marysvale. When an argument arose, Carter pulled out a pistol and shot Lawrence Hamel in the face.
Hamel had the good fortune not to die from his bloody wound. Sobering up, Carter accepted full blame. He pled guilty to attempted murder and, on July 8, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Despite his reputation, Sevier County apparently had a fondness for Carter. Efforts to have his sentenced reduced soon began. Two years after the shooting, Hamel sent a letter to the State Board of Pardons vouching for the good character of the man who tried to kill him.
“I feel that Ben has served plenty of time and knowing Bennie as I do I think that he will straighten up and be a good fellow. I have known him for about 18 years and have never known him to do anything out of the way when he wasn’t drinking. And I feel that he will cut out the drinking now and be alright for I think that it has been a pretty good lesson to him, and as I said before he wasn’t altogether to blame in this case, for when he shot he thought it was another party and after he found out what he done he wanted to pay all expenses and felt pretty bad about it. But I don’t uphold anything like that. I feel that when a man shoots another or even tries to he had ought to be punished. But in this case I think that Carter has served plenty of time and would like to see him pardoned and will sign the pardon first.”
The pardon Hamel referred to was actually a petition then circulating in the community calling for Carter’s parole. The petition was a who’s who list of Sevier County, carrying the signatures of business, community, political, and religious leaders. Everyone it seemed wanted “Bennie” out of jail. Indeed, the eightieth signature on the petition is that of Lee Isbell.
Carter was denied parole in May, but the community maintained its support and he was paroled the following year on July 15. For a time he behaved himself well enough that a second petition pressed for his complete pardon. It was eventually granted.
The source of the conflict that would eventually result in Isbell’s death was alcohol. Richfield had gotten the jump on America by going “dry” in 1913, several years before Prohibition became the national law. But a thriving underground business was conducted by local bootleggers supplying alcohol to a surprising number of Sevier County residents, many of whom although Mormon still winked at the law.
The community’s faith in Carter’s ability to stay away from alcohol and out of trouble was misplaced. He was not a model citizen following his release. He worked odd jobs and began drinking again. In 1916, he filed a homestead claim on some ground near Sigurd and began trafficking with bootleggers. Christmas morning 1919, he smashed the glass door of Peterson’s drug store and stole some items. The crime was witnessed and reported to the police by several boys. Sevier County Sheriff William S. Greenwood eventually tracked Carter down and arrested him. Unable to bond himself out, Carter sat in jail until his case was heard.
Carter’s attitude continued to sour over the next two years. He felt people weren’t treating him well enough, that they conspired against him. The following summer, just a month prior to the murder, he encountered Marshall Isbell’s brother Clarence on the road between Glenwood and Richfield. The two were riding horses and stopped to talk. Clarence Isbell could tell that Carter had been drinking and noticed that he was also carrying a gun. Well aware of Carter’s poor impulse control when drinking, he asked him about it.
“Sometimes coming over from the ranch I see a coyote, a chicken, or a rabbit,” Carter explained.
“Yes,” Clarence told him. “Some day you will kill a man.
“If I do, it won’t be you.” Carter replied. “That brother of yours had better leave me alone or he might get hurt and hurt damn bad.”
In all likelihood Clarence told his brother about the exchange. Carter’s veiled threat wasn’t something that could be idly dismissed as just the boozy ranting of another drunk. This drunk had already shot someone. But the threat wasn’t enough to keep Isbell from doing his job.
On July 5, Isbell made one of his last arrests when he caught Sam Utley in the act of peddling liquor. Hauled before Justice Sam Clark, Utley was fined $150 and ordered to serve 60 days. While Utley went to jail, Isbell went on vacation. He took his family to Fish Lake where they camped and fished and enjoyed what would be their last time together as a complete family.
Isbell’s absence did not go unnoticed by the community. On July 14, the Richfield Reaper reported tongue-in-cheek that a noticeable rise in crime was due to Isbell’s well-deserved vacation.
“Have you noticed the many highway robberies, burglaries, infringement on traffic ordinance cases, of too much home brew last week-end? Well, no wonder—City Marshal Lee Isbell enjoyed part of his vacation with Mrs. Isbell sojourning at Fish Lake and trying to catch the big ones.”
The following week, Isbell was back in town and back at work. Late in the evening of Monday, July 18, he left home to walk his rounds. Shortly before 10 p.m., he encountered a visibly intoxicated Carter on Main Street.
Carter had hitched a ride with Arthur Dotter and his wife who were going into Richfield to see a movie. While the Dotters went off to the picture show at the Kinema Theater, Carter stopped by a pool hall and talked briefly with several acquaintances, including Alex “Frog” Rasmussen. After sharing a drink with them, he visited with his sister in her home. Leaving there, he ran into the city marshal on Main Street.
Isbell informed Carter that he shouldn’t be out on the street in his condition. He led Carter back to the Dotters’ car and told him to get inside and wait until they came out of the theater and took him home. Figuring that he had taken care of the situation in the best interests of everyone, Isbell continued on his rounds.
Rasmussen testified later that Carter got out of the car as soon as the marshal was out of sight. As Carter crossed the street to the Busy Bee store, Rasmussen called out to him and suggested that it was a bad idea.
“I won’t have them running after me,” Carter replied. “I’m going to smoke them up. Watch my smoke.”
Rasmussen later testified in court that Carter singled out Isbell as the source of his annoyance with “them,” reportedly telling Rasmussen that the longer he sat in the car, the worse he hated Isbell. With that, Carter went inside the Busy Bee store near the Commercial Bank and bought some peanuts. He was still in the store when Isbell returned and spotted him.
“I thought I left you in the car up there,” the marshal said.
Carter tried to shrug Isbell off, saying, “You did but I just beat you to it and came down here to get something to eat.”
Isbell told Carter that he would have to come with him. The two men left the store together, walking on Main Street presumably toward the city jail. As they walked, Isbell told Carter that he was aware of the things Carter had been saying about him.
“I want you to know that I am not afraid of you,” Isbell said.
Carter later testified that he told Isbell that he didn’t want anyone to be afraid of him, but the marshal kept pressing the matter. When the two reached the location of Karl Webb’s garage near the corner of Main and 100 North, Isbell attempted to take Carter by the arm, possibly to effect an arrest or search him for weapons.
Carter resisted, pulling a pistol and pointing it at the marshal who grabbed it by the barrel. As the two struggled for control of the weapon, it discharged. The bullet struck Isbell high on the left hip, ranging downward into his bowels. The two men collapsed into the gutter, Carter on top trying to work the action of the pistol for a second shot. Alex Rasmussen, who had been following the pair closely to see what happened, stepped forward and struck Carter in the head with his fist and took the pistol away from him.
As Isbell lay in the gutter, J.L. Ewing ran to his aid. Isbell groaned and said, “I am shot all to hell. Ben Carter shot me.”
Carter, who by now had regained some of his wits after being struck by Rasmussen, insisted that it was a lie. He claimed Isbell had shot him. Rasmussen dragged the ranting Carter to the city jail, whacking him in the head with the butt of the pistol whenever he resisted. They had to wait at the city fountain until the key to the jail could be located.
Isbell was taken to Richfield General hospital where doctors examined his wound. There was little they could do. In the days that followed, blood poisoning set in and the marshal’s condition steadily weakened. Isbell had no illusions about the gravity of his wound. While family and medical staff tried to keep his spirits up, he confided to his wife Martha the feeling that he was doomed. “This will fix me,” he said.
Marshal Isbell was taken to his home where he was attended during the final hours of his life. He died of “general bacteremia, sepsis from a gunshot wound” at 4 a.m. on August 5.
Prior to his death, Isbell told his wife to prepare for the worst, instructing her regarding a life insurance policy. However, when she looked for the receipt for a recent premium he had paid, she found his wallet missing. Six days after his death, the local newspaper ran a request for assistance in locating the wallet.
“The day when the cowardly attack was made on City Marshal Lee Isbell, Mr. Isbell carried in his hip pocket a black leather wallet. It probably fell out of Isbell’s pocket when he fell after receiving the fatal wound, and while the mourning widow does not hope or expect to get the money back, she earnestly urges the finder of the wallet to return the papers, especially the receipt from the life insurance company, which is of great importance for settling her claims against the company. Mrs. Isbell is willing to pay a reward to the persons returning the papers and assures that no questions will be asked.”
Whether the wallet was eventually returned is unknown. Richfield got about the business of coming to terms with a crime that shocked it to its core.
“He was known to every man, woman and child, and was an inoffensive, industrious and valuable citizen. He was closely identified with civic work of all kinds, and had served in official capacity for many years. He was appointed marshal several years since, and the only thing that could be said against him was that he was too kind to offenders. He had boys of his own, and offending juveniles found in Lee Isbell a friend.”
Martha Isbell and her children buried their provider on Sunday, August 7. Mourners filled the chapel of the LDS First Ward, where Richfield Mayor R.D. Young spoke out against the practice of bootlegging, calling it an accessory to the murder, and pledged the city would redouble its efforts to eradicate it. Following the services, Isbell was buried in the city cemetery.
On August 11, the Richfield Reaper editorialized about the first murder ever committed in the community.
“While several murder cases have been tried in our district court, this is the first murder charge growing out of a crime of this terrible sort committed in our city. It will leave a bad stain on the reputation of our city, and it is sad indeed that Richfield won’t be any longer among those few cities in the United States where a murder never has been committed.”
Not everyone in town was displeased with Carter’s action. Following Isbell’s death, Judge Clark ordered convicted bootlegger Sam Utley released early from jail. On the way home, perhaps still put out from being arrested or because he didn’t recognize a good thing when he saw it, Utley told a friend that getting shot served Isbell right for “snoozing around for booze.” The remark soon found its way to the ear of Judge Clark, who promptly had Utley rearrested and thrown back into jail.
Carter’s day in court came quickly enough. On September 6, his first-degree murder trial began in Sixth District Court before Judge J. H. Erickson, who as an attorney had successfully prosecuted Carter for the 1908 shooting. Prosecuting Carter this time was Richfield County Attorney Henry E. Beal. Parley Magleby appeared as Carter’s defense attorney. It was a moment of supreme irony in that the signatures of all three men were on the petitions calling for Carter’s early release from prison.
The prosecution of Carter was straightforward. Various bystanders at the time of the murder testified that they had seen Carter shoot Isbell. Rasmussen was the prosecution’s star witness. Rasmussen, whose name had been passed around as a possible successor to the murdered marshal because of his heroics in capturing Carter, admitted on the stand that he didn’t want the job.
Carter testified in his own defense on the last day of the trial. He admitted shooting Isbell but claimed that the shooting wouldn’t have occurred if Isbell hadn’t bullied him, then grabbed the gun. When explaining why he pulled his pistol in the first place, Carter claimed self-defense, saying that he feared that Isbell was going for his own gun.
The jury didn’t buy it, or at least not all of it. Their deliberations began on September 10 and lasted until the following day when they returned a verdict of guilty of second-degree murder without a recommendation of mercy. Carter sat emotionless as it was read. He was anything but.
Carter had no intention of going back to prison. On the day the jury received the case his cell at the county jail was searched by Sheriff A.J. Fillmore and a knife was found hidden in the lining of a coat sleeve. When Carter told the sheriff that he intended to take his own life if the jury returned a guilty verdict, the cell was searched again and several safety razor blades were found.
Upon learning of the verdict the following day, Carter broke out of jail during the transfer of the evening meal into the cells. As Fillmore opened the door to bring in the food, Carter shoved past him and ran into the street. His freedom was short lived. He was captured by an aroused citizenry within minutes and returned to his cell.
The following morning, September 12, Judge Erickson sentenced Carter to life imprisonment for the murder of Marshal Isbell. Two days later, Sheriff Fillmore escorted a vehement Carter back to the state prison in Salt Lake City. The killer went cursing, promising to “get” a few more of “them” if ever he got out of prison again.
There would be no petitions this time, no upwelling of public support for his early release. No one wanted Carter out of prison and back in Richfield. Not that what the community wanted mattered much to the Board of Pardons. Carter served less than five years of his life sentence. By 1923 he was a trusty at the prison and responsible for various aspects of its maintenance. For undetermined reasons he was paroled again on May 15, 1926, and his sentence commuted November 21, 1927. He vowed never to indulge in “booze” again. It was a hollow promise. Records indicate that he was arrested in Richfield for public intoxication in July 1930. On February 3, 1933, Carter died in Richfield of heart disease.
Martha Isbell never remarried. She struggled to provide for her family. The year after her husband was murdered, her eleven-year-old daughter died of blood poisoning arising from infected tonsils. Martha eventually moved to Salt Lake City where she lived until her death on September 7, 1934. She is buried next to Lee in the Richfield Cemetery.

Marshal Isbell riding in a parade
If you have additional information or corrections regarding the murder of Marshal Lee F. Isbell, please contact Robert Kirby at rkirby@sltrib.com.

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