This image is the cover for the book Jefferson County Egan Murders

Jefferson County Egan Murders

The true story of a triple murder that shocked a New York community and drew the interest of famed criminal defense attorney F. Lee Bailey.

Twenty-seven-year-old Peter Egan, his wife Barbara Ann, and Peter’s younger brother Gerald were familiar to Watertown, New York, authorities long before December 31, 1964. The police suspected the brazen trio in a long string of burglaries and petty crimes. They were also under investigation by the FBI for grand theft auto. But on that New Year's night, the Egan family’s criminal career came to a violent end. All three were found with a bullet to the head at a rest stop off Interstate 81.

The gruesome killings puzzled local and state police. Was it a random murder? A confrontation gone awry? Or a premeditated act of retribution by hardened criminals who feared the Egans would turn state's witness? Then, a surprise arrest was made. But when F. Lee Bailey, lawyer for the self-confessed Boston Strangler, entered the fray, the case took an unexpected twist that shrouded the murders in mystery to this day.

Dave Shampine, Daniel T. Boyer

Dave Shampine is retired from a forty-two-year career with the Watertown Daily Times in Watertown, New York. During that time, he covered countless local events as well as wrote a history column. He is the author of Remembering New York’s North Country: Tales of Times Gone By (2009); Colorful Characters of Northern New York: Northern Lights (2010); and The North Country Murder of Irene Izak: Stained By Her Blood (2010). Daniel Thomas Boyer is a Jefferson County native who grew up in Redwood, about thirty miles north of Watertown. He moved south with his parents following his graduation from Alexandria Central School in 1976, and eventually settled in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where he continues to reside. He has spent years researching the Egan case, and also maintains a Facebook site entitled “Where in the Heck is Redwood New York.” He is a contributor to the Redwood Historical Society.

The History Press