On the morning of September 9, 1978, 46-year-old jailer Harry Euban Davis of Marshalltown, Iowa, was shot and killed while on duty in the lobby of the Marshall County Jail on South Second Avenue. Davis had been a part-time jailer with the Marshall County Sheriff’s Office for about two weeks when shots were fired through the front windows at approximately 1:15 AM. The shooter, Everett Roy Lyon, used a high-powered rifle and a revolver and apparently targeted the building believing he was attacking Sheriff Derald Gonzalez; the killing was later described as a case of mistaken identity.

Lyon was arrested later the same day and charged with first-degree murder; he was convicted and received a life sentence. Davis left behind a wife and three children, and his name is engraved on the Iowa Peace Officer Memorial in Des Moines. Does anyone have memories of Davis, the jail in that era, or information that could add context to what happened that night?