Thomas Hartley Montgomery

Sub-Inspector Thomas Hartley Montgomery ( – 26 August 1873, Omagh, Ireland) was an officer of the Royal Irish Constabulary. He is the only police officer in Irish history to receive the death penalty for murder.

Newtownstewart Murder On 29 June 1871, Sub-Inspector Montgomery, who was chronically short of funds, assaulted William Glass, a clerk employed by the Northern Bank, with a hedge knife and stabbed him through the head with a filing spike. Sub-Inspector Montgomery then stole £1,600 from the till. In the aftermath, Inspector Montgomery took charge of the investigation and briefly succeeded in deflecting suspicion from himself. However, Montgomery's subordinates ultimately learned of his financial difficulties and eyewitnesses identified him as having left the bank one hour before the body of William Glass was discovered. As a result, a County Tyrone coroner's inquest brought a verdict of willful murder against Sub-Inspector Montgomery. His last words were "May Lord have mercy on my soul"