Detective John E. Morrisey was born on a farm near Albany, New York on March 12, 1858 and moved with his family to a farm near Brownsville, Minnesota in 1866. He came to Minneapolis in 1881 where he first worked as a streetcar driver.
On May 1, 1886, he was appointed Patrolman by Mayor A.A. Ames and assigned to duty at the Central Station. In June of 1892, Mayor Eustis appointed him to the detective force where he served for the remainder of his career.
Detective Morrisey was one of the detectives on the Ozark Flats Murder case. In its day, it was the most spectacular murder-for-hire trial Minnesota had ever seen and it was featured in newspapers across the country.
If you would like to read Detective Morrisey’s court testimony as it appeared in the Minneapolis Tribune on February 9, 1895, just click on the link below and scroll down to page four.
Minneapolis Tribune courtesy of Minnesota Historical Society