Cat Swamp Hijacking and Murder

At about 6:00 a.m. on June 14, 1921, on Cat Swamp Hill in Byram Township, the Sussex Print Silk truck was hijacked. Albert Koster drove onto the scene on his motorcycle, was mistaken for a state trooper, and was murdered. The gang escaped with $11,000 of bolt silk. Through the work of Franklin Police Chief Herbert C. Irons, the killers were eventually captured. County Sheriff Linus Littell and Prosecutor Lewis Van Blarcon persevered through two years of trials to obtain convictions of the thieves, two of whom were executed for the murder.

Byram, New Jersey · United States