Roll of Honor
William Oscar McCarty
Incident
On Saturday, April 11, 1942, around 9:45 p.m. Burnet County Precinct 4 Constable William Oscar McCarty, 57, attempted to quiet a disturbance outside a motion picture theater in Marble Falls, Burnet County, Texas. He asked Robert Felder, 35, to leave the front of the theater. Felder and the constable exchanged words. Felder and Constable McCarty each fired two rounds at each other. McCarty was shot in the heart and died at 10:05 p.m. A stray bullet struck a female bystander in the hand. Felder fled the scene and surrendered to sheriff deputies at the county seat in Burnet. On June 25, 1942, Felder was convicted in a one-day trial and sentenced to two to 25 years in the state prison. His appeal was denied. He was paroled on January 20, 1948.
William Oscar McCarty had been elected Constable of Precinct 4 on November 5, 1940 and commissioned on February 17, 1941. His earlier occupation had been listed as a farmer. He was survived by his wife, Katie, and four children – Mary, William, Josephine and Oscar. He was buried in the family plot in the Marble Falls Cemetery in Burnet County.
Survivors
He was survived by his wife, Katie, and four children – Mary, William, Josephine and Oscar.
In Our Keeping
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- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
You barely got started.
Constable McCarty gave the Burnet County Constable's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Burnet community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Constable McCarty.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Constable William Oscar McCarty is one of 17,623 officers killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 54.2% of all 32,508 officers honored here.
In TX, 1,463 of 2,421 officers were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 60.4% of this state's fallen. That is 6.2 percentage points above the national rate of 54.2%.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. William Oscar McCarty's cause is highlighted.
How William Oscar McCarty Compares
Offender Outcome
Paroled in 1948
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. William Oscar McCarty is highlighted in Apr.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. William Oscar McCarty was killed by handgun.