Roll of Honor
Incident
On June 13, 1870, Nueces County Sheriff Dennis J. Kelly walked passed Thomas Burke on a downtown street in Corpus Christi. The sheriff knew Burke was wanted but walked past him. Burke shot and killed Sheriff Kelly. Burke fled and a $500 reward was offered for his capture, but no records located to indicate Burke was ever apprehended.
Sheriff Kelly was survived by his wife and five children. Sheriff Kelly was appointed on April 16, 1869 by General J. J. Reynolds’ Special Order #90; took the test oath April 30, 1869; elected December 3, 1869 and served until June 13, 1870 when he was murdered.
Survivors
Sheriff Kelly was survived by his wife and five children.
In Our Keeping
- Permanent identifier
BO-US-TX-5345F999- Stewardship
- Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
- Added to badge.nw
- April 2, 2026
- Last updated
- July 23, 2026
Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.
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Tributes
156 years is a long time for a name to go unread. Not today.
Sheriff Kelly gave the Nueces County Sheriff's Office 1 year.
Thank you for your service to the Corpus Christi community. Gone but never to be forgotten.
— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993
Agency
Service Record
Incident Details
Sheriff Dennis J. Kelly 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%.
At Nueces County Sheriff's Office, 7 of 9 officers on record were killed feloniously — deliberately targeted and murdered in the line of duty — 77.8% of this agency's fallen.
National Cause Distribution
How Felonious compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Dennis J. Kelly's cause is highlighted.
How Dennis J. Kelly Compares
Offender Outcome
Thomas Burke
When Felonious Deaths Occur
Monthly distribution of Felonious deaths across the full memorial record. Dennis J. Kelly is highlighted in Jun.
Weapons Used Against Officers
Most common weapons in felonious officer deaths. Dennis J. Kelly was killed by handgun.
Others Who Wore This Badge
8 officers from Nueces County Sheriff's Office are honored on badge.nw.
