At 12:37 someone would enter Whitby Junction and shoot Billy in the chest. In his last moments, he would go to his desk and call the Bell Telephone Switchboard. Billy would tell them "I'm shot, I'm all done in".
When law enforcement arrived Billy was dead. He had fallen backward onto the floor and the phone hung over the side. He had fallen from where he was standing and died. There was no gunshot powder on Billy's clothes meaning that he was shot from a distance.
The scene was not displaced or anything. The killer did not seem to have stolen any money or objects from the station. There were no broken windows the only thing that was out of place was that the ticket window was closed and unlocked. It's believed that this was done after or during Billy's murder. It was also possible that since there was no struggle Billy was shot through the ticket window when it was open.
However, there was evidence that they had searched Billy's body as a bloody handprint was found on the side of a cabinet near the desk. The killer had used it to help stand up after getting Billy's blood on his hands. There was no way Billy made this print as there was almost no blood on his hands. There was nothing in Billy's pockets and even his watch was missing. Strangely, Billy was robbed, but the station wasn't.
It's unknown who killed Billy, but there are a few motives. One was that Billy's father had killed him for money. His father was examined as a suspect. Feeling like he had become the main suspect in his son's murder he would end his life. He would lie on the tracks and be hit by a train.
A friend of Billy's claimed that he thought that Italians had something to do with the murder. Another friend stated that he was not planning to marry and was talking to a woman at the time. It could be possible that it was because of a jealous lover. It was also possible he was killed over a potential gambling debt.
The Tronto Star December 14, 1914
The Province December 17, 1914
The Standard April 22, 1914
