Constable Wilson was shot and killed by a gang of burglars who passed through the town of Cobleskill.

Constable Wilson surprised the four suspects at the corner of West Main Street and Union Street as they were attempting to rob a bank. All four were eventually apprehended.

All four suspects were convicted of Constable Wilson's murder. Two were sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair, one on March 24, 1903, and the other on July 7, 1903. The third suspect was sentenced to life and died at Auburn Prison in March of 1914 from tuberculosis. The fourth suspect was sentenced to 10 years in prison.