Delia D'Ambra

The group discussed the shooting and the older man decided to leave the area and report what had happened to the Orange County authorities.

Shortly after that, investigators from that agency notified J.D.

's wife, Elora Murphree, who was at the couple's home in the nearby community of Mauriceville, Texas.

Her reaction was what you'd expect, devastated.

J.D.

was just 33 years old when he was killed, and the couple shared three young children together, one of whom was just preschool age.

They'd been married for about 13 years and had spent the morning of December 8th together discussing their kids' schooling and the upcoming Christmas holiday.

J.D.

was the main income provider for the household, and from what I read in the available source material, his role as a Texas game warden didn't pay a lot.

Carlton Wilson reported for the United Press International that in 1963, there were only about 250 game wardens employed by the state of Texas.

And their starting pay was $350 per month.

J.D.

earned $384 a month due to the fact that he'd worked as a game warden for about eight years.

But still, it's safe to say it was not a lucrative job by any means.

So to keep his family's budget as lean as possible, J.D.

had forewent getting life insurance for himself.

According to the coverage I found in this case, he didn't have a policy through his employer or a private insurance provider, which meant his wife and children were left in a really rough spot financially after he was killed.

An article by Leo Healer explained that the state planned to pay lower one month's worth of J.D.

's salary, which equated to about $4,600.

But that was it as far as money from his employer went.