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The Man Who Wouldn’t Die – The Bizarre Depression Era Crime That Shaped How Our Insurance Works

Khalid Elhassan June 2, 2025 17 min

A young Michael Malloy, left, and his killers. I09

1. A Legacy of Change

Malloy - 'The Murder Trust', clockwise from top left, Daniel Kreisberg, Joseph Murphy, Frank Pasqua, and Anthony 'Tony' Marino — ‘The Murder Trust’, clockwise from top left, Daniel Kreisberg, Joseph Murphy, Frank Pasqua, and Anthony ‘Tony’ Marino. On the House

Set during the Great Depression, the bizarre murder reflects how economic despair can drive people to moral and legal ruin. It was not just a murder story, but also a mirror reflecting societal desperation. Ever since, the “Murder Trust” has been studied in sociology and criminology courses to highlight the relationship between poverty, crime, and opportunity.

The Malloy case remains one of the most bizarre and grimly fascinating stories in American criminal history. Beyond the shocking details, however, it pushed the insurance industry, law enforcement, and regulatory bodies to evolve. The way insurance as we know it today is handled – especially life insurance – owes a lot to the unfortunate “Mike the Durable”.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Gizmodo – The Legend of Mike ‘The Durable’ Malloy, History’s Most Stubborn Murder Victim

History Collection – A Notorious Gangster Started One of the First Soup Kitchens in America During the Great Depression

Lexology – Insurable Interest

New York Times, July 4^th, 1934 – Last Malloy Kill Will Die Tomorrow

NY Daily News, October 14^th, 2007 – The Durable Mike Malloy

Read, Simon – On the House: The Bizarre Killing of Michael Malloy (2005)

Smithsonian Magazine, February 7^th, 2012 – The Man Who Wouldn’t Die

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.