At the end of March 1977, Mrs. Jennie E. Barr, an elderly widow, was found dead in her den in her home in Tremont, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. The cause of death was strangulation and she was also sexually assaulted. Investigators ruled the death a homicide.
This murder was the first of four that occurred in the Lykens Valley area in a less than three-year period between 1977 and 1979 – all of elderly widows.
The story of the discovery of the body through the revelation of the autopsy results, investigation and settlement of her estate is told through 12 brief stories that appeared in area newspapers.
Although a suspect was charged and brought to trial in 1981, he was quickly acquitted. As with the other three murders, this homicide remains unsolved.
Note: The 1981 trial will be featured in another series of posts.
From the Pottsville Republican, 11 May 1977:
Estate of JENNIE E. BARR
Late of the Borough of Tremont, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania.
Letters Testamentary on the above estate have been granted to the undersigned, who request all persons having claims or demands against the estate of the decendent [sic] to make known the same, and to all persons indebted to the decedent to make payment, without delay to
Mr. David L. Barr, Executor, 14 Noyes Street, Utica, New York 13502
Mr. James N. Ord, R.D. No. 2, Palmerton, Pennsylvania 18071
Or to their Attorneys:
NANOVIC & McKINLEY, 57 Broadway, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania 18229
____________________________________
For all other parts of this story, see: Who Killed Jennie E. Barr?
News clipping/article from Newspapers.com.
Corrections and additional information should be added as comments to this post.