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, 2 April 1977:
Assaulted, strangled – Woman’s murder termed ‘maniacal’
TREMONT – An autopsy performed at the Pottsville Hospital Friday on the body of a 78-year-old Tremont woman who was found dead in her home by neighbors Thursday night revealed that the victim had been sexually assaulted and died of manual strangulation.
“I’ve never seen anything like this. It was the work of an animal… a maniac,” a source close to the investigation said today. He said the victim was strangled with “enormous intensity.”
The body of Jenne E. Barr, 20 N. Crescent St., was discovered in a first-floor den at 10:15 p.m. Thursday with a wound on her forehead and blood on the floor, according to state police at Pottsville.
State police details from Pottsville and Reading as well as the county district attorney’s office are still trying to come up with some sort of motive for the murder.
A spokesman from the Pottsville barracks of the state police said investigators have “no idea of any motive.”
Police said it appeared that nothing was missing from the house, that it was not ransacked and that there were no signs of forceable entry. The family of Mrs. Barr, who was a widow and lived alone, is taking a complete inventory of the house to make sure nothing’s missing.
Police said Mrs. Barr was known to be very safety conscious, always making sure that the doors were locked and things were neat but police have yet to come up with any idea on how entry was gained to the house.
Police also said it was difficult to determine whether more than one person was involved.
Barr’s face and body were badly beaten, police said, and it is believed that the [sic] she died between 10 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday.
A friend of Barr’s had apparently been trying to call the woman all day Thursday and finally phoned a neighbor when Mrs. Barr did not answer the phone. A neighbor went to the house to check on her Thursday and found the body. She was pronounced dead at 10:50 p.m. by Deputy Coroner William E. Minnig Jr.
The body was removed to the Pottsville Hospital and an autopsy which was completed at approximately 1:30 p.m. Friday termed what police first termed as “apparent” homicide into homicide.
Police said there are no suspects as of yet but they and county detective are canvassing the entire borough in the home that someone will be able to give the police a lead.
Schuylkill County District Attorney Richard B. Russell said Friday that approximately 12 state policemen plus county detectives and Tremont borough police are investigating the homicide.
Russell also said. “It does not appear that the motive was robbery or burglary.”
“We want to talk to just about anybody in Tremont who knew her or who may have seen any type of activity in the past few days,” he said.
____________________________________
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.