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 Lebanon Daily News, 5 April 1977:
Burglary Ruled Out In Slaying
Schuylkill County authorities have ruled out burglary as a motive in the March 31 murder of Jenne E. Barr, 78-year-old widow of a Tremont osteopath.
District Attorney Richard B. Russell said he knows of no reason why anyone would have wanted to kill Mrs. Barr. She was found dead in her Tremont home by a neighbor and her death was attributed to manual strangulation. An autopsy also indicated that she had been sexually assaulted.
A prominent Tremont civic worker, Mrs. Barr was the widow of Dr. Guy Barr.
Russell said there were no visible signs of forced entry into the Barr home and police are theorizing that Mrs. Barr may have known her slayer.
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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.