CHICAGO (CBS)– An elderly Missouri man was arrested Monday for the murder of an 18-year-old woman nearly 60 years ago in a south Chicago suburb.
James Barbier, 79, is charged with first-degree murder in the 1966 stabbing death of 18-year-old Karen Snider in Calumet City.
Cook County Circuit Court
Husband discovers his wife’s body
Snider’s husband, Paul, found her dead from multiple stab wounds in their home in the 400 block of Wilson Avenue around 11:10 p.m. on November 12, 1966. According to published reports, her husband told the police that he had found his wife’s body. when he came home from work. Their two-month-old daughter, Paula, was found safe in her crib in another room.
Snider family
Police said an autopsy revealed Snider had been beaten and stabbed 125 times. Barbier was considered a suspect at the time but was never charged.
“My dad’s side always said, ‘He’s the man,'” the Sniders’ daughter, Paula Larson, said after Thursday’s court hearing.
According to published reports, detectives were unable to find any clear fingerprints at the time of the murder, but hoped that blood tests on a broken basement window would help them identify the killer.
The Daily Chronicle
What evidence led to murder charges?
Police said they reopened the case in December 2022 and detectives spent more than a year reviewing evidence and tracking down witnesses for questioning.
Detectives sent clothing and a sheet to the Illinois State Crime Lab for analysis. In March 2023, investigators obtained a search warrant in Missouri and obtained a DNA sample from the defendant. A DNA analysis led them to charge Barbier with murder.
Barbier was a family friend who had worked as a railroad employee with Karen Snider’s husband.
Barbier was a pallbearer at Karen Snider’s funeral and was observed with cuts on his hands, according to court documents.
Paul Snider died in 1989.
“I took it with me when my dad explained to me what happened,” Larson said. “I was about 11, but by the time I was five I was hearing kids at school talking about it because their parents were talking about it.”
Barbier was arrested Monday in Creve Coeur, Missouri, and brought back to Calumet City to face charges.
“I never thought we would ever get here,” Larson said. “I never thought we would have a DNA match because there wasn’t one back then. I’m very grateful that the clothes were well preserved.”
He made his first appearance in court in Markham on Thursday and was allowed to return to Missouri while he awaits trial.
He must surrender his passport, appear for all required court dates and can only travel within Missouri and to and from court.
Defense attorneys said Barbier suffered from diabetes and suffered a stroke last year. He is due back in court on May 21.
Bill Neaves, who is Karen Snider’s brother, said: “I can’t imagine seeing him sitting there and for 57 years he was free, and my sister was underground.”
He said it was time to “make sure he pays for what he did.”
Grub5
