TN TN - Peggy Barnes, 40, Knoxville, 3 June 1985

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killarney rose said:
Could they be related?

TN TN - Pauline George, murdered in 1991 in Knoxville, TN - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community

TN TN - Suzanne Williams and Patricia Williams (sisters), murdered Dec 29, 1987 - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community
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I was just about to post the same case! Thank you! :) The Patricia and Suzanne Williams case is very similar to this case.

In both cases, the police believed that the women were murdered by someone they knew. The women were also found bound and strangled.

Here is a picture of the man of interest in the Patricia and Suzanna Williams case:
Migraines%20with%20Aura
 

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So reading through an article on Patricia and Susan Williams, there were quite a few things that just now hit me.

In the article, a detective who was looking over the case years later said that an exterminator came through the house about 10 a.m. and he saw the girls lying there, but didn't think they were dead, so he did his job and went home... That seems weird. The article says that Suzanne was nude on her bed with both her hands and feet bound, and that she had been raped and strangled with a window cord. How does a person not notice this? The same thing with Patricia. She was not only bound and strangled but also gagged.

I'm not sure if the articles ever pinpoint the exact time when the women were supposed to have died but has the exterminator ever been looked at as a person of interest? He was at the house around 10 a.m., which is about the time of day that Peggy Ann Barnes was murdered two years before, during working hours for exterminators.

Maybe I'm looking way too far into this as I'm sure the police questioned the exterminator in the beginning of the Patricia and Suzanne Williams case. It just seemed odd how he never questioned the state in which he found the women.
 
jafsell said:
I was just about to post the same case! Thank you! :) The Patricia and Suzanne Williams case is very similar to this case.

In both cases, the police believed that the women were murdered by someone they knew. The women were also found bound and strangled.

Here is a picture of the man of interest in the Patricia and Suzanna Williams case:
Migraines%20with%20Aura
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This suspect favors Larry Lee Smith the rapist in above link!
 
I would definitely agree that this Larry Lee Smith guy is similar to the Barnes' murder- at least in the binding of the victim and raping. I've been away from my computer all day but I was able to look up one article on him. I'll have to read more about him. Thank you sloane7777!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Just an update: I emailed a local news writer in Knoxville who told me that they as far as they know the crime had not been solved. I was wondering if this was one of those crimes that had been solved sort of under the table-that hadn't really gotten much news, or if there was a person of interest but there wasn't enough evidence. It does not appear to be that way though.
 
Just an update: I contacted the head of the Chief of Police at the Knoxville Police Department a few weeks ago, who I was directed to by the web-master. I mainly just wanted to find out if the case had ever actually been solved or not, which I don't think it has. He still has not replied... Any advice?
 
jafsell said:
Thank you!! Apparently, they aren't releasing the names of most of his victims. Peggy was murdered in 1985, so it depends on when he was arrested.
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The article states he moved from Knoxville in 1984. Also, Knox County SO is interested specifically in cases of missing African American women. So, Marcus is unlikely to be Peggy's killer.
 
jafsell said:
Just an update: I contacted the head of the Chief of Police at the Knoxville Police Department a few weeks ago, who I was directed to by the web-master. I mainly just wanted to find out if the case had ever actually been solved or not, which I don't think it has. He still has not replied... Any advice?
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Jafsell, it's wonderful that you're interested in Peggy Ann's case. You might have better luck contacting the Knox County SO cold case unit.

http://www.knoxsheriff.org/coldcase/homicides.php

Judging from the amount of media generated in the past couple of years, it's obvious the team is proactive in working to resolve cold case files.

The team was formed several years ago as part of a grant program. Once the grant funds stopped coming in, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Knoxville Police were so impressed with the team’s progress, they included funds in their budgets to keep the Cold Case Investigation team together.
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http://theknoxvillejournal.com/cold-case-crackers/
KNOXVILLE (WATE) - Decades-old cold cases in Knox County are getting new life thanks to fresh leads. Investigators are working on more than 200 cold cases dating back to the 1960s, and now there are indictments in three of those cases.
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http://www.wate.com/story/22122598/old-fashioned-police-work-helps-crack-3-knox-county-cold-cases

http://www.lawofficer.com/article/news/tenn-cold-case-units-out-make

http://knoxvilleisurf.com/local-news-knoxville/1714.html
 
bessie said:
Jafsell, it's wonderful that you're interested in Peggy Ann's case. You might have better luck contacting the Knox County SO cold case unit.

http://www.knoxsheriff.org/coldcase/homicides.php

Judging from the amount of media generated in the past couple of years, it's obvious the team is proactive in working to resolve cold case files.

http://theknoxvillejournal.com/cold-case-crackers/
http://www.wate.com/story/22122598/old-fashioned-police-work-helps-crack-3-knox-county-cold-cases

http://www.lawofficer.com/article/news/tenn-cold-case-units-out-make

http://knoxvilleisurf.com/local-news-knoxville/1714.html
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Thank you! I'll contact them!
 
Thank you again Bessie and everyone else for your help! I contacted the Knoxville Cold Case Department and they informed me that the suspect committed suicide. The person that contacted me said that, if they remembered correctly, it was someone who lived within close proximity of Peggy Ann Barnes. It is sad to know that this person (if they were indeed guilty, chose such a cowardly way to end it all), but some resolution to know that someone did not necessarily "go free" for her murder.
 
Detectives don't think those cases are connected. It's interesting that there were four gruesome murders within two miles of each other in the time frame of only a few years. The murders happened in nice neighborhoods, too.

They're closing in on Pauline George's murder. I'm hoping Jamie Hickman is the next victim to get Justice.
 
bessie said:
Jafsell, it's wonderful that you're interested in Peggy Ann's case. You might have better luck contacting the Knox County SO cold case unit.

http://www.knoxsheriff.org/coldcase/homicides.php

Judging from the amount of media generated in the past couple of years, it's obvious the team is proactive in working to resolve cold case files.

http://theknoxvillejournal.com/cold-case-crackers/
http://www.wate.com/story/22122598/old-fashioned-police-work-helps-crack-3-knox-county-cold-cases

http://www.lawofficer.com/article/news/tenn-cold-case-units-out-make

biggest online marketing
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You're right. Peggy Barnes was murdered in an unincorporated part of Knox County named Halls Crossroads so the Knox County Sheriff's Department had jurisdiction of the case rather than the Knoxville Police Department. The Knoxville Police Department probably has no record of it.

The newspaper article you linked to mentions Knox County Homicide Detective Herman Johnson.
 
MajorHoople said:
You're right. Peggy Barnes was murdered in an unincorporated part of Knox County named Halls Crossroads so the Knox County Sheriff's Department had jurisdiction of the case rather than the Knoxville Police Department. The Knoxville Police Department probably has no record of it.

The newspaper article you linked to mentions Knox County Homicide Detective Herman Johnson.
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I'm reviewing this Resolved Cold Cases sub. This particular thread is confusing to me. Was this woman's case resolved? Most of the links to articles are expired. TIA
 
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