Tip line call reinitiated 1966 Calumet City cold case, leading to arrest of 79-year-old man
Prosecutors said 2-and-a-half-month-old daughter left undisturbed in bassinet during attack
MARKHAM, Ill. (WLS) -- Calumet City police said a phone call in 2022 ultimately led to the arrest of a 79-year-old man in a nearly 60-year-old cold case.
Karen Snider, 18, was found at about 11:10 p.m. Nov. 12, 1966, in a home in the 400-block of Wilson Avenue.
Prosecutors said she was stabbed 120 times across her body, while her 2-and-a-half month old baby was left unharmed in her bassinet.
On Thursday, James Barbier, 79, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Snider. He was arrested in Missouri last week.
This is a development that the Snider family has been waiting on for 57 years.
Relatives of Snider, who was a young mother stabbed to death in her home, believe investigators have the right man.
READ ALSO | 79-year-old man charged in 1966 Calumet City cold case in which young mom stabbed 120 times
In December of 2022, Calumet City detectives reopened the investigation after a man called to ask about the case.
The man said his grandmother would often talk about the case. Police said it was that call that initiated the case to be reopened.
They submitted Snider's preserved clothing for DNA testing, and prosecutors said the blood stains on her dress later revealed a significant likelihood of matching Barbier's DNA.
Barbier returned to court Thursday, after detectives recently uncovered a DNA match to one of the articles of clothing the victim was wearing when the murder happened.
The Pretrial Fairness Act forces prosecutors to consider the age and medical condition of the defendant, so a judge released Barbier Thursday, under certain conditions.
Barbier was a lead suspect in 1966, when detectives saw him at Snider's funeral, and noticed he had wounds.
At the time, there was not enough evidence to charge Barbier, so he was released.
The family is disappointed he'll remain free at home until the trial.
Barbier is due back in court in Markham on May 21 for his next status hearing.
