NORMAN V. KELLY
Mike, I’ll identify him later, had the fantasies we
talked about, in fact, he had previously clashed with the law over these urges
of his, landing him in jail. At the time of this incident, as a matter of fact,
he was out on some technicality just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Here
he had this chance to show that he was under control, that he could handle
these deviated fantasies, but of course he couldn’t. He had been taught certain
techniques while he was in Zeller Zone Clinic in Peoria, then out he came. It
wasn’t long before he was in trouble again, and over in Bartonville, the police
were working on getting him back in jail.
He had a pretty good life with the support of his
mother and a few friends. Hell, he managed to come up with the $75,000 bond he
had to put up in his latest charge of child molestation. He could not have done
that without help from his family. Mike knew the routine, the shrinks, the
cops, the damn state’s attorney he’d been there and done that. He would and
could show them that he did not have a sexual problem. He would get out of this
last attack on him and prove them all wrong. His life was an open book to the
authorities and they were just picking on him.
Maybe the job history did give the investigators a
clue into this man. He had a pretty good job at CAT but he up and quit it
before he was dismissed. From there he worked at Acme Cash Register after he
got out of vocational school. He was no dummy, he graduated from Limestone
High, and as a kid went to Bartonville Grade School. Hell, he was no honor
student, but he managed to get by. He got a job at the Airport out in Peoria County,
quit that and went to Maple City Stamping Company. He had a short stint with
Chris Hoerr and over-all he seemed to stay employed. He tried to tell the
shrinks that he was just an average Joe, he wasn’t lazy and he managed to take
pretty damn good care of himself. If they would just leave him alone, quit
picking on him every damn time some little girl said she was ‘molested,’ why
he’d be fine.
Mike never married, he’d had girls, and as late as
l975 he was engaged to a very nice girl. Why did the police bug him about his
being some kind of deviant character?
Mike was a pretty big man, witnesses later describe
him like this: Fat with a round face that had quite a few pockmarks on it.
Light brown hair, a few small scars on the hands and face. He was said to wear glasses, and drive a l968
or l969 four-door Buick Electra. All the witnesses stated that he had a high
voice and acted ‘kinda nervous.’ So how do you like him so far is he a
candidate for your son-in-law?
PSST! WANNA
BABY-SIT?
Modus Operandi in Latin means ‘Manner of working’.
Every devotee of crime stories knows this phrase and the cops in the TV shows
throw this word around abbreviated to M.O.
Actually, it is not just a criminal term every one of us has our own
M.O. in our daily work. Mike had his own criminal M.O. and before he was
finally behind bars, a hell of a lot of people knew what it was, especially
young girls.
Mike would hop in his Buick, gas it up in Bartonville
and cruise. From his home over on Paradise in Bartonville, Illinois he liked to
drive around side streets and nice residential areas. He smiled at the young
kids, even waved. He knew exactly what he was looking for and when he found it
he pulled over and parked. Sometimes he got out of the car, leaned against the
fender and waited for some young girls to walk by.
“Hi, I just moved
into the area and
I was wondering
if you kids knew
of anybody
interested in baby-sitting?”
It worked, the kids would stop, they would talk and
many times Mike got
a name, a telephone number. He acted on a few of
these, and as a result he had been arrested for the sexual molestation of a
twelve-year-old over in Bartonville. He also got away with it more times than
the authorities would ever learn. Sure we warn our kids about talking to
strangers, but you’d be surprised how many kids react to questions by perverts.
We all know about this one. “Hey, kid, can you help me find my little
puppy.” These creeps are out there by
the thousands playing their deadly games.
Look at the ones we all know about, Ted Bundy, Gacey,
Dahmer, they used similar ploys on adults and they were almost l00% successful.
Basically it boils down to being friendly and presenting something the intended
victim
could buy into.
It was August l3, l975, and as usual, he slept until
almost noon. After eating he got into the Buick and drove over to a Texaco
station in Bartonville. He knew people over there and felt at home. He drove
down Creek Road, then out by Middle Road. The windows were down in his
four-door Buick and he was in no hurry, just looking around, ‘Crusin’ he called
it. He knew the area, and that was why he went back. He’d seen some pretty cute
little girls over this way, and he was out looking for them again. There she
was, standing by the driveway tossing what looked like little rocks. Mike
pulled over glancing at the house number, l002 Schmidt.
Smiling, his right arm thrown over the front seat, he
wiggled his fingers and spoke to the little girl.
“Hi, There.”
The little girl looked at the man in the car then
glanced back at her house.
“Say, I’m new in this neighborhood and
I’m looking for a good baby-sitter,”
The little girl stayed where she was, dropped her
rocks and answered the
man in the Buick.
“I don’t baby-sit, but my sister does.”
“Can I talk to her?”
“She ain’t here now.”
Almost imperceptibly, Mike had slid over against the
passenger’s door, smiling, he said “could I take your telephone number and call
your sister?”
By now, Denise Bishop, that was the little girl Mike
was talking to had made her way to the car just two feet from the stranger
talking to her. Denise gave the man a quick smile and said, “Sure.” Mike
reached into the glove compartment and extracted a pencil and a small notebook,
which he handed to Denise. She wrote the
name of her sister down and the telephone number. Handing it back to Mike, he
smiled “thank you very much. Please tell her I’ll call her a little later this
afternoon.”
Denise nodded, Mike said, “how old is your sister?” As
he spoke he put the notebook in his shirt pocket. “What was her name?”
Denise had stepped back away from the car and she had
to lean a bit to talk to the man. “Her name is Linda and she’s fifteen.”
Mike slid back under the wheel and leaned over so he
could see Denise. “Thanks, I’ll call her a little later.” He then waved and
drove off down the street. He thought fifteen was a little bit older than he
wanted, but it sure sounded good. He got
that familiar feeling in his groin as he drove off. Denise walked up the
sidewalk a few feet and stared after the Buick. She knew her sister would be
happy to hear that she had another baby-sitting job.
HAVE
A NICE DAY
Mike was back at his home trying to keep busy by
washing the car, glancing at the clock, fidgeting, willing the time to pass.
Finally a couple hours after he talked to Denise he reached for the telephone.
His hands were sweating, his mouth dry, he misdialed…dialed again.
“Is this Denise?” “No, it’s Linda.”
“Oh, Hi Linda. I’m the man that talked
to your sister about a baby-sitter.”
“Oh, Yeah, Denise told me.”
“I was wondering if I could pick you up
about four? Would you be
available?”
“How many hours would you need me?
“Oh, four maybe five at the most.”
“Okay, come over at four.”
“Great Linda see you then. Have a nice day.”
THE
TRAP IS SET
Mike hung up the telephone took a deep breath and
clapped his hands together. This was always the best part of the whole damn
hunt. He loved to to set the prey up, to anticipate and to revel in what was
coming. God, he loved it. He headed for the shower.
Denise was out in the yard around 3:30 that August l3,
l975. Linda was up the street walking the dog and Linda had told her to look
out for the man in the Buick. She saw the Buick turn on to Schmidt Street as
she walked toward the curb. Mike pulled up near her and waved at her, asking
for Linda. Denise pointed up the street.
“You just passed her. She’s up there walking our dog.”
Mike pulled the Buick into the drive then backed up
and headed back up Schmidt Street. Denise watched as the car pulled over and
Linda walked over to the driver's side to talk to the driver. Denise was
surprised to see her sister walking back to the house.
“Ain’t you gonna baby-sit?”
“Yeah, he’s gonna come right back. Listen, Denise”
Linda said, taking the dog off the leash, “promise
you won’t tell anyone that that man is a stranger.
You know if you tell mom she won’t let me
baby-sit.
I need the money.”
“Where’s he live?” Denise asked.
Linda shrugged, “look, we’ll tell mom that he is a
friend of…a cousin of Link’s, okay?”
A few minutes later the two sisters were in the front
yard waiting for Mike to come back to pick up Linda. Denise pointed toward the
Buick as it turned on to their street. Denise touched Linda’s shoulder,
“remember what I said, don’t forget, Link’s cousin, okay?” Denise and Linda
walked to the curb as Linda looked over at Denise, “you know, Denise, this guy
sounded a bit spooky on the phone.” Linda smiled, “he asked me to wear a dress.”
They both smiled, Denise said, “a dress, why? Linda
lowered her voice “he said some church folks might come over to his house. I
told him I didn’t have a dress and I was gonna wear shorts.”
By now the Buick was at the curb and Linda reached for
the door. Mike smiled “ready to go?” Linda got in the car and closed the door.
Denise leaned inside the car and asked, “where is this baby-sitting job?”
Mike looked over at the little sister and smiled his
best smile. “Do you know where Wood Street is?” Denise shook her head. “It’s
over off of Farmington Road.”
Denise stepped back as the Buick pulled slowly from
the curb. She watched as the car went down a couple of houses then turned
around toward Denise. Linda waved, “good-bye, Denise.” That was the last time Denise
would ever see her sister Linda Bishop alive.
ON THE
WAY TO WORK
Mike and Linda drove along, the windows were down, it
was a hot August day, and the breeze was pleasant. They made small talk, just
two people driving along, enjoying the day. Mike pulled the big car into the
driveway over at l23 Paradise in Bartonville, Illinois
Linda stood back, folded her arms, and noticed that
the man’s leg was shaking, in fact both of them. As she stood looking at him,
Mike reached over and turned the faucet on in the basement sink, that’s when
she saw his shaking hands. Linda made a move to go toward the stairs. “I think
I better get out of here.” “Please, Linda, I’m just a bit nervous.” As he spoke
he moved toward Linda, and then with a quick grab he snatched her hair pulling
her toward the sink that was rapidly filling up with water.
Linda screamed and fought by grabbing his hand and
pulling away from him. He forced her head over to the sink and shoved her head
down under the still running faucet. She gasped for breath and fought him with
all the strength she could muster. Linda grabbed the sink with both hands and
at that instant the sink broke away slamming to the floor shattering it in
dozens of pieces. The water flowed causing some of the pieces to float. Linda
managed to break away for an instant as the two combatants stood staring at
each other for a brief moment.
Almost simultaneously they both eyed a knife that was
laying on a small wooden table and the race was on. Linda got there first and
grabbed up the knife pointing it at Mike, screaming at him to leave her alone.
Desperate now, Mike lunged at her and the two battled for the knife. Mike’s
hand on hers, the two locked in a death grip. Suddenly, Linda slipped on the
water and down she went. As Mike fell on her, his hand was on the hand that
held the knife. Once on the floor Linda went Limp. Mike then slowly stood up
gasping for air. Looking down at Linda he noticed that the water on the
basement floor was now tinged with blood.
Horrified, terrified and shaking like a leaf, Mike watched
as Linda thrashed around. She began to vomit, then gag, obviously suffocating
on her own vomit, and gasping for air. Mike stood, mouth agape, heart pounding,
as he watched Linda’s hands claw at her throat, desperately trying to breathe.
Finally she lay still, her struggling ceased and Mike
watched as the water under her body turned red. Linda Bishop was dead.
CALL 911,
GET HELP!
Calling for help never entered Mike’s mind. He walked
around the body of Linda Bishop, shaking, breathing hard, hands helplessly at
his side trying to figure out what to do next. Suddenly he reached down and
snatched the knife out of Linda’s stomach and ran upstairs to the kitchen. He
turned on the faucet and with soap and warm water he carefully washed the
knife.
As he put the knife in the drawer he took some deep
breaths trying to clear his head. His only thought now was what to do with the
body of Linda Bishop.
THE FAMILY
WAITS
Linda’s parents were concerned a bit about Linda not
being home, but pretty used to baby-sitting duties keeping her away from home.
Denise had told her parents what Linda had told her to say, but as time slowly
slipped away, the Bishop’s decided to call the police.
Earlier that evening, Mrs. Bishop had heard on the
radio that a woman’s body had been found along side the road. This terrified
her at first, but when the announcer related that the body was that of a woman
about twenty-five years old, Mrs. Bishop allowed herself to breathe.
Over on Johnson Road at the spot where Linda’s body
lay, the scene was one of apparent chaos. A rescue truck, an inhalator squad,
police cars, and an ambulance, some of them with blinking lights, surrounded
the scene. It was around 8:10, that August
night, and the shadows of the trees bathed the scene in darkness. A neighbor
lady had watched three young girls on horseback walk by her house. A few
minutes later they raced by, and the woman remembered thinking that they were
abusing the horses. Truth is the riders had just spotted the body of a young
woman along side the road, and they were running to report their find.
Sergeant Sprague and Officer Spring of Bartonville got
the call about a body over on Johnson Road and they raced off in response. The
officers could see the body on the left side of the road as they drove up. It
appeared to be lying on an old mattress. The sergeant got out of the car, took
in the scene then turned to Officer Spring. “Better call it in and then set up
a roadblock down there and keep everybody out of here. We’ll set up some yellow
crime scene tape as well.” There was a man standing near the body and as the
sergeant walked up, Mr. Shea introduced himself, explaining how he happened to
be there. The officer looked around noting the circle of people gathering to
gawk at the body. He and his people would eventually talk to everyone of them,
and as long as they did not approach they were fine where they were.
Deputies Schrader and Bernard were patrolling in their
Peoria County car when they heard the call on their radio. The body was in
their jurisdiction as well, so they responded, pulling up just a few minutes
after the Bartonville Police had arrived. By the time the county arrived, the
call to the coroner and the crime scene team had already been made, and minutes
later the place was swarming with investigators. One of the spectators summed
up the scene when lights were turned on the body, “Just like them TV crime
shows, huh?”
YOUNG LADY ON
A DIRTY MATTRESS
Back in the ‘30’s that is exactly what some crime
reporter would have called the murder of Linda Bishop. That is where the police
found her, lying on her side, her glasses on her body, her shoes on her hip and
between her legs.
The mattress containing the body was about five feet
off Johnson Road, partially in a slight ditch. The coroner stood quietly
looking down at her. He reached down and picked up Linda’s wire-rimmed glasses
and as he did so he noted the bloody wound to the girls’ stomach. After making
his preliminary examination he told the officer in charge that the body could
be moved. Hundreds of pictures were taken, and when the body was removed a
careful study and photographs were made of the area the body had hidden.
Dozens of items were taken from the scene, the fingers
were bagged, and objects and fluids carefully put away in evidence bags. The
dreaded call was made to the parents, and it was soon verified that the body of
the young girl found dead over on a dirty mattress on Johnson Road was that of
Linda Bishop.
KILLER ON THE
LOOSE
The news hit Bartonville, the City of Peoria and the
county that the body of a young girl had been found and the killer was still
out there. Anytime a murder is committed the community reacts. Usually in fear,
then hatred and then they respond. The doors are locked, the dogs are brought
inside and the guns come out. Citizens began to call the police at every little
noise, and from this reaction the police garnered very valuable tips. It
certainly was the case in Linda Bishop’s murder. Of course the police
immediately zeroed in on the Bishop family asking questions about the man that
had hired Linda to baby-sit. The parents could not answer those questions, and
soon they found out that the key witness was Linda’s sister, Denise.
Saturday, Detective Mike McCoy, now Peoria County’s
Sheriff was on the case. His partner, Detective Schrader joined in with the
Bartonville Police and the teams began their door-to-door search and the run
down of tips. Again, thanks to the interest of the local media the telephones
began to ring. Dutifully these tips were investigated and as a result the
police rounded up quite a few suspects. Over in Creve Coeur Chief Daughters
brought in the owner of a suspicious pickup truck that appeared to have been
abandoned. Later the owner admitted that he had falsely reported it stolen, and
that none of the information gathered was relevant to the murder case. But, it
does show that when all the departments jump in to help each other, things get
done.
Detective P. Smith of Bartonville was busy pulling up
the record of a certain man that he had quite a bit to do with over the past
year. He sat looking at the file and what his computer was telling him. He
picked up the telephone and called Mike McCoy. After that call a call came in
from Glasford, Illinois from a mother who reported that her daughter told her
about a man that had been asking for a baby-sitter over there as well. The
detectives knew they were closing in on their man, and as a matter of fact,
Detective Smith was certain of it.
The record that Smith was interested in was that of
Michael Keith Barry, age 22, a resident of l23 Paradise in Bartonville,
Illinois. Smith knew this guy, and as far back as 1974 this man had been
arrested and charged with the sexual assault on a twelve-year-old girl.
September 1975, the man had been charged with another sexual assault. This girl
had been a student at the Oak Grove Grade School and it was for this charge
that Barry had to put up his $75,000.00 bond. After McCoy and Schrader met with
Smith they had agreed l00% that Barry was their man. Smith knew that if it had
not been for the Zeller Zone stint, Barry would be behind bars, not out plying
his old trade.
The driver’s license of Barry was checked, and that
information was now in the hands of every local law enforcement agency. The
officers were on the lookout for Barry’s four-door Buick, and together they
would soon take this bastard down. Shortly after the pick-up order went out,
police pulled the car over on Idaho Street. The word spread like wildfire and
soon McCoy, Schrader and Smith were looking at the suspect over in Bartonville,
Illinois. The States Attorney’s office was
soon in on the case, and a line-up was quickly arranged with Michael Keith
Barry as the star of the show.
Nine out of the ten people that viewed the line-up
picked Barry as the ‘baby-sitter man.’ The officer in charge said, “Let’s get a
warrant for this man.”
BEHIND
BARS
With Barry behind bars the pressure on the police
eased, and now they could slowly assess the evidence they had, confer with the
SA people, and solidify other leads they were still working on.
Over at the Bishop’s the sad task of burying their
daughter began. Mr. Bishop spoke to the media, his face a mask of pain as he
tried somehow to cope with the horrendous fact that his daughter was dead. “My
daughter was very friendly and easy to get along with. She never had an enemy
in the world.” He looked off in space “she kept us laughing. You don’t expect
something like this to happen to your family. Linda was an all around
all-American girl.” Mr. Bishop then looked at the reporter “I hope this person
with homicidal tendencies gets caught. If he did it once he will do it again.
You know, it’s time to go back to the Golden Rule.”
On Monday the Bishop family and friends buried their
beloved daughter at Parkview Cemetery, she was only fifteen.
Police like to have a presence at the funeral and visitation
of the murder victim. They even run license plate checks on some of the cars.
Back in the days of the old Charlie Chan movies, Mr. Chan used to say, “The
killer always returns to the scene of the crime.” Of course, I’m joking, but I
actually think that that is where this police theory came from. Of course it
isn’t true about the killer returning, some have of course, but the killer is
more likely a friend or acquaintance of the victim. In Linda Bishop’s case they
did check on a suspicious foreign car, which later turned out to be a car full
of Limestone High School kids. Being thorough is second nature to a good
detective, being just plain nosey is another.
A PLETHORA
OF STATEMENTS
Hundreds of tips were run down, many of them resulting
in written statements that become part of the work in progress. Detectives keep
daily records from which they make reports that all become part of the file
that is eventually turned over to the state’s attorney for further processing.
Bartonville and Peoria County officers worked hand in glove on this case and it
paid off in a rock solid case against Barry.
During this time, President Ford visited Peoria,
Illinois and Horace Payton, a respected, long-time coroner of Peoria died.
Every event such as this takes manpower away from routine but the officers
prevailed. Detectives were sent on wild goose chases, such as this one. Some
guy came to work with a swollen lip and scratches. The police were called and
the man sitting in the office of his boss had to tell the detectives a rather
embarrassing story. He was eliminated as a suspect in the Bishop case, however.
Police had dozens of these type incidents, but they followed up on all of them.
One of the most important statements taken other than
the one from the suspect himself was this one from Denise Bishop.
“Denise, state your name and birthday, please.”
“Denise L. Bishop, September 25, l962.”
“Would you tell us what you know about the man that
came to
Pick up your
sister, Linda, to baby-sit on August l3, l975?”
“About three-thirty this man came to my driveway, I
was playing with
some rocks.”
‘You know of any baby-sitters?’
“I go, my sister, she’s walking the dog down the
street. The man drove down the street where he talked to my sister. He turned
around and went up the street. My sister came back and I asked her if the man
asked her to baby-sit and she goes, ‘Yes.’ Then she told me not to tell anybody
‘cause she was going to lie and tell everybody that it was Link’s cousin. That
man called my sister on the phone, I was outside. She came outside and waited
for him to come back. He wasn’t there yet. My sister said, ‘He sounded spooky.’
He had asked her to wear a dress because some church people might come over.
She said she did not have one to wear so she wore shorts.
The man came and she got in the car. When she got in
the car
I heard a
door lock click down. They went to turn around but
they didn’t
go to the next driveway they went down the street.
On the way
back she waved at me and said ‘Bye Denise.’
“At any time how close are you to
the car?”
“Leaning
right on the window. It had a white interior,
green and
light green, it was a Buick.”
“Can you describe the man that
asked you about baby-sitting?”
“He was chubby
and had a white T-shirt on and a mustache.
His hair was combed back and he was in his
forties and had a
little bit of gray in his hair.”
“How close were you to him?”
“About four feet.”
“Did this man pick your sister up
in your driveway?”
“Yes…well out in the street.”
“At any
time did your sister make a comment about knowing this
man?”
“No.”
“When this man spoke to you did he
speak in a rough voice?”
“No…uh high-pitched.”
“At any time did you hear of a
location?”
“ I goes where is this baby-sitting job. He
goes, ‘Do you
know where Wood Street
“I go…No,”
“He goes, ‘ It’s off Farmington Road
“Did he specify Wood Street or
Road?”
“Wood Street.”
The interrogator then showed Denise
a picture of what
Police said was the major suspect.
“Is this picture of a composite
true and accurate in
your opinion?”
“Yes.”
Police took
several statements from people in Glasford, Farmington
and Fairview
‘baby-sitter’
guy. Actually the police had more than enough to get
Barry
indicted by the grand jury, but the investigation continued.
BARRY TALKS IT
OVER
The police spent some time with friends and family of
Barry, zeroing in on his relationship with his girlfriend. I’ll just call her
J.S, no need to identify her at this point. The suspect’s personality was
probed from all sides, including his mother. All this time, Mr. Barry was
anxiously walking about his cell wondering how much the police really knew. He
had been transferred from a cell in Bartonville to the more secure quarters at
the Peoria County Jail to sweat it out. Mike McCoy and his partner were still
busy on the case when they got a call. It surprised them a bit to hear that
Michael Keith Barry wanted to talk to them. They were happy to oblige, but wary
since the man had a lawyer and had been read his rights. They certainly did not want to violate this
trust, but agreed to see Barry just to see what he had in mind.
McCoy and his partner arrived at the county jail to
see Barry. They told him again that he had a court appointed attorney, and that
he should talk to Mr. Boos, not them. Barry persisted, so a room was made
available and the prisoner was taken to see Schrader and McCoy.
“Mr. Barry,
you were given your rights, you
have an attorney, you should have him with
you if you
want to talk to us.”
Barry indicated to them that he understood his rights,
but he still wanted to talk to them. McCoy hesitated even further suggesting
that they have him sign his Miranda rights before they talk to him, no matter
what Barry wanted. Finally, the detectives and Barry made small talk. They
talked about Barry’s girlfriend, his friends and the church he went to.
Finally, Schrader said, “you say you
want to talk to us. Is it about the girl we found in the ditch?’
Barry looked at the detectives, he didn’t speak, but
he lay his head on his folded arms and gave a muffled “yes.” The two detectives glanced at each other,
giving Barry a moment. Composed, Barry sat up in the chair and listened again
as the officers warned him about speaking without his lawyer present. Schrader
said “you say you want to talk to us about the young girl that was found out on
Johnson Road?”
THE SONGBIRD SINGS
The detectives set the interview up, using the
warnings and then asked him his name and date of birth.
Michael Keith Barry, l-21-l953
“I
got up August l3, l975 late, I called two employment
agencies,
some friends and my girlfriend. I then drove
over to Bartonville to get some gas and then ended up
on Schmidt Road
His
story then went along pretty much with what Denise
had
told the police.
“Did you write Linda Bishop’s name and telephone
number down?”
“Yes, I threw the piece of paper away.”
With difficulty, the suspect got
his story out. He sobbed,
he hesitated, but before long he
got the painful truth off
his chest.
Tears in his eyes, he moaned to
the detectives that Linda
had injured his hand, and held it
up for the officers to see.
Officers remembered that Linda too
had had injuries to her
Fingers,showing she had tried to
defend herself from this
man’s attack.
“Did she have personal things?”
“No, I did take her two sandals
and the wire-rimmed
glasses with me after I put her in
the trunk. I tossed
them on the body.”
The
detectives again advised him to call his attorney which he finally
decided to
do. The lawyers talked to Mr. Boos first, telling him that his
client had
admitted his involvement in the murder of Linda Bishop.
We have no way of knowing without asking them, but can
you imagine how the two detectives felt when they left that interview with
Barry?
THE CORONER’S
INQUEST
Herb Busbee would conduct the inquest over the body of
Linda Bishop. He would soon become the Peoria County Coroner. Six men sat as
jurors to decide the cause of death in the Bishop case. A formality, no doubt,
but important to the process just the same. I will present without comment the
report of the Coroner’s physician, Doctor Phillip Immesota.
“This young woman died from suffocation due to
vomiting brought on from a laceration of the anterior aspect of the left
abdomen. All other organs were within
normal limits."
The doctor flipped a page, glanced over at the jury
then continued. “The rectal area was swabbed for semen. No trauma or
lacerations to the rectal or parietal anterior.”
The coroner asked, “were there any wounds on the
hands, doctor, defensive type wounds?”
“Yes, small abrasions on the left foot and there were
two small lacerations of the right hand and fingers.”
“Anything of evidentiary value on the body?”
“No, nothing of evidentiary value was found on the
body. No fibers, hair, nothing like that.” The doctor then consulted his notes,
hesitated a moment, then began to read from his findings.
“The uterus is enlarged approximately eight inches in
diameter. It has two globular…it has the globular shape of a pregnant uterus.”
He paused, then added, “on opening the uterus, placenta chorionamnion and a
fetus is identified. The fetus is three months old and could be up to four
months in age. The vagina is cultured and specimens are taken for analysis for
sperm.”
Police were certainly interested in the doctor’s
report and as a result they talked to the kids that ran around with Linda.
“The guy that got her pregnant is probably the guy
that killed her.”
Of course that statement was not evidence, but the
police continued to meet with other kids. I won’t reveal any of their names nor
their views on whom they thought was the father of the unborn child.
“Linda’s mom took her daughter to a doctor to find out
why she was throwing up in the morning. Linda knew she was pregnant and that
she got pregnant one night when her and a boy stayed all night in a tent behind
the house.”
Another friend said, “Linda told me that she would
probably go and live with some relatives in Reno, Nevada to have the baby. I
can tell you she would never have an abortion, that’s for sure.”
IT’S IN
THE HANDS OF
JUSTICE
So the formality of charges and arraignment were
completed along with the other preliminary legal moves. Michael Keith Barry was
charged with murder and kidnapping. He also had the charge of molestation
pursued by the Bartonville Police Department as well.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney is now in command
of all the evidence as his office prepares the case for trial. Will they try
for the death penalty? Is this a capital case, and does it qualify for the
death sentence? Certainly the police and a lot of citizens think it more than
qualifies, but the matter is in the hands of the SA’s office.
The Peoria County Sheriff, Bernard Kennedy told the
press that McCoy and Schrader, along with the Bartonville Police Department
deserve all the credit for the arrest of Michael Barry. The police could do
nothing now but wait. They would have to testify in the Barry trial, but in the
meantime they had other cases to work, but for those that would testify time
moved slowly.
For the defense, the court-appointed lawyer, Mr. Boos,
was busy as well. His job was to attack the ‘confession,’ and try to get his
client on an even playing field. He moved to have Barry examined by a doctor,
and that examination revealed a little bit about his client. Keep in mind the
State allowed the expenditure of $250.00 so that restricts the choices
considerably.
This information will be used in open court, and often
the medical reports accompany the other exhibits to the juror’s room as well.
Michael Barry an only child from his biological
parents, at one time lived with a stepsister and a half brother. Barry’s father
died at the age of 52 in l970. Barry told the doctors that he had been afraid
of his father because of his harsh and punitive treatment he received from him.
“My dad delighted in scaring me to hell and back.”
Devoted to his mother he saw very little of her since
she worked in the Galesburg State Hospital. "My mom is very understanding
and knows me like a book.”
“My grandmother was very religious and gave me a lot
of idealistic concepts of life. She always told me, ‘Love and be helpful.’ “
The legal machinery rolled on but the death penalty
was not sought.
THE FINAL
SOLUTION
It was a beautiful spring day, that May 7, l976. Folks
were out for lunch, lining up at the lunch carts, eating lunch around the
courthouse. Once they finished they drifted on down to the river, then
reluctantly back to work. The old jail was still over there across Hamilton and
the police readied Barry to take him to the courthouse. He had spent 272 days
in jail and he was anxious to get out into the incredible May sunlight.
Prisoner Barry would walk that walk that so many
people had walked to the courthouse, including Gerald Thompson, Fred Webber and
Richard Speck. Those men were eventually condemned to death by the State.
There would be no long, arduous trial this day for the
accused killer of young Linda Bishop. Barry was on his way to face a judge to
plead guilty.
The deputies brought Barry to Judge Richard Eagleton.
There were a few spectators in the courtroom, some family members from both
sides, a friend or two, but that was all.
The bailiff called case 75 CF 5427 and 75 CF 533, the
People vs Michael Keith Barry. Bob Gaubus represented the People and Jack Boos
was there for the defendant. Judge Eagleton took great pains to make sure the
defendant understood what the charges were. He then explained the two counts of
murder and aggravated kidnapping charges against Barry. The next step was to
carefully explain the molestation charges to the defendant.
Standing there with his lawyer and the representative
from the SA’s office, Barry, head down, nodded to the court, then answered that
he understood.
Judge Eagleton told Barry that his plea of ‘Guilty’
was accepted by the Court.
The judge then sentenced Michael Barry to 5-l2 years
for the molestation charge. He then passed sentence on the defendant, Michael
Barry, age 23, to 50-l00 years in the state penitentiary. Those charges would
be served concurrently.
If you had been on a jury in this case would you have
voted for the death penalty?
Editor’s Note:
Norm is a retired private investigator, Peoria Historian and author of
ten books and hundreds of articles about Peoria, Illinois. norman.kelly@sbcglobal.net
END.
I'm very curious if he is still in jail? Linda is my mom's cousin.
ReplyDeleteI believe he is out now. I tend to follow because this creep stopped my friend and I a month or so before this happened, but we were lucky enough to know something wasn't right and ran to her house.
ReplyDelete