Barker reward donors will use funds in tribute

By Donna Swicegood

During hte months after the deaths of Don and Sue Barker, many people tossed in loose bills, coins and checks to contribute to a reward fund aimed at helping find their killer.

With the announcement this week of an arrest and the likelihood that reward money would not be paid, those who organized the reward effort are looking for a way to use the money and pay tribute to the Barkers at the same time.

Money to be used for a reward was also offered in the case of James and Delet Powell, who were shot to death eight months before the Barkers.

The deaths of both couples were linked to a single weapon.

Barbara Ann Evans, 65, of 138 Jennings Road, was arrested Tuesday evening on four counts of first-degree murder.

Some $10,000 of the $15,000 offered in the Powells' case came from the Governor's Reward fund. That money will go back to the state, Sheriff Phil Redmond said.

In the case of the Barkers, more than $42,000 had been raised through donations to a jar at the store Don Barker ran on Turnersburg Highway and from gifts from individuals.

Robert Taylor, who has operated Barker's Grocery since Don Barker's death in September, said he and the Barkers' relatives are looking at donating the money to a charity.