Evans charged with four counts of murder

By Donna Swicegood

After more than 700 interviews and hundreds of hours of investigation, Iredlel County Sheriff Phil Redmond announced Tuesday that an arrest had been made in the two double homicide cases from 2005.

Barbara Ann Evans, 65, of 138 Jennings Road, has been charged with four counts of murer.

The charges stem from the Jan. 21, 2005, shooting deaths of James and Delet Powell and the Sept. 16, 2005, deaths of Don and Sue Barker.

Both couples were killed in their homes - the Powells in Union Grove and the Barkers on White's Farm Road.

Reponda Smith, the daughter and only child of the Powells, has been waiting more than a year for this news.

"It really came out of nowhere," she said. "Here I was picking up my kids' toys and I get a call from the sheriff's office."

"I feel safer. I'm not afraid that somebody will come in and kill me and my kids."

Smith said she's also happy to see an arrest because she and her husband, Kenny, dealth with rumors that they were involved. The Barkers' son, Allen, also faced similar rumors.

"That really hurt," said Smith, who lived next door to her parents at the time of their deaths but has since moved away. "We felt betrayed."

Smith and Lowell Harmon, who is married to Sue Barker's sister, Shirley, said Evans was known to their slain relatives.

"Her husband was a good friend of my dad's, and I'm sure she's been at their house," Harmon said.

Harmon said Evans was one of the many customers who stopped into Barker's Grocery, the store owned by Don Barker, on U.S. Highway 21.

"She stopped up at the store al lthe time, and Don cashed her checks for her," he said.

Redmond said he couldn't elaborate on exactly what led to Evans' arrest, but did say forensic evidence played a major role. The state crime lab determined that the same gun was used in all the slayings.

"Forensices have been a big tool in this case," the sheriff said, adding that Evans had been a focus of the investigation since nearly the beginning.

Harmon said his family was told that Evans had been under surveillance for some time and was the only person detectives could place at both scenes.

Redmond said this has been one of the most intensive investigations in the history of the sheriff's office. Detective Sgts. Andy Poteat, Bill Hamby and Kim Isenhower, along with several other detectives and uniformed personnel, logged many hours on the case, said Capt. Jimmy Craven, head of the investigations division.

"They took time away from their families to work this case. We didn't take it lightly," he said. "I'm proud of the effort put into solving these cases."