The newspaper account of the story ran in the Decatur Review, Tuesday, November 26, 1929 as follows: "BOY FOUND DYING ON STREET CORNER - FIFTEEN YEAR OLD BOY DIES AT HOSPITAL FROM MYSTERIOUS WOUND IN HEAD" "Everett Barker, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Barker, 901 South Franklin Street was found lying on the sidewalk on the southwest corner of Franklin and East Main Streets at 5:05 o'clock Tuesday morning mortally wounded.
The boy was found by Elmer Delmar Gibbens, a newsboy for the Herald who had arrived at the corner selling the papers.
The boy immediately notified Officer Hendrian that he had just found the body of a man lying across the sidewalk at Franklin and East Main Street. He accompanied the officer Back to where the boy was lying.
Apparently it had been there but a few minutes and an examination by the officer showed that the body was still warm and there seemed to be some life. Officer Handrian called the Moran & Sons ambulance and the boy was taken to St. Mary's hospital but died before anything could be done for him.
Everett Raymond Barker would have been fifteen years old next.
Positive identification of the boy was made at the Moran funeral chapel by Vern Huffman, local truant officer who was summoned by the undertaking firm.
Mr. Huffman stated after one glance at the dead youth that he was young Barker.
"He's been a lot of trouble to me at times because he wouldn't attend school, but I am certain that he has not met death because of some dishonest act."
Following Mr. Huffman's identification, the boy's father and mother were notified.
Night Patrolman August F. Hendrian first learned of the boy's presence as he came down East Main Street. In front of the Curtis Jewelry Store he met a newsboy who he often saw around the corner at that time.
"Apparently the newsboy was waiting for me to come along, knowing that I report about then at the patrol box at Water and Main Street. He told me that a man was lying across the sidewalk at the corner of Franklin Street, but he didn't know what the trouble was. He said he didn't know whether the man was dead or drunk or hurt. I went with him down to the corner, found that the boy was still warm and apparently still alive, and went back to the patrol box at Water Street, where I phoned to headquarters. The ambulance was called from there."
How the boy met his death is a mystery. The hole in his neck appears to have been made by a 32 calibre bullet, the shot being fired from the rear while he was running with his head down.
Conditions at the corner proved to the officers that the boy was found a very few minutes after he had fallen. The position of the body indicated that he had been running from the east and fell just as he stepped onto the sidewalk. The body was lying flat, face down. He hit the walk with terrific force, skinning his nose and both cheeks, indicated that he fell perfectly flat. The cheek bruises are exactly the same size. There is a similar bruise on the right hip bone that cannot be accounted for, and the right elbow is skinned. Those and the bullet mark in the center of the back of his neck are the only marks on the body.
Among the theories advanced by the police were accident due to the firing of a shell on the street by some passing automobile, the shooting from an unidentified car, or the possibility the boy was seen prowling around some nearby building and was shot by a watchman.
Recovery of the bullet from the boy's head will possibly assist in determining the type of gun that was used or whether it was fired by some car running over the cartridge lying on the pavement.
Coroner Dawson stated Tuesday afternoon that the time for the inquest had not been fixed pending investigations by the police and the possibility of finding a witness to the shooting.
When the newsboy found the body he told the officer there was a small trickle of blood extending for about a foot from the nose along the walk. When he came back with Officer Hendrian, a very few minutes later the trickle of blood extended clear across the sidewalk to the gutter. This would indicate that the boy was found by the newsboy within a very few minutes after it had fallen.
A second x-ray examination conducted at St. Mary's Hospital Tuesday forenoon established beyond any doubt that the boy's death was caused by a bullet. The body was taken to the hospital for another examination, after there had been a question as to whether the wound in the back of the neck was caused by a bullet. No bullet was shown in the first picture taken, but the second picture was a side view and it showed the bullet quite plainly.
The bullet struck the boy in the center of the back of his neck and ranged upward and to the right and was found half over and embedded in the mastoid process.
Up to 1 o'clock the bullet had not been removed.
The nature of the wound would indicate that the boy was either running or walking with his head down when hit. He probably fell within a few steps of where the bullet hit him. A person could not travel more than a few feet after receiving a wound of that nature.
From now on the question will be who fired the shot, and why.
The finding of an improvised billy early Tuesday morning by Claud Albritz at the intersection added a still further mystery to the unsolved manner of the boy's death.
The billy, made from a sash cord and with a piece of lead at one end, could easily deal a death blow.
The billy was turned over to the police by Mr. Albritz.
He was born in Decatur, Apr 17, 1915, and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Barker, 901 South Franklin Street. His father is a motorman on the Eldorado Street Car Line of the Illinois Power and Light Company. Everett attended the Johns Hill Junior High School and was in the seventh grade. He also attended the Cleveland Avenue Methodist Church and Sunday School.
Besides his parents he is survived by three brothers and two sisters, Allen, Lloyd, Roy, Esther and Anna Barker, all at home. Anna, the youngest is five years old. He also leaves his grand-parents, Mr. and Mrs. Grant McFetridge of Centralia.
The boy was found by Elmer Delmar Gibbens, a newsboy for the Herald who had arrived at the corner selling the papers.
The boy immediately notified Officer Hendrian that he had just found the body of a man lying across the sidewalk at Franklin and East Main Street. He accompanied the officer Back to where the boy was lying.
Apparently it had been there but a few minutes and an examination by the officer showed that the body was still warm and there seemed to be some life. Officer Handrian called the Moran & Sons ambulance and the boy was taken to St. Mary's hospital but died before anything could be done for him.
Everett Raymond Barker would have been fifteen years old next.
Positive identification of the boy was made at the Moran funeral chapel by Vern Huffman, local truant officer who was summoned by the undertaking firm.
Mr. Huffman stated after one glance at the dead youth that he was young Barker.
"He's been a lot of trouble to me at times because he wouldn't attend school, but I am certain that he has not met death because of some dishonest act."
Following Mr. Huffman's identification, the boy's father and mother were notified.
Night Patrolman August F. Hendrian first learned of the boy's presence as he came down East Main Street. In front of the Curtis Jewelry Store he met a newsboy who he often saw around the corner at that time.
"Apparently the newsboy was waiting for me to come along, knowing that I report about then at the patrol box at Water and Main Street. He told me that a man was lying across the sidewalk at the corner of Franklin Street, but he didn't know what the trouble was. He said he didn't know whether the man was dead or drunk or hurt. I went with him down to the corner, found that the boy was still warm and apparently still alive, and went back to the patrol box at Water Street, where I phoned to headquarters. The ambulance was called from there."
How the boy met his death is a mystery. The hole in his neck appears to have been made by a 32 calibre bullet, the shot being fired from the rear while he was running with his head down.
Conditions at the corner proved to the officers that the boy was found a very few minutes after he had fallen. The position of the body indicated that he had been running from the east and fell just as he stepped onto the sidewalk. The body was lying flat, face down. He hit the walk with terrific force, skinning his nose and both cheeks, indicated that he fell perfectly flat. The cheek bruises are exactly the same size. There is a similar bruise on the right hip bone that cannot be accounted for, and the right elbow is skinned. Those and the bullet mark in the center of the back of his neck are the only marks on the body.
Among the theories advanced by the police were accident due to the firing of a shell on the street by some passing automobile, the shooting from an unidentified car, or the possibility the boy was seen prowling around some nearby building and was shot by a watchman.
Recovery of the bullet from the boy's head will possibly assist in determining the type of gun that was used or whether it was fired by some car running over the cartridge lying on the pavement.
Coroner Dawson stated Tuesday afternoon that the time for the inquest had not been fixed pending investigations by the police and the possibility of finding a witness to the shooting.
When the newsboy found the body he told the officer there was a small trickle of blood extending for about a foot from the nose along the walk. When he came back with Officer Hendrian, a very few minutes later the trickle of blood extended clear across the sidewalk to the gutter. This would indicate that the boy was found by the newsboy within a very few minutes after it had fallen.
A second x-ray examination conducted at St. Mary's Hospital Tuesday forenoon established beyond any doubt that the boy's death was caused by a bullet. The body was taken to the hospital for another examination, after there had been a question as to whether the wound in the back of the neck was caused by a bullet. No bullet was shown in the first picture taken, but the second picture was a side view and it showed the bullet quite plainly.
The bullet struck the boy in the center of the back of his neck and ranged upward and to the right and was found half over and embedded in the mastoid process.
Up to 1 o'clock the bullet had not been removed.
The nature of the wound would indicate that the boy was either running or walking with his head down when hit. He probably fell within a few steps of where the bullet hit him. A person could not travel more than a few feet after receiving a wound of that nature.
From now on the question will be who fired the shot, and why.
The finding of an improvised billy early Tuesday morning by Claud Albritz at the intersection added a still further mystery to the unsolved manner of the boy's death.
The billy, made from a sash cord and with a piece of lead at one end, could easily deal a death blow.
The billy was turned over to the police by Mr. Albritz.
He was born in Decatur, Apr 17, 1915, and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Barker, 901 South Franklin Street. His father is a motorman on the Eldorado Street Car Line of the Illinois Power and Light Company. Everett attended the Johns Hill Junior High School and was in the seventh grade. He also attended the Cleveland Avenue Methodist Church and Sunday School.
Besides his parents he is survived by three brothers and two sisters, Allen, Lloyd, Roy, Esther and Anna Barker, all at home. Anna, the youngest is five years old. He also leaves his grand-parents, Mr. and Mrs. Grant McFetridge of Centralia.
The newspaper account of the story ran in the Decatur Review, Tuesday, November 26, 1929 as follows: "BOY FOUND DYING ON STREET CORNER - FIFTEEN YEAR OLD BOY DIES AT HOSPITAL FROM MYSTERIOUS WOUND IN HEAD" "Everett Barker, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Barker, 901 South Franklin Street was found lying on the sidewalk on the southwest corner of Franklin and East Main Streets at 5:05 o'clock Tuesday morning mortally wounded.
The boy was found by Elmer Delmar Gibbens, a newsboy for the Herald who had arrived at the corner selling the papers.
The boy immediately notified Officer Hendrian that he had just found the body of a man lying across the sidewalk at Franklin and East Main Street. He accompanied the officer Back to where the boy was lying.
Apparently it had been there but a few minutes and an examination by the officer showed that the body was still warm and there seemed to be some life. Officer Handrian called the Moran & Sons ambulance and the boy was taken to St. Mary's hospital but died before anything could be done for him.
Everett Raymond Barker would have been fifteen years old next.
Positive identification of the boy was made at the Moran funeral chapel by Vern Huffman, local truant officer who was summoned by the undertaking firm.
Mr. Huffman stated after one glance at the dead youth that he was young Barker.
"He's been a lot of trouble to me at times because he wouldn't attend school, but I am certain that he has not met death because of some dishonest act."
Following Mr. Huffman's identification, the boy's father and mother were notified.
Night Patrolman August F. Hendrian first learned of the boy's presence as he came down East Main Street. In front of the Curtis Jewelry Store he met a newsboy who he often saw around the corner at that time.
"Apparently the newsboy was waiting for me to come along, knowing that I report about then at the patrol box at Water and Main Street. He told me that a man was lying across the sidewalk at the corner of Franklin Street, but he didn't know what the trouble was. He said he didn't know whether the man was dead or drunk or hurt. I went with him down to the corner, found that the boy was still warm and apparently still alive, and went back to the patrol box at Water Street, where I phoned to headquarters. The ambulance was called from there."
How the boy met his death is a mystery. The hole in his neck appears to have been made by a 32 calibre bullet, the shot being fired from the rear while he was running with his head down.
Conditions at the corner proved to the officers that the boy was found a very few minutes after he had fallen. The position of the body indicated that he had been running from the east and fell just as he stepped onto the sidewalk. The body was lying flat, face down. He hit the walk with terrific force, skinning his nose and both cheeks, indicated that he fell perfectly flat. The cheek bruises are exactly the same size. There is a similar bruise on the right hip bone that cannot be accounted for, and the right elbow is skinned. Those and the bullet mark in the center of the back of his neck are the only marks on the body.
Among the theories advanced by the police were accident due to the firing of a shell on the street by some passing automobile, the shooting from an unidentified car, or the possibility the boy was seen prowling around some nearby building and was shot by a watchman.
Recovery of the bullet from the boy's head will possibly assist in determining the type of gun that was used or whether it was fired by some car running over the cartridge lying on the pavement.
Coroner Dawson stated Tuesday afternoon that the time for the inquest had not been fixed pending investigations by the police and the possibility of finding a witness to the shooting.
When the newsboy found the body he told the officer there was a small trickle of blood extending for about a foot from the nose along the walk. When he came back with Officer Hendrian, a very few minutes later the trickle of blood extended clear across the sidewalk to the gutter. This would indicate that the boy was found by the newsboy within a very few minutes after it had fallen.
A second x-ray examination conducted at St. Mary's Hospital Tuesday forenoon established beyond any doubt that the boy's death was caused by a bullet. The body was taken to the hospital for another examination, after there had been a question as to whether the wound in the back of the neck was caused by a bullet. No bullet was shown in the first picture taken, but the second picture was a side view and it showed the bullet quite plainly.
The bullet struck the boy in the center of the back of his neck and ranged upward and to the right and was found half over and embedded in the mastoid process.
Up to 1 o'clock the bullet had not been removed.
The nature of the wound would indicate that the boy was either running or walking with his head down when hit. He probably fell within a few steps of where the bullet hit him. A person could not travel more than a few feet after receiving a wound of that nature.
From now on the question will be who fired the shot, and why.
The finding of an improvised billy early Tuesday morning by Claud Albritz at the intersection added a still further mystery to the unsolved manner of the boy's death.
The billy, made from a sash cord and with a piece of lead at one end, could easily deal a death blow.
The billy was turned over to the police by Mr. Albritz.
He was born in Decatur, Apr 17, 1915, and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Barker, 901 South Franklin Street. His father is a motorman on the Eldorado Street Car Line of the Illinois Power and Light Company. Everett attended the Johns Hill Junior High School and was in the seventh grade. He also attended the Cleveland Avenue Methodist Church and Sunday School.
Besides his parents he is survived by three brothers and two sisters, Allen, Lloyd, Roy, Esther and Anna Barker, all at home. Anna, the youngest is five years old. He also leaves his grand-parents, Mr. and Mrs. Grant McFetridge of Centralia.
The boy was found by Elmer Delmar Gibbens, a newsboy for the Herald who had arrived at the corner selling the papers.
The boy immediately notified Officer Hendrian that he had just found the body of a man lying across the sidewalk at Franklin and East Main Street. He accompanied the officer Back to where the boy was lying.
Apparently it had been there but a few minutes and an examination by the officer showed that the body was still warm and there seemed to be some life. Officer Handrian called the Moran & Sons ambulance and the boy was taken to St. Mary's hospital but died before anything could be done for him.
Everett Raymond Barker would have been fifteen years old next.
Positive identification of the boy was made at the Moran funeral chapel by Vern Huffman, local truant officer who was summoned by the undertaking firm.
Mr. Huffman stated after one glance at the dead youth that he was young Barker.
"He's been a lot of trouble to me at times because he wouldn't attend school, but I am certain that he has not met death because of some dishonest act."
Following Mr. Huffman's identification, the boy's father and mother were notified.
Night Patrolman August F. Hendrian first learned of the boy's presence as he came down East Main Street. In front of the Curtis Jewelry Store he met a newsboy who he often saw around the corner at that time.
"Apparently the newsboy was waiting for me to come along, knowing that I report about then at the patrol box at Water and Main Street. He told me that a man was lying across the sidewalk at the corner of Franklin Street, but he didn't know what the trouble was. He said he didn't know whether the man was dead or drunk or hurt. I went with him down to the corner, found that the boy was still warm and apparently still alive, and went back to the patrol box at Water Street, where I phoned to headquarters. The ambulance was called from there."
How the boy met his death is a mystery. The hole in his neck appears to have been made by a 32 calibre bullet, the shot being fired from the rear while he was running with his head down.
Conditions at the corner proved to the officers that the boy was found a very few minutes after he had fallen. The position of the body indicated that he had been running from the east and fell just as he stepped onto the sidewalk. The body was lying flat, face down. He hit the walk with terrific force, skinning his nose and both cheeks, indicated that he fell perfectly flat. The cheek bruises are exactly the same size. There is a similar bruise on the right hip bone that cannot be accounted for, and the right elbow is skinned. Those and the bullet mark in the center of the back of his neck are the only marks on the body.
Among the theories advanced by the police were accident due to the firing of a shell on the street by some passing automobile, the shooting from an unidentified car, or the possibility the boy was seen prowling around some nearby building and was shot by a watchman.
Recovery of the bullet from the boy's head will possibly assist in determining the type of gun that was used or whether it was fired by some car running over the cartridge lying on the pavement.
Coroner Dawson stated Tuesday afternoon that the time for the inquest had not been fixed pending investigations by the police and the possibility of finding a witness to the shooting.
When the newsboy found the body he told the officer there was a small trickle of blood extending for about a foot from the nose along the walk. When he came back with Officer Hendrian, a very few minutes later the trickle of blood extended clear across the sidewalk to the gutter. This would indicate that the boy was found by the newsboy within a very few minutes after it had fallen.
A second x-ray examination conducted at St. Mary's Hospital Tuesday forenoon established beyond any doubt that the boy's death was caused by a bullet. The body was taken to the hospital for another examination, after there had been a question as to whether the wound in the back of the neck was caused by a bullet. No bullet was shown in the first picture taken, but the second picture was a side view and it showed the bullet quite plainly.
The bullet struck the boy in the center of the back of his neck and ranged upward and to the right and was found half over and embedded in the mastoid process.
Up to 1 o'clock the bullet had not been removed.
The nature of the wound would indicate that the boy was either running or walking with his head down when hit. He probably fell within a few steps of where the bullet hit him. A person could not travel more than a few feet after receiving a wound of that nature.
From now on the question will be who fired the shot, and why.
The finding of an improvised billy early Tuesday morning by Claud Albritz at the intersection added a still further mystery to the unsolved manner of the boy's death.
The billy, made from a sash cord and with a piece of lead at one end, could easily deal a death blow.
The billy was turned over to the police by Mr. Albritz.
He was born in Decatur, Apr 17, 1915, and was a son of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Barker, 901 South Franklin Street. His father is a motorman on the Eldorado Street Car Line of the Illinois Power and Light Company. Everett attended the Johns Hill Junior High School and was in the seventh grade. He also attended the Cleveland Avenue Methodist Church and Sunday School.
Besides his parents he is survived by three brothers and two sisters, Allen, Lloyd, Roy, Esther and Anna Barker, all at home. Anna, the youngest is five years old. He also leaves his grand-parents, Mr. and Mrs. Grant McFetridge of Centralia.
Gravesite Details
Murdered in Decatur (gunshot to back of neck)
