Crime Solvers Central
Crime Solvers Central
295 Cases Solved. Advancing justice for missing persons, unsolved homicides, unidentified and unclaimed remains.

Forum Posts for Raymond Curley:
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Raymond Curlee (not Curley) was my uncle. In 1978 he was a gentle giant that had an upholstery shop on the north side service road of I-30 in far east Dallas. The night he was killed, he had stayed late to finish a project. As it got late, he decided to rest on a cot he kept in the back room of the store. As he slept, Barber was walking along the service road in front of Raymond’s shop when he noticed light shining through the front window. Barber realized it was a soda machine and decided to burglarize the shop and take the soda money. Once he broke into the shop, the noise of the crime awakened Curlee who then grabbed a gun from the back room and proceeded to the front. Barber was also armed and heard Curlee stirring. According to Barber’s interrogation by the Dallas Police, the two actually pointed guns at each other - Barber from beside the coke machine and Raymond from the doorway. Unfortunately, Barber’s bullet struck first, hitting Raymond in the head. His murder went unsolved for months with police and his family thinking it may have been an old associate or friend from Raymond’s younger days when he had run with a rougher crowd. Fortunately, Raymond’s brother in law was a detective with DPD with many years on the force. The officers and detectives that interrogated Barber heard his confession of killing a man in Dallas and immediately saw the similarities to their fellow officer’s family member’s death. While the DA chose the Janice Ingram murder to indict Barber, the three other murders, including my Uncle Raymond’s, were tacked on to the primary case to show the heinous nature of Barber’s character and have him classified as a serial killer, responsible for four deaths. His death was devastating to his entire family, especially his parents who both died before Barber was executed in 1999, the year Texas had the most lethal injections in its history of the death penalty.
I can’t stop thinking about the courage it must have taken for Raymond Curly’s family to go through all this. Losing a loved one in such a horrific manner is beyond comprehension. I'm particularly struck by how young Raymond was—just 23. It's absolutely devastating to have someone’s life cut short before it even really began. I really hope his family eventually found some peace or solace after Barber’s arrest and conviction. It's crucial that we keep discussing these cases so we can learn from them and support each other in the quest for justice and safety. Does anyone know if there have been memorials or resources set up in Raymond’s honor? It would be heartening to see any community efforts to remember and celebrate his life.

If you have the time, read my post above. Raymond’s description on some of these websites is incorrect. Raymond was 40 when he was killed and he was white. He was the owner of the upholstery shop where he was killed. Thank you for your beautiful sentiments toward our family.
I've been thinking a lot about the people left behind, especially the family and friends of Raymond Curly. It must have been an unimaginable shock to hear what happened to him at such a young age. I can't help but wonder how his loved ones have coped over the years, knowing that his life was cut short in such a brutal way. In cases like this, the victims are more than just names in a newspaper; they were someone’s world. I really hope that those who knew Raymond found some peace and support through all those difficult years that followed, although I imagine the pain never truly goes away. Anyone here know if there were any community efforts to remember him or honor his life in some way?