Who killed Barbara Smith? On a tragic autumn day, October 24, 1980, the life of 37-year-old Barbara Smith, a Caucasian female, was brutally cut short in her Wichita, Kansas home. Her husband and daughter made the horrific discovery, finding Barbara in her residence at 1151 S Waverly Drive. She had been bludgeoned to death, sustaining fatal injuries to her head from what investigators determined was severe blunt force trauma.
The scene suggested a desperate attempt by the perpetrator to conceal the crime.
Evidence indicated that the killer had tried to set the house on fire, a failed effort to destroy any trace of the brutal act that had transpired. The last time Barbara’s family had seen her alive was the previous evening, leaving a window of time for this violent intrusion into her life.
Despite the efforts of law enforcement in the immediate aftermath and the passing of over four decades, the murder of Barbara Smith remains an open wound in the community. Her case is now one of Wichita's longstanding cold cases, a puzzle that investigators are still hoping to piece together. To this day, no arrests have been made, and there has been no public identification of any suspects. The Wichita Police Department continues to seek information from the public, holding onto the hope that a new lead might finally emerge and bring justice to Barbara and her family.
