On the tragic evening of October 19, 1979, in Richmond, Virginia, 23-year-old Judy Diane Barton, who was eight months pregnant, was brutally murdered in her home on Barton Avenue. This horrific event also claimed the lives of her five-year-old son, Harvey Wayne Barton, and her common-law husband, Harvey W. Wilkerson. The family fell victim to a violent crime spree that had been terrorizing the city, perpetrated by the notorious Briley Brothers gang.
The perpetrators, brothers Linwood,
James 'J.B.', and Anthony Briley, along with their accomplice Duncan Eric Meekins, forced their way into the family's residence with the intent to rob them. The events that unfolded were marked by extreme violence and cruelty. While the home was being ransacked for valuables, Judy Barton was sexually assaulted. In the midst of this terrifying home invasion, Harvey Wilkerson was fatally shot by Meekins. Subsequently, James Briley shot and killed both Judy Barton and her young son, Harvey. The bodies of the victims were not discovered until two days after the murders.
The ensuing police investigation led to the swift apprehension of the Briley Brothers and their accomplice. The subsequent legal proceedings brought the full scope of their violent rampage to light, which included a series of robberies, rapes, and at least eleven murders throughout 1979. For their roles in the heinous crimes against the Barton-Wilkerson family and others, the perpetrators faced severe legal consequences. James Briley was convicted of the capital murders of Judy and Harvey Barton and received two death sentences. Linwood Briley was also sentenced to death for another murder committed during their crime spree. Both were executed in the mid-1980s. Anthony Briley and Duncan Meekins, who testified against the brothers, received lengthy prison sentences for their involvement in the crime spree.
