Charles Barr

Serial Killer

Charles Barr: The Memphis Roadside Killer

Charles Barr was an American serial killer responsible for a series of roadside attacks in the Memphis, Tennessee, area during the early 1920s. Newspapers and later historical accounts referred to him by such names as the "Petting Party Bandit" and the "Roadside Slayer," reflecting the manner in which he targeted people sitting in automobiles on secluded roads. Barr was linked to the murders of three people—Duncan Waller, Ruth McElwaine Tucker, and William Obediah "W. Obe" Spencer—and to the shooting of Spencer's companion, Laura Wheaton Johnson, who survived. The crimes frightened motorists around Memphis because the victims appeared to have been selected largely because they were isolated and vulnerable. Barr approached parked automobiles under cover of darkness, opened fire, and robbed his victims of money, jewelry, watches, and other valuables. The investigation remained stalled for more than a year before stolen property eventually led detectives to Barr.

Background

Barr was born in Memphis around 1903. Historical accounts describe him as the son of a Baptist minister. As a young adult, he worked as a chauffeur and domestic employee and was married to a woman generally identified in contemporary accounts as Luada or Luoda Barr. There was little in Barr's outward life that initially drew police attention toward him. Investigators later said robbery was the motive he gave for the roadside killings. Rather than confronting victims in busy public areas, Barr traveled to isolated roads where couples frequently parked their automobiles, allowing him to attack with comparatively little risk of being observed.

The Murder of Duncan Waller and Ruth McElwaine Tucker

On the night of January 27, 1923, 19-year-old Duncan Waller, a traveling salesman from Mayfield, Kentucky, was in an automobile with 20-year-old Ruth McElwaine Tucker, who was originally from Bowling Green, Kentucky. They were parked along a roadway near Berclair, then a community outside Memphis, in the area of Summer Avenue and Highland. According to the confession later attributed to Barr, he had borrowed an automobile and driven along Summer Avenue looking for an opportunity to commit a robbery. After seeing Waller's automobile parked beside the highway, Barr stopped some distance behind it and approached on foot. Barr opened fire on the occupants at close range. Waller was shot while still inside the automobile. Tucker attempted to escape, running away from the vehicle and into the surrounding area, but she too was shot. Contemporary reports described both victims as suffering fatal gunshot wounds to the head. The following morning, January 28, their bodies were discovered. Waller was found inside the automobile while Tucker's body was located in a nearby field. Money reportedly carried by Waller was missing, as were diamond rings belonging to Tucker. The missing property caused investigators to consider robbery as a major motive almost immediately. Later descriptions of the case have also stated that Tucker was sexually assaulted. Historical accounts are inconsistent on this point: some later sources describe an assault, while a 1924 newspaper publication of Barr's alleged confession reported that he denied sexually assaulting Tucker. His responsibility for the shootings and robbery, however, became part of the murder case attributed to him. The double murder generated extensive attention throughout the region. Memphis city and county detectives investigated numerous possible suspects and motives. Because there had been no surviving eyewitness to identify the gunman, however, the investigation produced no immediate arrest. ...

Confirmed Victims: (3)

Duncan Waller Age: (19), Date of Death: 1923-01-27

Survivors:

Laura Wheaton Johnson

Charles Barr - Wikipedia