MN - Barbara 'Bobbi' Winn, 35, shot to death, Maplewood, 8 May 1981

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New evidence and witnesses have been found in this case! In addition to the physical evidence disappearing from the evidence room, investigators had been told that the medical examiner had not taken autopsy photographs. Clearly, the police and autopsy reports stated the contrary. The autopsy photographs re-appeared, just recently! The autopsy and crime scene photos tell everything! It is our deepest desire that the Anoka County Attorney:Robert Johnson will do the right thing and see that justice is served in this case. We desperately need your open support at this time. Please visit www.myfoxtwincities.com and view the story "Detectives closer to solving cold case". Be sure to read the case summary!

Then, if you could e-mail Anoka County Attorney
Robert Johnson at: rs-attorney@co.anoka.mn.us and ask him to please issue an arrest warrant and file charges against Aaron Walter Foster, Sr. for the murder of Barbara L. Winn. We need the public to flood his e-mail with requests to see that justice is finally served.

Our e-mail address is: contact@justiceforbarbara.com. We would appreciate if you can drop us a quick note to let us know you have sent Robert Johnson a message. Oh, I just thought you'd all want to know that Dateline NBC IS investigating this story!

God Bless,
The family of Barbara L. Winn
 

How did Barbara Winn die? 26 years later, the truth may be emerging
Prosecutor says the Maplewood woman was slain as her boyfriend assaulted her
BY MARA H. GOTTFRIED
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 11/03/2007 12:05:43 AM CDT

In the room where Barbara Winn died, there were signs of a struggle - an overturned plant, a broken curling iron and a torn-up photograph of her favorite movie star.

Police found a note in Winn's dresser she had written to her boyfriend, Aaron Foster Sr.: "I will not be abused. I am tired of bruises. I am somebody and I don't have to be treated like a nobody."

Twenty-six years after Winn was shot in her Maplewood home, a Ramsey County grand jury indicted Foster, a St. Paul police civilian employee, on Thursday in her murder. Foster was released from jail Friday, a day after being arrested.
The indictment against Foster, 55, for third-degree, unintentional murder doesn't offer details of the alleged crime, but it does provide some insight into the events of May 8, 1981. It says Winn died while Foster was "committing or attempting to commit a felony."

That felony was second-degree assault, Assistant Anoka County Attorney Andrew Johnson said Friday.
Foster told police in 1981 he didn't assault Winn, 35, before she died, but evidence documented in police reports suggests otherwise.

Winn had broken fingernails, a clump of hair in her hand, and bruises on her body.

Foster, through his attorney, has said he's not guilty. He told police Winn killed herself.

THE HOURS BEFORE
Maplewood police reports from 1981 and newer reports from the Ramsey County sheriff's office investigation paint a picture of what might have happened in the hours before Winn died:

Foster said he went to his mother's work the night of May 7, 1981. Winn and another girlfriend of Foster's were there, talking about how they needed to get Foster out of their lives.

An argument between Foster and Winn began and Foster's mother told him to leave.

Foster went to an Elks club. A man, who told police he had been at the club at about 10:30 p.m., said he saw Foster in the restroom, accusing another man "of possibly seeing his 'lady friend.' " Foster reportedly threatened that man with a gun.

Later, Foster said he went to a bar and met Winn. The conversation turned into an argument, Foster said.
"He said they argued about another lady," a police report stated. "As he was leaving the bar she said he should pack his things. She also threw a glass at him."

Three people later told police Foster struck Winn. The bar's owner said he heard Foster say, "If I can't have you, no one else will."

Foster said he went to Winn's home in Maplewood and began packing. Winn arrived about an hour later and the argument continued.

THE SCENE

Officers were sent to 368 Dorland Road at about 12:20 a.m. on May 8, 1981 on a "domestic" after a neighbor called about glass breaking. About a minute later, a shooting was reported.

According to Maplewood police reports from 1981 and from the Ramsey County sheriff's office investigation:

Foster met officers in front of the house and was "hysterical." He had blood on his hands "and appeared distraught and anxious."

Officers followed Foster to a bedroom and saw Winn's body on the floor.

Foster told police he was downstairs, packing. Winn was upstairs, he said. Foster said he heard a shot and went upstairs. Foster said Winn told him to get rid of the gun.

Foster said he went downstairs to call police, got frustrated with how long it was taking and broke a window. Foster said that's where the blood on his hands came from.

Then, Foster drove to a nearby 7-Eleven store, where he said he called for an ambulance again. On the way, he said he threw the gun out the car window.

Winn's three children had been in their rooms, on the same floor as their mother's room, when she was shot. Her sons, then 12 and 15, said they heard Foster and Winn fighting and then a loud noise. They went to her room and Foster was running out.

THE CASE NOW

Foster was arrested in 1981, but he wasn't charged until Thursday.

The Ramsey County sheriff's office started an investigation into Winn's death in 2006, when a St. Paul police officer questioned whether Foster should have a concealed-weapon permit because he had been a suspect in Winn's death.
Retired St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney, a close friend of Foster's, questioned the timing of the investigation. He and Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher were in a contentious race for sheriff, which Fletcher narrowly won.

In a statement Friday, Finney said: "I've worked for and supported the criminal justice system my entire life. I believe in it and am confident the judicial process will reveal the truth so Barbara Winn's family can finally find peace."

Fletcher referred the case in August 2006 to the Ramsey County attorney's office for consideration of charges.
Some of the Ramsey County sheriff's investigators' conclusions:

-- The angle of the shot that killed Winn "seems to coincide" with Winn's and Foster's height.
-- A cut on Winn's hand and gunshot residue suggested her hand was on the gun's cylinder when it went off.
-- Foster's statements are "inconsistent" - he gave different statements about where the gun was before and after the shooting; he said Winn told him to get rid of the gun, but her children said she wasn't able to speak; he told emergency dispatchers she "shot herself" and also "she got shot."
-- Foster said he didn't assault Winn, but the autopsy and disarray in the room showed signs of a struggle - a photograph of Winn's favorite actor, Billy Dee Williams, was torn up and other items were strewn about.

Ramsey County prosecutors referred the case to their Anoka County counterparts to avoid any conflict of interest.
The Anoka County attorney's office told Winn's family two months ago they would be convening a grand jury in Ramsey County.

The grand jury had to consider the laws as they were written in 1981, said Bob Goodell, an Anoka County prosecutor. The indictment that the grand jury handed up, third-degree murder, is the equivalent of second-degree murder today, Goodell said.

If Foster is convicted, 1981 sentencing would be used: maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, though the presumptive sentence was eight years and one month, Johnson said.

During Foster's first court appearance Friday, prosecutors sought bail of $350,000.

Earl Gray, Foster's attorney, pointed out that Foster had turned himself in Thursday night after an arrest warrant was issued, has worked for the city for 15 years and didn't have a criminal record.

Ramsey County District Judge Michael Fetsch ordered a conditional release. He told Foster to stay away from Winn's children and to check in with officials by phone once a week.

Foster, a clerk in the St. Paul police impound lot, is on unpaid leave.

Asked about Foster's temperament since his indictment, Gray said, "He's all right. He's a diabetic and he's not real healthy and he's very nervous like anybody would be. It's difficult to defend yourself against charges 27 years old, let me tell you that."

Winn's family said they've waited for years for this day, but they don't want to dwell on why it took so long.
"We could point fingers, we could place blame and that's really not going to get us anywhere at this point," said Patty Bruce, Winn's sister-in-law. "The really important thing right now is that we are where we are today. We are on the right track for justice for Barbara."

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at mgottfried@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5262.
 

Grand jury indicts Aaron Foster Sr. in 26-year-old Maplewood death
BY MARA H. GOTTFRIED
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 11/01/2007 11:22:40 PM CDT

More than a quarter century after Barbara Winn died in her Maplewood home, a grand jury indicted her boyfriend Thursday for her murder.

A Ramsey County grand jury handed up a third-degree murder indictment against Aaron Foster Sr., a St. Paul police civilian employee.
Foster, 55, was arrested after Winn died in 1981, but hadn't been previously charged. He claims Winn killed herself.
The case became a political hot button last year during the race for Ramsey County sheriff between incumbent Bob Fletcher and retired St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney.
Finney and Foster are close friends and Finney hired him to work for the police department.
Winn's family had raised concerns about Finney's presence at Winn's autopsy and police reports indicating Finney, then a St. Paul police officer, had witnessed Foster assault Winn in the past. Winn was 35 at the time of her death.
Finney, who couldn't be reached for comment Thursday night, has said he did not act improperly.
Fletcher's office reopened an investigation into the case last year. Finney questioned the timing given the election, though Fletcher said the move wasn't politically motivated.
Fletcher went on to narrowly win the election.
"It's about justice. It's not politics," Patty Bruce, Winn's sister-in-law, said Thursday. "We've been trying very, very hard to get people in our own community to see past the politics and to understand this is about a homicide and domestic violence."
Ramsey County District Court officials notified the sheriff's office about 5:30 p.m. Thursday that a third-degree murder warrant for Foster's arrest had been issued, Fletcher said. At that point, sheriff's deputies began looking for Foster.
At about 6:30 p.m., Foster's attorney contacted the sheriff's office and offered to bring Foster in, Fletcher said. Foster turned himself into custody at the county jail at 7:45 p.m.
Foster is expected to make his first court appearance, when bail will be set, this afternoon, said Earl Gray, Foster's attorney.
Foster will plead not guilty, Gray said.
"We'll let the judicial system take its course and at the end he'll be found not guilty," Gray said. "Just because someone's indicted doesn't mean anything. There's an old saying that if a prosecutor wants a ham sandwich indicted, he can get it done."
The Anoka County attorney's office had been reviewing the case since last year, when the Ramsey County attorney's office referred the case there to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Anoka County prosecutors told the Winn family in September that a Ramsey County grand jury would be convened to review the case.
On May 8, 1981, Winn died of a gunshot wound. Her two sons, ages 12 and 15 at the time, told police they heard their mother and Foster arguing before the gun went off, according to the Maplewood police report. The boys told police they saw Foster running from the room where Winn was found dead, a police report said.
Foster told police that when the gun went off, he was in another room downstairs, a police report said. Foster said he disposed of the handgun involved in Winn's death, but said she had asked him to do so after shooting herself, according to a police report.
"There's nothing we can do about the years that have passed," Bruce said. "What's important now is that we are on what I call the second huge step toward justice for Barbara and that is the mere fact it's going through the justice system like it should have in 1981."
Rediscovered autopsy photos and new gun tests bolstered evidence against Foster, Fletcher said earlier this year. The sheriff said testing concluded it would have been "nearly impossible" for Winn to have shot herself based on the bullet's path through her chest. He also said autopsy photos clearly showed Winn was beaten before she died.
Foster, who works as a clerk at the St. Paul police impound lot, has been placed on administrative leave, according to a department spokesman.
Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at mgottfried@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5262.
 

Finney pal indicted in 1981 shooting death of Barbara Winn in Maplewood
Close friend of retired St. Paul police chief suspected of slaying girlfriend; investigation reopened last year
BY MARA H. GOTTFRIED
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 11/02/2007 01:13:46 AM CDT

More than a quarter century after Barbara Winn died in her Maplewood home, a grand jury indicted her boyfriend Thursday on a murder charge.

A Ramsey County grand jury handed up a third-degree murder indictment against Aaron Foster Sr., a St. Paul police civilian employee. Foster, 55, was arrested after Winn died in 1981 but hadn't been charged. He claims Winn killed herself.

The case became a political hot button last year during the race for Ramsey County sheriff between incumbent Bob Fletcher and retired St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney. Finney and Foster are close friends, and Finney hired him to work for the police department.

Winn's family had raised concerns about Finney's presence at Winn's autopsy and police reports indicating Finney, then a St. Paul police officer, witnessed Foster assaulting Winn in the past. Winn was 35 at the time of her death.
Finney, who couldn't be reached for comment Thursday night, has said he did not act improperly.

Fletcher's office reopened an investigation into the case last year. Finney questioned the timing given the election, though Fletcher said the move wasn't politically motivated. Fletcher went on to narrowly win the election.

"It's about justice. It's not politics," Patty Bruce, Winn's sister-in-law, said Thursday. "We've been trying very, very hard to get people in our own community to see past the politics and to understand this is about a homicide and domestic violence."

Ramsey County District Court officials notified the sheriff's office about 5:30 p.m. Thursday that a third-degree murder warrant for Foster's arrest had been issued, Fletcher said. At that point, sheriff's deputies began looking for Foster. About 6:30 p.m., Foster's attorney contacted the sheriff's office and offered to bring Foster in, Fletcher said. Foster turned himself in at the county jail at 7:45 p.m.

Foster is expected to make his first court appearance, when bail will be set, this afternoon, said Earl Gray, Foster's attorney. Foster will plead not guilty, Gray said. "We'll let the judicial system take its course and at the end he'll be found not guilty," Gray said. "Just because someone's indicted doesn't mean anything. There's an old saying that if a prosecutor wants a ham sandwich indicted, he can get it done."

The Anoka County attorney's office had been reviewing the case since last year, when the Ramsey County attorney's office referred the case there to avoid a potential conflict of interest. Anoka County prosecutors told the Winn family in September that a Ramsey County grand jury would be convened to review the case.

On May 8, 1981, Winn died of a gunshot wound. Her two sons, ages 12 and 15 at the time, told police they heard their mother and Foster arguing before the gun went off, according to the Maplewood police report. The boys told police they saw Foster running from the room where Winn was found dead, a police report said.
Foster told police that when the gun went off, he was in another room downstairs, a police report said. Foster said he disposed of the handgun involved in Winn's death, but said she had asked him to do so after shooting herself, according to a police report.

"There's nothing we can do about the years that have passed," Bruce said. "What's important now is that we are on what I call the second huge step toward justice for Barbara and that is the mere fact it's going through the justice system like it should have in 1981."

Rediscovered autopsy photos and new gun tests bolstered evidence against Foster, Fletcher said earlier this year. The sheriff said testing concluded it would have been "nearly impossible" for Winn to have shot herself based on the bullet's path through her chest. He also said autopsy photos clearly showed Winn was beaten before she died.
Foster, who works as a clerk at the St. Paul police impound lot, has been placed on administrative leave, according to a department spokesman.

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at mgottfried@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5262.
 
Man indicted in girlfriend's '81 death

In a Ramsey County case filled with political overtones, Aaron Foster is jailed on murder charges but says he's innocent.
By Mary Lynn Smith and Joy Powell, Star Tribune
Last update: November 01, 2007 – 11:57 PM


More than 26 years ago Barbara Winn's three teenage children watched their mother die from a gunshot wound. On Thursday they rejoiced at news that the man they blamed for her death had been charged with murder.
Aaron Foster, 55, accompanied by his attorney, turned himself in to the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office Thursday night after learning that a Ramsey County grand jury had indicted him for third-degree murder in Winn's death.
"[Foster] claimed she committed suicide, but we always suspected that he murdered her," said Patty Bruce, Winn's sister-in-law.
Foster's defense attorney, Earl Gray, said Thursday night that he had not seen Foster's indictment, but that his client will plead not guilty.
Gray also said the passage of time would work against Foster. "How would you like to defend yourself against an allegation that's 27 years old," Gray said. "It's rather difficult."
Giving thanks
Gathering Thursday evening in Bruce's North St. Paul home, the family was feeling ecstatic. "This is the second major step to justice," Bruce said. "The first step was getting the case to a grand jury.
"It should have gone to a grand jury in 1981," she added. "We don't know why it's taken so long."
Foster was arrested shortly after Winn's 1981 death but never charged, and Winn's family members later said they believed that his friend, William Finney, a St. Paul police officer who would later become the city's top cop, had shielded him from prosecution.
It's a charge Finney adamantly denies.
The family recalls that Finney, who was not directly involved in the investigation, had appeared unexpectedly at Winn's autopsy the morning after she was killed.
The case resurfaced, with political overtones, during the neck-and-neck 2006 race for Ramsey County sheriff, when incumbent Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who was running against Finney, reopened the case.
Winn's death was one of the first investigations undertaken by a cold case unit Fletcher created in January 2006, saying that technological advances were making old cases easier to solve.
Finney said he went to Winn's autopsy partly out of disbelief that a friend was dead; he claimed that Fletcher's interest in the case was purely political.
But Fletcher said he acted appropriately by not waiting until after the election to reopen the case. He said he first learned of the case in March 2006 when a St. Paul police officer said he had seen Foster carrying a weapon and called to ask if he was licensed to carry. That officer told Fletcher that Foster, who was working at the St. Paul police impound lot, had been a suspect in the Winn case, and the sheriff began looking into it.
Foster, who had been Winn's live-in boyfriend, had told police in May 1981 that he had found Winn wounded, that she told him she had just shot herself, and that she told him to throw away the gun. Foster told investigators that he took the gun, dumped it in a nearby field and called police. He then returned to Winn's home.
Finney, who had retired as St. Paul police chief in 2004, was friends with both Foster and Winn. Her family, however, has said that he was certainly not close enough to have made himself an uninvited guest at her autopsy.
The medical examiner's office never ruled how Winn died.
Finney had told police that he had once seen Foster slap Winn and faced questions about why he didn't arrest Foster for assault. He told a Star Tribune reporter in 2006 that it was a minor assault when he was off-duty.
After reopening the case, Fletcher said, he learned of the extent of Finney's friendship with the family. He turned over the case to Anoka County sheriff's investigators to avoid any conflict of interest. But Anoka County sent the case back to him, saying it should be reviewed for possible charges.
Ramsey County attorney Susan Gaertner, a Finney supporter in the sheriff's race, quickly returned the case to the Anoka County attorney's office to avoid any conflict of interest, her spokesman explained in 2006.
Fletcher said his office received a warrant for Foster's arrest at 5:25 p.m. Thursday. He said his deputies were in the process of looking for Foster when Foster turned himself at the jail. Bail was set at $350,000, and he is scheduled to appear in Ramsey County District Court today, Fletcher said.
Fletcher said Thursday he wasn't going to speculate why the case took so long reach a grand jury. Privy only to the investigative files and not the secret grand jury deliberations, Fletcher said additional witness interviews and new evidence are "very powerful."This is about justice for the children," Fletcher said. "The wheels of justice turn very slowly, but they always keep turning."
Bruce said the family is well aware that the case has a long way to go before it's resolved in court. "We'll have some rough roads ahead," she said, "but it's not as rough as having no justice."
In the past year, Bruce has created a website devoted to Winn that has brought attention to her sister-in-law's death and the issue of domestic abuse.
She declined to speculate about the case's lengthy gestation. "We could spend a lot of time pointing fingers and trying to find blame as to why this fell through the cracks," she said. "We're just now hoping for justice and hope that no other family has to go through what we've gone through."
Staff writers Terry Collins and Courtney Blanchard contributed to this report.
mlsmith@startribune.com
612-673-4788
jpowell@startribune.com 612-673-7750
 

Suspect freed without bail in girlfriend's 1981 slaying

A man accused of killing his girlfriend 26 years ago was released without bail on Friday.
Last update: November 02, 2007 – 9:48 PM
A man accused of killing his girlfriend 26 years ago was released without bail on Friday.
Aaron Foster, 55, turned himself in to authorities after he was indicted for third-degree murder. He is accused of shooting Barbara Winn, of Maplewood, to death in 1981.
Foster's attorney, Earl Gray, has said his client will plead not guilty.
Foster made his first court appearance Friday. Prosecutors asked for $350,000 bail, but Judge Michael Fetsch ruled that Foster could be released without bail if he agreed to follow some conditions, including not contacting Winn's three children, who are witnesses in the case.
Foster's release without bail is "disturbing" to Winn's family.
"We're a little over the edge with that," said Patty Bruce, Barbara Winn's sister-in-law. "I was surprised he was released on his own recognizance because he has a violent history."
Foster was arrested shortly after Winn's death but never charged, and Winn's family members later said they believed that his friend, Bill Finney, a St. Paul police officer who would later become the city's top cop, had shielded him from prosecution.
It's a charge that Finney, who retired in 2004, adamantly denies.
The case resurfaced, with political overtones, during the neck-and-neck 2006 race for Ramsey County sheriff, when incumbent Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who was running against Finney, reopened the case.
The case is being prosecuted by the Anoka County Attorney's Office to avoid a conflict of interest. Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner was a Finney supporter in 2006.
"Whether we have new evidence is something we're saving for trial," said Andrew Johnson, an assistant Anoka County attorney serving as a special assistant to Ramsey County.
The next hearing is set for Nov. 13.
CHRIS HAVENS
 
Man to be released without bail in girlfriend's 1981 killing
BY MARA H. GOTTFRIED
Pioneer Press
Article Last Updated: 11/02/2007 02:54:30 PM CDT


The man indicted for murder in his girlfriend's 1981 shooting death will be released from jail without bail, a judge said this afternoon.

Prosecutors had asked that bail for Aaron Foster Sr. be set at $350,000. The judge set conditions for Foster's release, which include not having contact with Barbara Winn's three children. Foster is accused of fatally shooting Winn in the chest May 8, 1981. He claims Winn killed herself. Winn was 35 when she died.

A Ramsey County grand jury Thursday indicted Foster on charges of third-degree unintentional murder while committing or attempting to commit a felony. Prosecutors said the felony is second-degree assault.
Foster, 55, was arrested after Winn died, but hadn't been charged.

The case became a political hot button last year during the race for Ramsey County sheriff between incumbent Bob Fletcher and retired St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney. Finney and Foster are close friends, and Finney hired him to work for the police department.

Winn's family had raised concerns about Finney's presence at Winn's autopsy and police reports indicating Finney, then a St. Paul police officer, witnessed Foster assaulting Winn in the past. Finney has said he did not act improperly.
Foster, who works as a clerk at the St. Paul police impound lot, has been placed on administrative leave.
 
North St. Paul woman turns website network of advocates

A North St. Paul woman uses a cold case to raise awareness of domestic violence.
By Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune
Last update: October 16, 2007 – 9:36 PM
Related Content
When an investigation into the shooting death of Barbara (Bobbi) Winn, of Maplewood, ended in 1981 without charges being filed, her family felt defeated. "We locked down," recalls Patty Bruce, a relative.
But in 2006, Winn's case surfaced again, and this time, Bruce said, the family met and decided: "This time, we're going to fight."
Bruce, in turn, has become a domestic violence activist, creating Web pages from her home that honor Winn and -- in a slide show depicting victims from across the United States -- draw attention to Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.
Her activism, ignited by online networking that has produced 800-plus "friends" on Barbara Winn's Myspace page, coincides with a potential legal breakthrough, as well. Anoka County prosecutors have decided to take the Winn case to a grand jury, possibly within the next three weeks.
At the North St. Paul home that Bruce shares with her husband -- Barbara Winn's brother -- and their children, Barbara Winn's picture sits atop a piano in the living room. On a laptop computer, Bruce pulled up a snippet of e-mail from a woman who had mixed news to report about her own husband: "He has not hit me [recently], that is good," she wrote.
Encouraging the woman to reach for a better life, Bruce told the woman that if she chose to leave the relationship, Bruce would help her find resources.
A few steps away, at the bottom of the stairs, Bruce has a computer in a basement office, as well, where she often will sit writing until 4 or 5 a.m.
Asked how many hours she's spent in the past year on the Winn case, the correspondence and the online memorials, she said without hesitation, "thousands."Thousands -- wouldn't you say?" she said, turning to her husband, Calvin Bruce, who was looking out a window behind her.
"At least," he said. "She usually won't quit until she finds something that just might be relevant."He's a good sport," Bruce said. "He puts up with me."
To court -- at last
As a cold case, Barbara Winn's story may come to fascinate crime buffs.
Winn died in May 1981 of a gunshot to the chest. A former live-in boyfriend, who was arrested but never charged, told authorities that she had told him she shot herself. She also asked him to get rid of the gun, he said, and he did so by taking it from the bedroom and tossing it out of a car window while he drove away from the area.
The medical examiner's office never ruled on the death.
Relatives have disputed the suicide claim, and Maplewood police reports have noted there was hair and skin under Winn's nails, indicating a struggle.
But her story has been overshadowed at times by politics.
Last year, Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher made Winn's suspicious death among the first cases to be reviewed by a newly launched cold-case unit. News coverage often focused on the fact that the suspect in Winn's death was a good friend of former St. Paul Police Chief Bill Finney, who in 2006 was locked in a tight race for sheriff with incumbent Fletcher.
Finney said Fletcher's motives were political; the sheriff denied it.
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office, seeking to avoid its own conflict of interest, later referred the case to the Anoka County Attorney's Office. It decided last month to convene a grand jury to hear evidence in the case.
Assistant Anoka County Attorney Deidre Aanstad confirmed that a hearing is likely in late October or early November, but she declined to comment further.
Grand juries are independent investigative bodies that determine whether there's probable cause to believe a crime was committed.
On the family's website (www. justiceforbarbara.com), the development is being heralded simply as "a huge first step toward Justice for Barbara."
Not alone anymore
At first, when the family plotted a year ago how to respond to the new chapter in the Winn case, it was agreed Bruce's 21-year-old daughter would network with families of victims by creating a Myspace page: www.myspace.com/justiceforbarbara. One day, however, Bruce, then working at home as a dispatcher for her husband's trucking firm, said: "Do you mind if I tinker with it?"
So began hours and hours of heavy correspondence that she says can be wrenching. Some days, she said, she will look at her inbox and wonder, "Can I handle what this person is saying?" But, she said, at least she is part of a community.
"We thought we were all alone," she said of the victims' families. "But we found each other."
The slide show memorial she's put on both Web pages was created with the help of family members of victims elsewhere. Nearly half involve unresolved cases. Altogether, Bruce estimates she's corresponded with the families of at least 100 murder victims.
At the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women, Carla Ferrucci, director of public policy, complimented Bruce's efforts: "The more people are talking about this issue, getting it out into the open, the better," Ferrucci said. Then, more people can find help.
In the future, Bruce said, the family may create a Barbara Winn Foundation, a group that would work with victims' families, she said, perhaps to pressure investigators. The goal would be to get past the frustration of hearing, "We're still working on it. It's open." Added Bruce: "All it means when the case is 'open' is that you're not going to give us any information."
Networking, reaching out, she said, is key.
"It's a lesson we've learned," she said, "we are not alone."
Anthony Lonetree • 651-298-1545
Anthony Lonetree • alonetree@startribune.com
 
Much has happened in this case since the last time I was here (had trouble logging in).

Aaron Foster was indicted by a grand jury on November 1, 2007. His Omnibus hearing was on March 20th. The defense filed motions to suppress evidence and to dismiss the murder charge against Foster.

The motions to dismiss were denied, and the motions to suppress were denied, in part.

Foster's Pre-trial is next Thursday (May 22, 2008) and his jury trial is scheduled to begin on July 14, 2008.

Also, Dateline NBC has produced a documentary about the case, and it is scheduled to air, very soon. I will post a copy of the press release here, when I receive a copy. Although the documentary focuses on Barbara's case, I think it is important for those of you who are fighting for justice, as we have, to watch this documentary. There are lessons for everyone to learn from this case.
 
Justice4Barbara, I am glad that you were able to log in and give us this good news! I just read this thread for the first time, and I am so happy that justice for Barbara's seems likely. I will try to watch the Dateline episode. What a long this has been for your husband and all in your husband's family.
 
I pray for justice for Barbara.

All my love -

Rosco
 
Below is the NBC Press Release concerning a documentary that Dateline NBC will air this Friday. We hope you will take the time to watch the documentary. Although the documentary focuses, solely, on the investigation of Barbara’s death, we believe that there are valuable lessons many people (including: investigators, prosecutors, and families of other victims) can learn from watching it.
As many of you know, we fought a long hard battle with our local criminal justice sytem, in our search of Justice For Barbara. And, against all odds, we have overcome many obstacles and the man we believe murdered Barbara will stand trial on July 14th.
What did and did not happen during and after the investigation of Barbara’s death…which caused a delay in justice for nearly 27 years…is not unique to Barbara’s case. There are countless other families in search of, and who feel they have been denied, justice. We hope this documentary will inspire others to continue their fight for justice.


"DATELINE NBC" BROADCAST EXCLUSIVE: THE FAMILY OF BARBARA WINN SPEAKS OUT ABOUT THEIR MOTHER'S DEATH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 27 YEARS TO NBC NEWS' MIKE TAIBBI ON FRIDAY, MAY 23

(New York) - May 20, 2008 - Some say the death of 35-year-old Barbara Winn in the spring of 1981 was murder, and should have been an open and shut case. There was one abused victim, one weapon and one suspect. But soon after her death, authorities ruled there was no crime, and that Winn had taken her own life. Now, 27 years later, the case is in the headlines again. Her family always believed she was murdered, and now, authorities think so too. On Friday, May 23 (9:00 p.m., ET) on "Dateline NBC," NBC News correspondent Mike Taibbi speaks with the Winn family about their long quest for justice, and takes viewers inside the re-investigation of a case that has gripped the twin cities with political undertones that reached the highest levels of the St. Paul Police Department.

For the in-depth report, Taibbi travels to St. Paul Minn., to explore the question that many have been asking for years: why has this taken so long to be solved? In candid and emotional interviews, the Winn family discusses witnessing their mother's death and their dogged fight for justice. The hour-long report also follows Sgt. Bill Snyder as he reinvestigates; searching for new clues and talks with new witnesses. Synder tells "Dateline": "These are good people. These are people who sat and were brushed aside by the system. A system that I worked for and believed in for 33 years and told, go away."

David Corvo is the executive producer of "Dateline NBC."
 
Excellent news!!
Barbara's family has waited way too long for justice - I hope the wait is almost over!!!
I will be watching Dateline tomorrow night!
 
I just saw the notice by Tricia of the upcoming Dateline program. I've read this thread. I hope with the current trial, Barbara and her family will finally get the just they deserve.

Twenty-seven years is a long time to have doors shut on you. But, you fought on and won, in a sense. At least now there's going to be a trial.


Congradulations to Barbara's family for putting up the good fight for so long. Barbara was very lucky to have so many people care so deeply about her.


I'll be sure to watch Dateline this week.

fran
 
justice4barbara said:
Much has happened in this case since the last time I was here (had trouble logging in).

Aaron Foster was indicted by a grand jury on November 1, 2007. His Omnibus hearing was on March 20th. The defense filed motions to suppress evidence and to dismiss the murder charge against Foster.

The motions to dismiss were denied, and the motions to suppress were denied, in part.

Foster's Pre-trial is next Thursday (May 22, 2008) and his jury trial is scheduled to begin on July 14, 2008.

Also, Dateline NBC has produced a documentary about the case, and it is scheduled to air, very soon. I will post a copy of the press release here, when I receive a copy. Although the documentary focuses on Barbara's case, I think it is important for those of you who are fighting for justice, as we have, to watch this documentary. There are lessons for everyone to learn from this case.
Click to expand...
My God. This guy should have been charged with first-degree murder. What a coverup by his buddy, Finney. It is unreal that Finney isn't charged.

This sounds as bad as the Drew Peterson case. Police corruption.

I hope to heck this guy is found guilty and spends the rest of his miserable life in prison.

I feel so bad for Barbara's family and her children. What an everloving nightmare. I surely hope that justice will be served.
 
This was one of the first cases I ever read that caused me to contact media sources, like Oprah, to try and get this family a little peace. IIRC, the DA is still "contemplating" this case post indictment, right? Cause i don't get why Aaron is still walking around now that the wheels are finally turning for the family....
 
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