Odell Barnes, Jr.
Wichita
County, Texas
Date of Crime: November 29, 1989
Executed March 1, 2000
Odell Barnes, Jr., was convicted of the murder of Helen
Bass, his friend and lover. He was sentenced to death. Bass, 42,
was beaten and stabbed with a kitchen knife, then killed with a gunshot to
the head. While driving by in a car, witness Robert Brooks claimed to
have seen Barnes, wearing coveralls, hurdle a fence in Bass's backyard at
10:30 p.m. Brooks allegedly witnessed this event under bad lighting
conditions from 40 yards away while wearing tinted glasses. He first
made this statement before it was known that Bass did not arrive home from
work until 11:30 p.m. In addition, Brooks barely knew Barnes. According to the prosecution theory, Barnes kicked in her back door at 10:30
p.m. and waited an hour for her to return home. Such a theory seems
dubious given Barnes's relationship with Bass and the fact that Barnes's
mother was picking up Bass from work at 11:15 p.m. A shoe print found
on the back door and mentioned in a police report, was wiped clean. Given Barnes's 14EEE shoe size, it easily could have been used to identify
or exonerate him.
There were numerous splashes of blood spread widely around the room where
Bass's body was discovered. Since the killer was alleged to have worn
coveralls in committing the crime, it would seem likely that his coveralls
would contain a fair amount of blood spatter. However, coveralls
allegedly belonging to Barnes contained only two tiny bloodstains. At
trial these bloodstains were identified as being of Bass's blood type. DNA tests later showed that the blood did come from Bass. Tests also
revealed that the blood contained citric acid, which is a preservative used
in stored blood. The medical examiner concluded that the stains did
not come from natural bleeding of a normal human being. Thus the
bloodstains presumably were planted using a vial of Bass's stored blood. Barnes's mother testified that Barnes arrived home about 11:50 p.m. that
night wearing a tan coat and gray pants rather than coveralls as the
prosecution claimed.
Brooks initially said he was alone in his car when he saw Barnes. His
sister, Bobbie Jean Brooks, later said that she was with him in the car. She could not formally identify Barnes, but she did say her brother told her
that the person they saw was not Barnes. Subsequent to Barnes's trial,
additional witnesses have come forward and have implicated another man as
Bass's murderer. Appeals based on the post-conviction evidence were
unsuccessful and Barnes was executed on March 1, 2000. [1/07]
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References: Justice:
Denied, Texas Defender Service,
Houston Press
Posted in:
Victims of the State,
Northeast Texas Cases,
Defendants Executed by Texas
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