Episode 30 Barbara Johnson-Willard
Top left: Victim Barbara Johnson-Willard, Top Right: Main suspect in her case, a convicted serial rapist named John Lee Weeks. Bottom Right: Barbara’s distinct Red Mercury Cougar
The team continues to work alongside Delaware County, Oklahoma officials tacking some of their unsolved and cold cases. In this episode, the panel dives into the case of 29 year old Barbara Johnson-Willard who went missing from Jay, Oklahoma on June 17, 1996 after a late night out watching a movie. Ten days after she was last seen, her red Mercury Cougar was found in a ravine near Colcord in southern Delaware County. Someone had attempted to set it on fire. Although Barbara was nowhere to be found, investigators discovered evidence of decaying flesh in the trunk of the car. Barbara was never seen again. It's not clear whether Barbara ever made it to her home the night she vanished, but there was no sign of a struggle or forced entry there. However, police did discover that Barbara's bedding from her bed was missing. A look into Barbara's background linked her to a man in prison named John Lee Weeks, a serial rapist. Evidence including DNA and prints recovered from Barbara's car links Weeks to it, but to date, he hasn't been charged in Barbara's case.
If you have any information about the case of Barbara Johnson-Willard, please contact the Delaware County, OK Sheriff's cold case unit You can call (918) 253-4531
You can reach Sheila Stogsdill with tips via email @sstogsdill@ksn16.tv or phone at (918)-791-1962
If you can contribute to our Gofundme efforts to help solve some of these Delaware County cases, your help would be greatly appreciated. You can learn more about our Gofundme here
To listen to this episode, use the player below or, to listen AD-FREE, consider an AbJack Insider subscription from Apple Podcasts.