Paula Turley last spoke to her friend Karen Snider on the morning of November 12, 1966. They discussed their baby daughters and Turley’s upcoming birthday. At the age of 79, Turley testified on Wednesday, “We talked every morning.” That night, Snider, aged 18, was found stabbed to death in her Calumet City home.
Back then, Turley was married to James Barbier. Barbier was arrested in 2024 in Missouri and charged with first-degree murder in Snider’s death, after the case went cold for decades. His trial began on Tuesday.
Barbier was a co-worker of Snider’s husband at the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad. Turley said both couples were close friends. She and Snider had daughters in August 1966. “She was my best friend,” Turley stated.
On that day, Turley explained, her family visited her at their home in Gary, Indiana. They were in the kitchen when she heard Barbier arrive home around dusk. She did not see him enter but realized he was home when she heard the washing machine running in the basement, which he never used. He appeared upstairs in clean clothes and had cuts on his face.
Dr. Ponni Arunkumar, Cook County Chief Medical Examiner, testified on Wednesday about Snider’s autopsy. Snider had been stabbed over 120 times, with 18 wounds to the neck and the rest to her chest and abdomen. Some stab wounds penetrated her ribs, hitting the larynx, jugular vein, and carotid artery, deep enough to reach her spine. Injuries to her abdomen affected her heart, aorta, and liver.
Turley mentioned Barbier was a pallbearer at Snider’s funeral, with his face bandaged at the time. After Snider’s death, Barbier went to Missouri, and they divorced a year later, with Turley receiving no financial support from him.
Assistant Public Defender Tom Justic questioned the reliability of Turley’s memory from 60 years ago, highlighting inconsistencies in her testimonies. In past interviews, she indicated she saw Barbier come home, conflicting with her current statement. She also had varied descriptions of his facial injuries.
Former Chicago police Capt. John Collins, now 91, testified about the crime scene processing. In 1966, evidence technicians did not wear gloves, and DNA was unknown. All crime scene photos were in black and white. The trial is ongoing at the Markham Courthouse.