1969-07-04

Bartender jailed in City murder

By Jim Sands

Noel Wilson Barnett, 27, of 1614 S Madison, Apt 2, charged with murder with malice following the early morning gunshot death of a 22-year-old woman, remained in Potter County jail late thursday in lieu of $25,000 bond.

Barnett, a bartender at the Amarillo Country Club was taken into custody just minutes after he telephoned police to report the shooting which took the life of Judy Kay Carter, 22, of the same Madison addres.

Dee miller, former Potter County district attorney, was asked by Justice of the Peace Bonita Potter to take Barnett's case after he requested a court0appointed counsel at his preliminary hearing.

The woman, pronounced dead at the scene by Judge Potter, acting coroner, was found by officers lyikng on a bedroom floor of the apartment just after 12:30 am

She had been shot once in her upper chest, slightly to the right of center, with a small caliber weapon

Police found a .22 caliber bol action rifle with a telescopic sight when they checked Barnett's car parked in front of the address

It was estimated by detectives that the bullet had been fired at a distance of from 6 to 10 feet from the victim

The victim's two-eyar-old daughter, Teresa Lou, present at the home when officers arrived was plaed in custdoy of the family friends pending arrival of her maternal grandmother.

Barnett told police that he and the dead woman had lived at the present address since January

The apartment, one of six family units resembling duplexes, showed few signs of a struggle, but a claw hammer, a wedding ring and broken cups were gathered up by officers.

The body, fully clothes except for shoes, was lying parallel to an ironing board about five feet from a doorway leading from the rear of the bedroom. A white blouse worn by the woman contained only a small patch of blood. She was also wearing a black skirt.

One officer described the bullet hole as small.

"It looked about the size of an ice pick hole," he added Patrolman Bernard Ried, the first to arrive at the Scene, later said he had seen a man using a coin-operated telephone at the corner of 16th and Washington just before he received a radio call con. cerning the shooting.

One officer said the man who called to report the incident told the dispatcher that he would return to the home and wait for officers

Speaking of Barnett, Reid said, "He was waiting at the door for us."

The contents of a statement made and signed by the suspect was not made known by detec- tives.

Mrs. Potter, who ordered the Mrs. Potter, who ordered the death apartment locked following removal of the body by a funeral home said no results of an autopsy ordered by her had been received. She had made no official ruling late Thursday.

Judy Kay Carter, born in Elk City, Okla., was graduated from Pampa High School in 1965. She had lived in Amarillo about one year.

She was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church of Pam- pa. Other survivors include her mother, Mrs. Doris Eckroat, of Pampa; her father, Vernon Vic tor Carter, of Antlers, Okla. a sister, Mrs. Gary Daniels, of Yukon, Okla.; a brother, Victor Don Carter, of Pampa; and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. A I. Hall, of Pampa, and Mr. and Mrs. G. C. Carter, of Bessie, Okla. Services are pending with Carmichael-Whatley Funera