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Fayette records another killing

Woman claims she killed father to defend her mom

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

A South Fayette woman shot and killed her father Friday morning — and she claims she was defending her mother in the process, police said.

Ralph Barr, 48, was shot at the family’s home at 110 Summerville Drive around 11:28 a.m. by his daughter, Wendy Barr, 23, said Lt. Col. Bruce Jordan, director of investigations for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

Detectives won’t file murder charges against Wendy Barr, however, but evidence will be presented to a grand jury which will make the ultimate determination, Jordan said.

“Her statement is that she was defending her mother,” Jordan said, declining to get into details of the scuffle before shots were fired.

Ralph Barr’s body was found in the foyer of the home when deputies arrived on the scene, Jordan said. He also confirmed that deputies have responded to other domestic incidents at the Barr home in the past.

The gun used in the incident was a .44 Magnum, Jordan said.

Ralph Barr was employed by Northwest Airlines and he lived at the Fayette home some of the time, also commuting to Memphis and living there at times, Jordan noted. Wendy Barr and her mother, Natalie Barr, also lived at the house here in Fayette, Jordan said.

The chief detective also noted that this has been Fayette’s worst year for homicides, with Barr’s death bringing the total to seven for the entire county.

The most recent murder was just last week when former Fayette County Commissioner Charlie Mask was found dead in his motor home off McBride Road. Mask died from two blows to the head with a concrete block, and detectives have secured murder warrants against another man who had a relationship with Mask and is currently on the run, police said.