The crime scene where Barbara Purcell was murdered was staged by the killer to look like a robbery, rape, and homicide, initially complicating the investigation for authorities. The truths later revealed left many surprised.
The Nude Body
Barbara Purcell was a 42-year-old physical therapist. On June 6, 2001, when she didn’t show up for work or answer calls, her concerned coworkers contacted the police for assistance.
Receiving the report, officers went to Barbara’s home in Rockford, Illinois. After no one answered knocking, they looked through a window and saw a leg protruding from below the staircase.
They also noticed an outer basement door was open with the glass broken out. Entering through this open door, they found Barbara lying at the bottom of the stairs, bloody and nude, already deceased.
Police immediately searched the house but found no one. They collected fingerprints, broken glass shards, and blood samples near Barbara’s body.
The autopsy revealed Barbara died from 2-4 severe blows to the head with a hard object. One finger on her right hand was bruised and swollen, while her left palm had an abrasion. Experts estimated she died the previous night, at least 12 hours before being discovered.
Barbara’s wedding ring was missing, as were her jewelry and antique coin collection. Rooms appeared rummaged through. Friends said she always wore her wedding ring despite being separated.
Based on the evidence, police classified it as a homicide.
The Staged Crime Scene
Debra Foss, the Purcells’ part-time housekeeper, stated she last cleaned on June 1st. She entered using the exterior keypad code which hadn’t changed since she started working for them.
Barbara’s bedroom closet and jewelry box were open when Debra left on the 1st, though she recalled them being closed. Additionally, a display case previously holding an antique coin/currency collection was now empty.
Initially, police theorized one or more burglars were responsible. Tire tracks were found on the lawn and grassy areas behind the home. K9 units canvassed but found no valuable leads.
Investigators deduced Barbara was likely ambushed from behind. Instinctively raising her arms to protect her head caused the injuries to her hands. The attack location was suspected to be the stair landing area. Notably, the medical examiner found no signs of sexual assault.
So why was the victim unclothed? Likely the killer undressed Barbara to stage the scene as looking like a robbery/rape/murder.
The Suspicious Husband
The autopsy revealed Barbara Purcell died from severe blows to the head with a hard object. A blood spatter analyst stated Barbara’s head was in a downward position when first struck. The dispersed blood patterns showed she was hit again after already falling down the stairs.
One finger on her right hand was bruised and swollen, while her left palm had an abrasion. The medical examiner found no signs of sexual assault. So it’s likely the killer undressed Barbara to stage the scene as a robbery/rape/murder.
Another abnormality that made investigators suspect the scene was staged was that the broken rear door glass fell outwards, indicating it was broken from inside the house.
The doors and windows into Barbara’s home were locked. The only way for an intruder to enter and break the rear door glass from the inside was to have a key. The only person besides Barbara with a key was her estranged husband Willard Purcell – they had separated just days earlier.
Dr. Petty, Barbara’s coworker, told police that when she arrived at the hospital at 2:45 pm on May 31, 2001, Barbara was distraught, crying, and very upset. She said Willard had attacked her with a stun gun on her neck and arm, causing her to fall down, but she escaped and went to work.
Barbara stated she’d recently been having frequent phone calls with her son in Oklahoma about his upcoming wedding. However, Willard became suspicious Barbara was speaking to another man she was having an affair with, which prompted the attack.
Barbara then filed a police report, and a restraining order against Willard was issued from May 31 to June 14, forcing him to leave and stay away from her.
The Death of the Ex-Wife
Working with police, Willard claimed on the day of the murder he worked in Chicago and left the office around 3 pm. He then went to his brother’s home and stayed the night. Chicago is about a 90-minute drive from Barbara’s place.
Further investigating Barbara’s prior activities, police were surprised to learn just days before her death, she called the prosecutor’s office claiming that 16 years ago, Willard may have killed his first wife Crystal Purcell, whose body was also found at the bottom of stairs.
Police exhumed Crystal’s body for re-examination. The medical examiner noted a cracked skull consistent with falling down stairs. However, they could not determine if it was an accidental fall or if someone pushed her.
Police compared Willard’s truck tires to the tracks on Barbara’s lawn and rear patio areas. The tread patterns were a possible match, though the scene tracks were too faded to make a definitive conclusion.
The abrasions on Barbara’s left palm drew investigators’ attention, as they resembled bite marks. They requested Willard’s dental impressions to compare against the marks on the victim’s hand. The results gave police a new direction in the case.
Bite marks on the victim’s body
The scratches on the left palm of the victim Barbara Purcell caught the investigation team’s attention because they resembled bite marks. The team then took dental impressions from her husband Willard Purcell and sent them to experts to compare with the bite marks on the victim’s body.
The results determined 5 distinct and definite characteristics confirming that Willard’s teeth had made the wounds on Barbara’s left palm.
Eugenia Blosser, the Purcells’ neighbor, stated that on June 5, 2001, she woke up at 3:15 am. Around 4 am, Eugenia took her dog out and saw a man standing behind Willard’s parked truck. Eugenia was “quite certain” the man was Willard. Around 5-10 minutes later when Eugenia left for work, the man and the truck were gone, but the lights were on at Willard’s house, which she found unusual at that time.
Willard’s coworker Mitch Neiber said he had worked with Willard at a construction site around the time before Barbara was murdered at her home in Rockford. Mitch stated that he did not notice any injuries on Willard’s hands, arms or legs then. Another coworker Dan McFeely testified that on June 5, Willard left at 12:30 pm after saying he felt unwell. A sandwich shop employee confirmed selling Willard a hot dog and cream between 1-3 pm on June 5 in Rockford.
Additionally, surveillance cameras captured Willard’s vehicle moving near Barbara’s house around the time of her death. Telecom data showed he made a call from inside Barbara’s house before she died.
The suspicious husband
Finally, when police searched Willard’s residence, they found Barbara’s wedding ring and jewelry in a bag. With the accumulation of evidence, they arrested Willard.
Willard admitted their 12-year marriage had started deteriorating in November 2000. However, he denied killing his wife or attacking her with a stun gun.
On May 31, 2001, Willard said he woke up around 3:30-4 am and started doing chores in the backyard. Around 6:30 am, Willard came inside for coffee and found Barbara there. Startled by his presence, she dropped her purse spilling a strange cell phone. When Willard asked about it, she brushed it off as none of his business before leaving for work. Hours later, Willard went to buy cigarettes and upon return was arrested for allegedly attacking Barbara with a stun gun.
At the police station, investigators asked Willard to account for his actions after being ordered to leave home and stay away from his wife. Willard said on June 1, he and his brother went back to retrieve his truck. Willard admitted driving past the house once or twice over the next two days to check if the lawn needed mowing.
Around 11 am on June 4, he drove to the house to get some tools and his wife’s jewelry. Willard then went back to his brother’s place and stayed there until learning of his wife’s death.
About a week later, in a follow-up interview, Willard told a different story.
Changing Testimony
About a week later, in a follow-up police interview, Willard Purcell gave a different account surrounding the death of his wife Barbara Purcell. He said it was “an accident”.
Willard stated that on June 5, 2001, he left work in Naperville around 1 pm and went to Rockford. There, he wrote a letter asking to speak with Barbara and placed it under the windshield wiper of her car parked at her workplace.
After buying a bouquet of flowers, Willard drove home. Upon seeing her husband, Barbara allowed him inside to talk. Here, Willard accused his wife of staging the stun gun attack that led to his restraining order. Barbara did not mention divorce but said she wanted Willard out of the house for a while.
According to Willard, Barbara started raising her voice at this point and they both became angry. Willard went to the kitchen for water but when he returned, Barbara charged at him with a flashlight. Willard tried grabbing the flashlight while backing towards the stairs. There, he struck back at his wife “no more than 2 or 3 times”. Barbara then slipped on a rug and fell down the stairs. Barbara said she did not see any blood. When Willard asked if she was okay, she said she would call the police and kick him out.
Willard claimed he struck back in self-defense after Barbara attacked him. Before leaving, he took a bag containing clothes, jewelry, papers, money, and his coin collection, and went to his brother’s house. Willard said he left thinking Barbara was not severely injured and did not call medical help, fearing punishment for violating the restraining order and being ordered out.
Paying the Price
However, investigators did not believe this version based on the evidence collected.
Willard’s trial in 2003 lasted two weeks. Prosecutors alleged Willard and Barbara’s marriage had soured long ago and they had not slept together for years. Barbara’s relatives understood her divorce was only a matter of time but Willard opposed it, partly to avoid splitting assets. During one argument, the defendant stun-gunned Barbara, prompting her police call. Enraged by this, Willard retaliated.
On June 5, 2001, Willard left his Chicago workplace around 11 am and raced home. He called to ensure she would be there, then drove over the backyard grass and hid. Willard entered through the back door using his key and lay in wait on the stairs. After the attack, he removed Barbara’s clothes to mislead the police.
The jury found Willard guilty and he was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder.
