Why did Sam call the police to check the basement?

AndresEscobar wrote:Dangrs, what's ironic is his name is allegedly "Barney" and the only reference to any Barney i can find in the Farmville Police Department is referencing Barney Fife.

Are you serious, his name is barney LOL thats too funny, we should send Heroine over to farmville to get us the scoop on old barney.

Paximus wrote:

AndresEscobar wrote:Dangrs, what's ironic is his name is allegedly "Barney" and the only reference to any Barney i can find in the Farmville Police Department is referencing Barney Fife.

Are you serious, his name is barney LOL thats too funny, we should send Heroine over to farmville to get us the scoop on old barney.

His name is allegedly Barney, which hasn't turned up anything on internet searches.

Well, you can't really see his face in the pictures that were posted here, but there is something about his face and the way that he carries himself that reminds me of Don Knotts' famous character. Maybe it is just the surprised look lol. I seem to recall there was a better picture of Tall Skinny somewhere but maybe I am mistaken about that.

LOL....Barney Fife. Yeah, you know, I don't think Barney is the right name, but I can find out. I haven't done much or thought much about this case in months, mainly because I got booted off that other site. I think their rules are a bit draconian, and a bit of...other things, but anyway, I will try to post some here.

It was probably a good thing to be banned, because like everybody else my life is REALLY busy and I have no business typing here or anywhere.

However, it was VERY frustrating over the months, when I would get a juicy bit of local info and couldn't post there and tell everybody!

I will do my best to be as polite as possible and offend no one. I just don't tolerate asshattery very well, though have also been known to be a practitioner of the same. If I think someone is being an asshat, I will probably say so.

And now I can't think of anything....but will try to remember. Anyway, the deputy who initially met Sam, when the latter called back that night, he specifically requested the same guy. And yes, he is kind of a little guy...Barney Fife suits him to a T. And I heard that he was scared shitless when he heard that Sam had asked specifically for him. (Small, easily subdued/killed). Anyway, he was not working that night, but the sheriff's office sent out like four guys, so Sam quickly realized he wouldn't be adding "cop killer" to his CV. I hear "Barney" (will try to get the correct name) is still very shaken up about it all.

The only other thing I can remember, and this is the wrong thread for it, but I'm short on time....and don't know if you guys have sorted out where Mark was murdered --- apparently downstairs, living room. I know this because the people fixing up the house for sale called his mother to ask the difficult/delicate question..."We need to replace the section of hardwood floors....but we need your permission" and she said, "of course." That much blood.

His mom is, of course, having a very hard time. Frightened that Sam will come for her, since she is literally the last of her family.

Atlantica_Redux wrote:LOL....Barney Fife. Yeah, you know, I don't think Barney is the right name, but I can find out. I haven't done much or thought much about this case in months, mainly because I got booted off that other site. I think their rules are a bit draconian, and a bit of...other things, but anyway, I will try to post some here.

It was probably a good thing to be banned, because like everybody else my life is REALLY busy and I have no business typing here or anywhere.

However, it was VERY frustrating over the months, when I would get a juicy bit of local info and couldn't post there and tell everybody!

I will do my best to be as polite as possible and offend no one. I just don't tolerate asshattery very well, though have also been known to be a practitioner of the same. If I think someone is being an asshat, I will probably say so.

And now I can't think of anything....but will try to remember. Anyway, the deputy who initially met Sam, when the latter called back that night, he specifically requested the same guy. And yes, he is kind of a little guy...Barney Fife suits him to a T. And I heard that he was scared shitless when he heard that Sam had asked specifically for him. (Small, easily subdued/killed). Anyway, he was not working that night, but the sheriff's office sent out like four guys, so Sam quickly realized he wouldn't be adding "cop killer" to his CV. I hear "Barney" (will try to get the correct name) is still very shaken up about it all.

The only other thing I can remember, and this is the wrong thread for it, but I'm short on time....and don't know if you guys have sorted out where Mark was murdered --- apparently downstairs, living room. I know this because the people fixing up the house for sale called his mother to ask the difficult/delicate question..."We need to replace the section of hardwood floors....but we need your permission" and she said, "of course." That much blood.

His mom is, of course, having a very hard time. Frightened that Sam will come for her, since she is literally the last of her family.

Hey there! How did you find out about us, I am glad you made it, I remember when you got banned I thought that really sucked because I didnt see you cause any problems. Anyway, feel free to speak your mind here, thats what we are here for and welcome to the forum.

I was actually wondering if there was a way to reach you so I am glad someone did!


For those who may not be aware Atlantica was part of the original first thread over at WS when the case first broke and this person is a Farmville local who actually knew the Pastor (Emma's father) and attended his funeral I believe. So definitely a warm welcome for you here.

Someone emailed me from this site! Thanks for the welcome

You mention the cop was scared shitless when he learned Sam asked for him to return, at that point the cop had no reason to suspect wrongdoing so I wonder why he would have been scared, Sam doesnt strike me as intimdating and the cop, afterall, is the one who is armed. Can we elaborate on this when you have a chance?

I guess what I mean to ask is was the cop scared shit AT THE TIME Sam called and asked him to return OR LATER after he found out about the murders and put two and two together in regards to Sam asking him to come back? See what I mean?


I am very glad someone e mailed, we all wanted you to be here!

Atlantica - VERY glad you found us. I know we may have had a clash early on and I understand that being close to the family is difficult so I'm sorry for anything upsetting that was said. I couldn't figure out why you got banned either - so many prissy pants over there sheesh.

PeaceGurl alluded to his name and it wasn't Barney, but she didn't want me to reveal that because they are friends and I understand not wanting to throw them out on the internet to be dissected.

In early reports is said that 3 bodies were downstairs and one upstairs...I always though Mark was killed upstairs perhaps as he went up to lood for Debra and find out what was going on.

The cops who checked the basement didn't seem to see anything in the living room that they had to enter into to go to the basement.

Were there hard wood floors in Emma's room? It seems the people killed first were confined to that space and perhaps well... that is where the floor damage occured? I don't know. Please keep us posted on what's new and what's floating around the Farmville grapevine.

Wait, now the lone skinny cop is a "little guy"? He looked pretty tall to me in the picture that is supposedly of him.

Regardless, Atlantica, welcome. Doesn't surprise me that they needed to change the floors considering the craziness of the crime.

Pax, sorry I wasn't clearer -- the deputy was scared afterwards -- not on that evening. He was not working a shift that night, but once the bodies were discovered -- that's when he got scared. Like Mark's mom, he thought the killer would be coming for him next.

As always, we have to remind ourselves what a little town is Farmville, where nothing ever happens, so it's pretty easy to let one's imagination run wild.

More in a bit. Hungry husband...lol. It's great to be back with you guys!

Yes, about the hardwood floors. I was confused too. I still am. All I know is that they had to replace the floors because of where Mark's body lay (since, I'm assuming Sam murdered the others in their beds?). I will try to find out more later this evening and will post whatever I learn. I wish I could remember all the other stuff that was mentioned to me last fall -- LOTS of little things that I wanted to share, but couldn't get on that website, even on a different computer/different name....and I couldn't understand why they would permanently ban someone who could provide some local info.

Hopefully I'll remember some things! After talking to a family member of mine tonight, my memory may be jogged.

Atlantica_Redux wrote:Yes, about the hardwood floors. I was confused too. I still am. All I know is that they had to replace the floors because of where Mark's body lay (since, I'm assuming Sam murdered the others in their beds?). I will try to find out more later this evening and will post whatever I learn. I wish I could remember all the other stuff that was mentioned to me last fall -- LOTS of little things that I wanted to share, but couldn't get on that website, even on a different computer/different name....and I couldn't understand why they would permanently ban someone who could provide some local info.

Hopefully I'll remember some things! After talking to a family member of mine tonight, my memory may be jogged.

Ahhh, makes sense. This also gives us some valuable insight into the order of the murders. If Debra was murdered in her bed, it would suggest that she was murdered around the same time as the girls. This is some good stuff, Atlantica.

Hi Atlantica, glad to see you back in the game. I was reading but hadn't yet joined websleuths when you got banned. The work of an imbecile I thought and almost just stopped reading. Instead, I stuck with it, signed up, got to know this interesting crew. I eventually got banned myself and even shut the thread down. That's how we ended up here if you haven't been filled in on that yet. Good to have another local voice and I'm looking forward to seeing what you've had bottled up.

Atlantica, you've corroborated what Peacegurl said regarding skinny cop - that he was very shaken by his perceived near brush with death. So if we can determine that Sam really did ask for him to return an hour later (was he off duty then?) then what does that tell us? He wanted that cop back for a reason. What reason? I'm sure SC (skinny cop) let it be known how freaked out he was about the whole thing, but do others" in the know" besides SC share his belief?

Interesting to contemplate that maybe Debra was killed upstairs in her bed, but then I struggle with covering up the odor by confining the bodies to the room on the other side of the den away from the "main" house. Would Sam go to that much effort to move someone?

We know Mark was the last to be killed and that the cops came to the house to check the basement with all four bodies remaining therein - I can't get past them not smelling something and the only way I could reconcile it was that Emma, Mel and Debra were likely the most decomposed and were sealed off in that wing of the house and that Mark was the one in the main area of the house. But if he remained in the living room, would not the cops have seen him or the evidence of such carnage? I can't see Sam moving him upstairs. Things to ponder.

I struggle with the same thing. One thing that keeps being brought up is "decomposition." I am not sure how much had taken place when the cops first started dropping by. Many refer to the warm temperatures, but what few point out is that the house was fully air-conditioned/heat pump. We take our A/C VERY seriously in Virginia, and September is typically a very warm month, not a whole lot cooler than August, except the late evenings towards the end of the month tend to cool down. From what I was told about the condition of the bodies, is that the "blunt force trauma" was bashed in faces and heads, with the rest of the body left alone. Mark likely had defensive wounds, but not necessarily. The funeral home could not embalm his body because, like the others, his head was...well, pulp. His mother wanted a casket, anyway, and I can't blame her. I don't know enough about body decomposition, but if the A/C was running full blast and the doors/windows shut, and the wounds limited to heads -- I don't know how quickly the rest of the bodies rotted. I will be glad to learn more details, if/when they come out in court.

I think you're right, we're getting severely decomposed mixed up with severely bludgeoned because of some of the reports. I can understand the decomposition of the exposed tissue and matter accelerating and even with air conditioning it could have been 3 days which is enough time for a substantial smell to occur.

My other struggle is the mess associated with that type of killing. It anyone had been killed in that manner in the living room or kitchen, wouldn't the splatter have been obvious to the officers responding to the call about noises in the basement?

I'm eager to get some facts on what the scene was like and how they are piecing together what happened.

I really do feel for Mark's mom, my God; poor lady. I hope she can handle this if it goes to trial.

ziggy wrote:Atlantica, you've corroborated what Peacegurl said regarding skinny cop - that he was very shaken by his perceived near brush with death. So if we can determine that Sam really did ask for him to return an hour later (was he off duty then?) then what does that tell us? He wanted that cop back for a reason. What reason? I'm sure SC (skinny cop) let it be known how freaked out he was about the whole thing, but do others" in the know" besides SC share his belief?

Interesting to contemplate that maybe Debra was killed upstairs in her bed, but then I struggle with covering up the odor by confining the bodies to the room on the other side of the den away from the "main" house. Would Sam go to that much effort to move someone?

We know Mark was the last to be killed and that the cops came to the house to check the basement with all four bodies remaining therein - I can't get past them not smelling something and the only way I could reconcile it was that Emma, Mel and Debra were likely the most decomposed and were sealed off in that wing of the house and that Mark was the one in the main area of the house. But if he remained in the living room, would not the cops have seen him or the evidence of such carnage? I can't see Sam moving him upstairs. Things to ponder.

Hmmm, I'm thinking you are asking is there evidence that Sam indeed asked for "Barney" because he wanted someone he thought would be easy to overwhelm/kill. I have not heard of any solid evidence, since Sam is apparently not talking (wise move on his part, but frustrating for us!), but I think it makes sense. Of course, who knows what was going on in Sam's head at that point, maybe he wanted Barney back because he thought he was easy to fool (i.e., wouldn't notice smell/etc) or perhaps he thought Barney was empathetic towards him. I do think that Sam had at least one other purpose for calling the police to come out and check the basement -- a type of alibi. i.e., strange noises, called police, then later an intruder indeed appears and kills most of the people in the house...

blouAngel wrote:Hi Atlantica, glad to see you back in the game. I was reading but hadn't yet joined websleuths when you got banned. The work of an imbecile I thought and almost just stopped reading. Instead, I stuck with it, signed up, got to know this interesting crew. I eventually got banned myself and even shut the thread down. That's how we ended up here if you haven't been filled in on that yet. Good to have another local voice and I'm looking forward to seeing what you've had bottled up.

Same with me I was reading and following the thread but hadnt signed up when Atlantica was banned, at the time that Adnoid was hanging around in the thread all the time breathing down everyone's backs and I was shocked when they banned her because she was bringing some good stuff to the table.

I too lean towards the idea that he was trying to set up some sort of ill-thought lame intruder did it defense with the call back of SC.

ziggy wrote:I think you're right, we're getting severely decomposed mixed up with severely bludgeoned because of some of the reports. I can understand the decomposition of the exposed tissue and matter accelerating and even with air conditioning it could have been 3 days which is enough time for a substantial smell to occur.

My other struggle is the mess associated with that type of killing. It anyone had been killed in that manner in the living room or kitchen, wouldn't the splatter have been obvious to the officers responding to the call about noises in the basement?

I'm eager to get some facts on what the scene was like and how they are piecing together what happened.

I really do feel for Mark's mom, my God; poor lady. I hope she can handle this if it goes to trial.

I just don't know about the splatter/smell part. I know that some people who walked down the street regularly had started to detect an odor. At least, that's what they said. As far as the police go, I can't help but wonder, returning again to the unfortunate notion of "nothing ever happens here", if you don't expect to see splatters you won't look for them and may overlook them. Ditto with the smell, Sam could have explained that there were dead rats in the walls (similar smells, I'm told). or maybe he met them on the front porch and came around to the back door of the basement...citing that he didn't want to wake the others...I just have no idea.

As for Mark's mother, the whole situation is very sad. I was grieved to observe at the funeral that she was the ONLY family member present. No family/familiar faces to comfort her. However, over the past several years she became quite close to several of the Hixburg church members, including a cousin of mine. More than 100 people attended, but the whole thing was just so pitiful. The circumstances of his death, the fact that the whole family was wiped out, buried in the church yard where he preached a week earlier, with only his mother as family to mourn him. It was a little surreal. The media stayed a fairly respectful distance away, across the road in a field, but clearly champing at the bit to talk to us. The service was brief, and held outdoors because of concerns for smell, and then there was a luncheon inside the church, which his mother attended. She was very calm at that point, still very much in shock. The worst would come later, I'm told.
She contemplated selling out in her home state and relocating here. I am not sure if she has changed her mind, but I know she has a warm, supportive community here, and she could visit her son daily if she wanted.

Central Virginia had hardly recovered from the murders when we were hit with another, eight this time, another family wiped out by one of their own, about 40 min. from Farmville. Strange days...

A minor update -- just spoke with someone who has kept up with this story more than I have and knows many people close to it.
The deputy in question, don't have a first name yet, but his last name is Hackney. He is likely not a scrawny fellow, as I previously was told. His brother is also in LE, and is tall and muscular...assuming the other one has a similar physique.

Jan Niederbrock will attend the April hearing. She has since moved to a different part of her city, her health is not good (understandably), but it seems she is still contemplating a move to VA.

Not much, I know, but more as I hear it...

Welcome Atlantica. Good to see you here. You were in an important early contributor on WS and one of the reasons many of us became interested in the case to start with.

Atlantica_Redux wrote:A minor update -- just spoke with someone who has kept up with this story more than I have and knows many people close to it.
The deputy in question, don't have a first name yet, but his last name is Hackney. He is likely not a scrawny fellow, as I previously was told. His brother is also in LE, and is tall and muscular...assuming the other one has a similar physique.

Jan Niederbrock will attend the April hearing. She has since moved to a different part of her city, her health is not good (understandably), but it seems she is still contemplating a move to VA.

Not much, I know, but more as I hear it...

Can you confirm that the skinny cop in the picture is the same one that we are talking about - the one who did the initial welfare check on Mel and who Sam asked to come back? And if so, does he have a brother who is also a partner in ownership of the funeral home? Is SC's name Johnny?

Atlantica_Redux wrote:A minor update -- just spoke with someone who has kept up with this story more than I have and knows many people close to it.
The deputy in question, don't have a first name yet, but his last name is Hackney. He is likely not a scrawny fellow, as I previously was told. His brother is also in LE, and is tall and muscular...assuming the other one has a similar physique.

Jan Niederbrock will attend the April hearing. She has since moved to a different part of her city, her health is not good (understandably), but it seems she is still contemplating a move to VA.

Not much, I know, but more as I hear it...

By "deputy in question" are you referring to the officer that made the welfare check? This is important. This would change the whole "Lone, skinny cop" debate.

Months ago when I initially read he made a callback to the police to check the basement, I thought it was a poor attempt to pin it on the "unknown intruder". I still think that's likely the case, but with Sam, I don't discount he was hoping for a single cop to show up so he could've added a LE victim to his tally.