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SATURDAY, JULY 4, 2009

Gunman Faces Murder Charge as Cop Dies 41 Years Later

(Newser Summary) – A 71-year-old career criminal will now be tried for murdering a police officer who has died more than four decades after being shot. Gunman William Barnes has already served 15 years for shooting and paralyzing the Philadelphia cop in 1966. The 64-year-old officer died last month from complications of a urinary tract infection which prosecutors charge is linked to the shooting, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer.

"When you set in motion a chain of events, a perpetrator of a crime is responsible for every single thing that flows from that chain—no matter how distant—as long as we can prove the chain is unbroken," said the prosecutor. The case is expected to hinge on medical testimony presented by both sides.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer

More about:  murder police Philadelphia

In this undated photo released by the Philadelphia...
In this undated photo released by the Philadelphia Police Department, shown is Walter T. Barclay, a rookie police officer who was shot while on duty Nov. 27, 1966 and left a paraplegic for four decades,...   (Associated Press)
In this undated photo released by the Philadelphia...
In this undated photo released by the Philadelphia Police Department, shown is William Barnes. Barnes was charged Monday, Sept. 3, 2007, with murder following the death of Walter T. Barclay, a Philadelphia...   (Associated Press)
Rosalyn Harrison places a flower on her brother's...
Rosalyn Harrison places a flower on her brother's Walter T. Barclay's casket during his funeral in King of Prussia Pa., Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007. Barclay, who was a police officer and was left paralyzed...   (Associated Press)
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