Police say Barbara Rowan, 14, was raped and killed in 1984 in suburban Philadelphia.
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The investigation began when Barbara Rowan was reported missing by her parents in August of 1984.
Arrests have been made in the rape and murder of a Bensalem child that happened more than 30 years ago, Bensalem Police and the Bucks County District Attorney announced Friday. “It was a bone-chilling set of circumstances to those who saw the rotting body”.
He was taken into custody in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and is charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution. Enlarge Bensalem Police Two suspects have been arrested in the 1984 rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl from Bensalem.
Prosecutors accused Shaw of killing the girl while she was baby-sitting his daughter and he was high on methamphetamine.
Investigators say a suspect developed during the original investigation, but charges were not filed due to insufficient evidence.
Her disappearance sparked a massive search, which ended two weeks later with the tragic discovery of her decomposed remains, police said. Eventually new leads developed, leading to the arrests of Shaw and Sanders.
Investigators said Sanders helped dispose of the body.
Relatives described Barbara, who had just finished eighth grade at Robert K. Shafer Middle School, as a bit immature for her age, playing mostly with girls younger than she was.
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In spring 2002, the unsolved murder case was reassigned. She played catch with neighbors among the unpaved lanes in the small mobile home park where she and her family lived. The teenager had just started wearing makeup and liked books, Jordache jeans and animals.
