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Highlands Today

Barnes Pleads Not Guilty

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By BRAD DICKERSON

Highlands Today

Published: November 28, 2008

SEBRING - A Burbank, Calif., man entered a written plea of not guilty via his attorney after being accused of killing his wife and leaving her body in a Lorida citrus grove.

James Higley Barnes Jr., 64, is charged with first-degree murder. On Wednesday, Judge Peter Estrada scheduled a Feb. 19 pretrial conference in the case.

"This is not a death penalty case," Assistant State Attorney Steve Houchin told Estrada at Wednesday's arraignment.

On Oct. 13, deputies with the Highlands County Sheriff's Office were called to a citrus grove near Buckhorn Road in Lorida, where the body of Virginia Navarro Barnes, 62, also of Burbank, was found with multiple gunshot wounds.

Investigators asked for the public's help initially in helping to identify the victim. A composite photo of what she may have looked like while alive ran in the Oct. 16 edition of Highlands Today.

Then, on Oct. 21, deputies received additional information in the case and a surveillance team was sent to James Barnes' home at 6100 Sherman Terrace in Sebring, as he was considered a suspect. A tip from a family member ended up helping in the investigation.

Following conversations with extended family members, Barnes called the sheriff's office at 2 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 22, saying he wanted to speak with someone about the murder victim found in the grove.

Barnes reportedly admitted to killing his wife and he wanted to turn himself in. He said he drove her to the scene and killed her, because he did not want her to live in her "current state of dementia," according to arrest report. Family members said she was suffering from Alzheimer's.

The suspect also allegedly said the victim's dependence on him was a "burden to his lifestyle," the report stated.

Brad Dickerson can be reached at 863-386-5838 or bdickerson@highlandstoday.com

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