Neighbors spoke to alleged killer the day before Rensselaer Falls murder victim was found

RENSSELAER FALLS, N.Y. (WWTI) — Living next door to an unknown crime scene.

This became a reality for the Village of Rensselaer Falls, New York in mid-May.

On May 16, New York State Police found the body of 58-year-old John Barr inside his home after responding to a welfare check. Barr’s cause of death was identified as blunt force trauma to the head.

Authorities had then asked the community to check their security cameras and report any suspicious activity.

Barr’s neighbor, Shirley Calton, had a suspicious encounter to share. Calton had helped to initiate the welfare check.

The day prior, to police finding Barr’s body, a man had approached Calton and her husband. The man was parked in the victim’s driveway and asked the couple if they had seen Barr in the past weeks.

“I knew it has been more than a couple of weeks or so, you know, that we’ve seen [Barr],” Calton explained. “[The man] said that he was going to go to the post office the next day to see if he checked his mail or anything. He knew a lot of you know things about the victim and stuff, which we thought was kind of suspicious.”

Calton said the man never returned. Worried for her neighbor’s safety, she went to the post office the following day.

“I asked the postmaster if the victim had been picking up this mail, and she said, ‘no, not for quite some time,’ she recounted. “Then before I knew it, I was getting a call from the State Police.”

The postmaster had conducted the welfare check and contacted authorities. Calton became a part of the criminal investigation, where she told police about her encounter with the man in Barr’s driveway.

Little did she know that the man was Barr’s alleged murderer, 51-year-old John Free of Ogdensburg.

On May 22, New York State Police arrested Free on the charge of 2nd Degree Murder. The St. Lawrence County District Attorney’s Office alleged that Free “intentionally caused the death of Barr” by “striking him in the head with blunt objects.”

Calton said that it wasn’t until she and her husband saw a photo of Free, that they realized they had met the alleged killer.

“I was shocked. You know, especially with being in a small town,” Calton expressed. “The victim never didn’t seem to bother anybody or anything like that. So it was just so shocking just to hear that something like that happened to him.”

Barr was described as a quiet man who “kept to himself.” For now, the community is happy that Free is behind bars.

“Right now, you know, I feel kind of relieved,” Calton said. “The night before. I don’t think I could have slept not knowing that we had police sitting in the driveway next door.”

Following his arrest, Free was remanded into custody without bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. in Gouverneur Town Court.

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