Murder of Sherry Hart

Sherry E. Lyall (February 1959 – January 15, 1984; later Sherry Hart) was an American mother and murder victim.[1] The crime happened the evening of January 15, 1984 in northwestern North Carolina in Ashe County, North Carolina. Lyall Hart was first reported missing by local sheriff's deputies as a vanishing.[2]

The background

Sherry E. Hart (née Lyall) was the mother of a daughter, April (later April Billings; born 1976 or 1977 depending on information sources).[3][4] Sherry had been a divorcee and was expecting a date on that night; the date, however, stood her up. She then joined friends Richard Lynn Bare (b. July 6, 1964)[5] and Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Burgess (born 1964 or 1965) that Sunday.

When Lynn Bare started sexually advancing toward Lyall Hart, however, she rebuffed, at which point Lynn Bare then followed her down, became infuriated and slammed Lyall Hart with his pistol.[6] Right before getting into a 1977 Ford Mustang, Bare began making orders for Burgess to head them to an area on the North Carolina Highway 16 near a bar place, almost one quarter-mile from the Blue Ridge Parkway.[7]

Bare then bolted from the Mustang alongside Lyall Hart; the latter was bleeding extremely heavily. Lynn Bare then made Burgess drive down the road, come back up and then retrieve Bare.[8] Later, Burgess told law enforcement Lynn Bare had threatened killing Burgess and his family if he (Burgess) ever told police what happened.[9] Burgess cooperated with police and law enforcement officials on what happened the night of Sunday, January 15, 1984 near the Jefferson and West Jefferson area.

Discovery of Hart's body and arrest

On Monday, December 10, 1984 (eleven months following the vanishing of Lyall Hart), her remains were found at the Jumping Off Place.[10][11]

Burgess and Lynn Bare were arrested three months following the discovery of Lyall Hart's body.[12] On July 17, 1985, before he could be tried, however, Lynn Bare escaped the jail in Wilkes County. Burgess was taken to the Ashe County Jail. The then jailer was terminated two days following this incident.[13]

Later years

Richard Lynn Bare was wanted by police and later Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials. He was shown on the programs America's Most Wanted and Unsolved Mysteries. Lynn Bare did not smoke and hated when anyone next to him did so.[14]

As of January 14, 2022, Lynn Bare had not been found or put into custody. Police say he sometimes dresses like a female. In 1993, Bare was almost arrested in Delaware at the home of a relative where he was staying. But several hours before FBI agents got there, Lynn Bare left the area.[15]

Burgess was never tried for Lyall Hart's killing; he died at age forty-seven in 2012.[16][17] Burgess had been in and out of jail on separate drug-related charges and breaking and entering.

April Billings (Lyall Hart's daughter) later married and had several children.[18] As of 2021-22 she still had optimism Lynn Bare was still alive and being looked for.

See also

References
  1. "NC Woman is Haunted by Rumors that Her Mother's Killer Remains Free". Greensboro Fox 8. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  2. "Young Woman's Killer Escapes from Jail". Unsolved Mysteries. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  3. "Young Woman's Killer Escapes from Jail". Unsolved Mysteries. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  4. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  5. "Evil that Men Do". Record & Thursday Printing. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  6. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  7. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  8. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  9. "Justices Still Bare". Synovia's True Crimes' Stories July 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  10. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  11. "Justices Still Bare". Synovia's True Crimes' Stories July 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  12. "A True Crime Wednesday:Murder of Sherry Hart". Finished Pages. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  13. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  14. "Justices Still Bare". Synovia's True Crimes' Stories July 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  15. "Justices Still Bare". Synovia's True Crimes' Stories July 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  16. "Justices Still Bare". Synovia's True Crimes' Stories July 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  17. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  18. "Rumors that the Woman's Killer is Free Thirty Years After Escaping from Jail Haunt that Woman's Daughter". Winston and Salem Journal. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
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