[MN] Aaron Foster, pal of ex Chief Finney, &Barbara's murder

St. Paul, Minnesota
8/30/2006
There's a bit of a twist in the race for Ramsey County sheriff that involves former Saint Paul Police Chief Bill Finney and a cold case. Finney suspects renewed attention to the 1981 shooting death of a friend is politically motivated, but his opponent Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher says there's nothing at all political about it. There's no disputing that Barbara "Bobbi" Winn died of a single gunshot wound to the chest inside her Maplewood townhome in May of 1981. What's at issue, for her family and sheriff's investigators, is whether she took her own life or was murdered. Winn's family refuses to believe the 38-year-old club disc jockey and mother of three shot herself 25 years ago. "I don't have a preconceived idea of what should happen," her younger sister Bernadette Johnson told KARE-TV Wednesday... Johnson says she's most disturbed by the account of the shooting given at the time to police by Winn's boyfriend, Aaron Walter Foster Sr. Foster told officers he heard a gun shot and ran into the Winn's room. According to the report, Foster said "the victim said 'I just shot myself' and told Aaron to get rid of the gun"... According to the same reports, Barbara Winn's children who came into the room after hearing the gun shot, said she was still alive but was unable to say anything as she struggled to breath. "Doesn't make any sense because she could not utter a single word to any of her three children that came in there," said Bernadette Johnson, "But she had enough breath to tell him what to do with the gun after she killed herself? That's ridiculous"... Former Chief Finney's name also comes up in the police reports because he knew both the victim Barbara Winn and her boyfriend, Aaron Foster. "I was incredulous. I couldn't believe that she had died," Finney told KARE-TV Wednesday, explaining why he attended part of the autopsy in 1981... Finney says he made no effort to interfere with the case or influence the outcome... Finney conceded it doesn't sound right on the surface... Aaron Foster, who now works at Saint Paul's police impound lot as a civilian employee, was not available for comment...

unsolved unresolved

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People & Blogs

Tags:

• police
• officer
• officer-involved
• unsolved
• unresolved
• domestic
• violence
• deputy
• sheriff
• murder

[nurseypie]

I just watched Barbara's story on Dateline. Very sad. I bet that dirty cop got rid of the evidence. I hope they find that woman abuser GUILTY!