Reward offered in murder cold case

NORRISTOWN Montgomery County is offering a $10,000 reward for information to help solve the 20-year-old murder of Julie Barnyock.

Barnyock, 18, was last seen at the Lansdale SEPTA station on Nov 8, 1993.

She had spent the day on South Street in Philadelphia and called her dad from the station around 12:20 a.m. to ask for a ride home, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said in a news conference Friday.

"Her father came ... to the Lansdale train station and could not find his daughter," Ferman said.

Three weeks later, Barnyock's body was found near the train yard, partially decomposed, naked from the waist down, her head crushed beyond recognition.

Police at the time said severe weather had washed away much of the forensic evidence. Witnesses said they saw Barnyock at the train station with a white man, 20 to 30 years old, but could not provide a detailed description.

Barnyock's mother told police and reporters that Julie had befriended street people in the South Street area where she hung out with her friends.

"She was too trusting," Gloria Barnyock told The Inquirer in 1994. "She took Halloween candy to the homeless. To us it may seem naive, but she was an idealistic 18-year-old."

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Montgomery County detectives at 610-226-5553 or Lansdale police at 215-368-1801.

- Jessica Parks