Slaying of Main Line woman was 'targeted,' D.A. says

The slaying of a 62-year-old Berwyn woman in her Main Line home two weeks ago was a "targeted attack," Chester County District Attorney Thomas Hogan said Thursday.

Denise Barger, a recent widow, died of blunt-force trauma. Her body was found on the morning of June 17 by a relative who had gone to Barger's Heatherstone Drive residence to check on her, the District Attorney's Office announced June 18.

Her death was the first homicide this year in Tredyffrin Township, the most populous town in Chester County with about 29,500 people.

"Every indication we have is that this was a targeted attack," Hogan said. "Given the location of where the victim lived, which is out of the way of well-traveled spots, this does not appear to be a random attack."

The home Barger shared with her husband, Thomas, backs up on a large wooded area with a stream running through it. The house sits in a cul-de-sac on more than a half-acre.

Thomas Barger was 64 when he died in March.

- Michaelle Bond

Update: A previous version of this story misstated the size of the Bargers' house.