Christine Werth, a former Los Angeles County prosecutor who played a key role in the OJ. Simpson murder case, has spoken out about another infamous La case that she says was forgotten by many.
The “Bloody Babs” case, as it was known, involved the brutal murder of Barbara Warner, a 22-year-old stewardess who was found dead in her apartment in March 1984. Werth, who was a young prosecutor at the time, worked on the case, but it ultimately went cold due to a lack of forensic evidence.
Werth recalled that the police investigation was initially hampered by a lack of resources and expertise, and that she and her team had to fight to keep the case alive.
“The FBI came in and did some forensic work, but it was minimal because they were concerned about the cost,” Werth said. “We had to use our own labs, which were underfunded. It was a struggle.”
Despite the obstacles, Werth said that she and her team were convinced that they could win a conviction if they could just get the right evidence.
“We were convinced that we could solve the case if we could just get through the jury. We were convinced that we could build a good, solid case,” she said.
But ultimately, the case went cold, and Warner’s murder remained unsolved. Werth said that she still thinks about the case to this day, and wonders what might have been different if they had had more resources.
“I think about it all the time. I think about all the families of all the homicide victims. If I could go back, I would want more resources. I would want more experts. I would want more…I would want to take the case to trial,” she said.
Werth’s comments come as part of a new true-crime podcast about the case, which is set to be released next month.