| Joyce Tarro |
| Staunton Star-Times Issue Thursday, February 19, 1976 Coliseum Ballroom Owner Killed Sunday Joyce Tarro, 51, owner and operator of the Coliseum Ballroom in Benld, was shot and killed at 2:20 a.m. Sunday after exchanging gunfire with intruders in her home. According to an employee of the Coliseum who was with Tarro, Tarro was entering her house at 211, N. Main Street in Benld, from the rear and noticed the kitchen door was ajar. Tarro and the witness saw a reported burglar’s reflection in the glass of the door. The witness said Tarro pulled out a gun and fired several times at the intruder. The witness then escaped and hid in the bushes near the Tarro residence. It is believed that after Tarro fired at the intruder, another intruder fired at her from the bathroom on her left and killed her. She was struck by five .32 caliber bullets. After the shooting had subsided, the witness ran from the bushes and called police from a nearby house according to police reports. Police said the killers escaped in a small, foreign-made car. An autopsy by Macoupin County Coroner Conrad Dawson showed “Joyce Tarro was struck from the left side by three penetrating shells that entered her heart and lungs. There were also two shots entering her left wrist and thumb from the left side.” An inquest is pending, he said. Tarro was found at the entrance to her living room just off the kitchen. The house had been ransacked and an undetermined amount of money, including about $2,000 in receipts from the Saturday night Coliseum dance, were taken, Macoupin County Sheriff’s deputies said. Two weapons were found at the scene of the shooting, one of which has been identified as Tarro’s. The Illinois Bureau of Investigation has joined in the investigation, deputies said. Decatur police arrested a 20 year-old man Sunday night in connection with this slaying. Jerry Baker, Decatur, was brought to Macoupin County Jail by Macoupin County Sheriff Richard Zarr and Benld Police Chief Matt Sucech. Baker is being charged with murder, burglary, armed robbery and theft. Zarr said $200 believed to be part of the $3,300 taken in the burglary was recovered from Baker, who allegedly used most of his $1,100 share to pay gambling debts. Two handguns, both belonging to the slain woman, were found in Baker’s apartment, Zarr said. Two more persons are being sought in the case according to police reports. Police are seeking Mary Kay Hughes Connors and Roy King, ages and addresses unknown, who allegedly were implicated by Baker. A couple resembling the pair were detained Monday by security guards at the St. Louis airport, but were released before police could arrive, Zarr said. There is a “good chance” that couple was the hunted pair, he said. It is believed that two intruders were in the house while a third waited in the getaway car. The green Volkswagen allegedly used by the three suspects has not been recovered. It had been borrowed from a Springfield man. Bond for all three has been set at $500,00. Staunton Star-Times Issue Thursday, February 26, 1976 Suspects Held In Benld Slaying Two persons were arrested in Grand Junction, Colorado February 17 in connection with the slaying of Joyce Tarro in Benld. Roy King, 24, of Litchfield and Mary Kay Hughes Conners, 23 of Gillespie were arrested in a Grand Junction bus station. The pair and a run-away juvenile had taken a bus from Eagle, Colorado where their car reportedly failed. A tip from a Decatur man led to the arrests, according to Grand Junction Police Captain Ed Vandertook. Edward Stevens, 27, reportedly told Eagle County, Colorado authorities the pair kidnapped him and when his car failed, the three boarded a westbound bus. King and Conners were arrested in Grand Junction, about 130 miles west of Eagle, during a meal stop, on warrants issued by Macoupin County authorities. Jerry Baker, 20, of Decatur had been arrested February 16 on similar charges. Vandertook said the pair did not attempt to resist their arrest. The 15 year-old girl was returned to her parents in Decatur. |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |