Who Killed Barbara Jean? Watch NBC10's True Crime Series

Who Killed Barbara Jean? Watch NBC10's True Crime Series

Inside one of Philadelphia’s most notorious cold cases

In 1988, 4-year-old Barbara Jean Horn was abducted from her Northeast Philadelphia home and murdered. Her body was left inside a cardboard box on the street. Today, after 33 years and two trials, police still don’t know who did it. But her murder continues to haunt her family, the suspects, her neighborhood – and the city of Philadelphia.

All episodes are now available on the NBC10 Philadelphia App on Roku.


Spanning more than 30 years, here are key events in the case.

Take a deeper dive into documents that were referenced in the episodes.

The NBC10 Investigators developed, reported, shot and edited this series over several months in 2021. Our original reporting benefited tremendously from the help of the Fahy family, many of the police and court officials that worked on Barbara Jean’s case, Walter Ogrod and our other subjects. 

This series was developed, reported, shot and edited by the NBC10 Investigators: Photojournalist Dan Lee, Senior Producer Jim O’Donnell, Photojournalist Reese Rosario and Investigative Reporter Claudia Vargas. Original animated illustrations by Erin Panell of the NBC Digital Innovation Team. Digital design by Nelson Hsu and Brian McCrone. 

Archive video comes from NBC10; news clippings come from The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News via Newspapers.com.

Contact Us