Barry Alan Helling

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

St Clair County Sheriffs Office (AL)

Offense Location:

St Clair County, Alabama

Summary:

On December 9, 2006, 61 year old Barry Helling was last seen by his long-time partner at their home in Snellville, Georgia & he’d been reported missing to the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office the same day. Early morning January 3, 2007, St. Clair County, Alabama sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a call in Riverside, AL. 2 fisherman found a body that was later identified as Mr. Helling. He was found wearing only jeans and underwear and he’d been executed, one gunshot to the back of his head.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

The fisherman stumbled upon the body of a man lying face up in a ditch just a couple hundred yards from Interstate 20. Helling was initially described as an affluent, retired Bellsouth executive who lived a quiet and low-key lifestyle. With his white hair and beard, he often attracted the attention of children and he was affectionately referred to as “Santa Claus” by many. He was a railroad train buff, often spent time train-watching and that is where he’d told his partner he was going when he left their home the day he disappeared. He was well-loved by his family and friends who were shocked and devastated by his murder.

Additional Details:

St. Clair County Sheriff Billy Murray was an investigator with the department at the time and he found that the victim received a phone call from a pay phone inside a Georgia Walmart on the morning he disappeared. Investigators were able to obtain surveillance video of the man who made that phone call to Mr. Helling. After obtaining Mr. Helling’s credit card records, the investigators discovered that there were approximately 85 transactions totaling more that $17,000 that began the morning the victim disappeared. Investigators continued to obtain surveillance videos from the businesses where charges had occurred and they discovered that while he attempted to disguise himself with sunglasses, hats and even facial hair, the suspect appeared to be the same man that called Mr. Helling from Walmart the day he disappeared While many credit card charges were made around the metro Atlanta area, the cards were also used in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Due to his extensive travels, the media dubbed the suspect “The Traveler.” The suspect wore a gold watch with a black face and he was driving the truck shown in photos. Investigators theorized that the suspect might be from Florida due to the large number of credit card charges there, in particular the area are Port Richey, FL. Investigators traveled over 7,000 miles trying to identify and locate the suspected murderer. Law enforcement described the suspect as a white male who at the time would have been between the ages of 45-65 (now would be 61-81). He was estimated to be 5’7”-5’10” tall and weighed between 200-230 lbs. You can help by sharing this post! The photo of the suspect is plenty good enough that someone should recognize him. If you have ANY information that could help identify this suspect, please contact the St Clair County Sheriff’s Office at 205-884-6840

Case Last Updated:

Oct 16, 2024