Denise Barger

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Tredyffrin Township Police Department (PA)

Offense Location:

Berwyn, PA

Reward:

up to $100,000

Not from STC, Conditions and restrictions apply

Summary:

Denise Barger, 62, was found beaten to death in her Heatherstone Drive home on June 17, 2016. She died of blunt-force trauma. Police in Tredyffrin Township said shortly after the killing that Barger was likely "targeted." Her body was found by her brother when he went to drop his dog off for her to watch. Later, a blood trail form Barger's home to her neighbor's home put David Bookstaber into the mix. Police eyed the neighbor as a person of interest in the case but never charged.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Investigators eventually spoke with Bookstaber and noticed his hand was injured. They also found a shoe with the same print as a bloody footprint found in Barger's home when executing a search warrant at his home. During the search, what was believed to be blood was found in Bookstaber's home, as it field tested positive for blood. However, Chester County First Assistant District Attorney Michael Noone told Patch that the purported blood was not actually blood as determined by a laboratory analysis.

Additional Details:

Barger had called police on Bookstaber for allegedly shooting a gun on his property in 2015 and that in 2014 Bookstaber was arrested and charged with recklessly endangering another person and disorderly conduct for firing a gun on his property. However, the 2014 charges were withdrawn and expunged.

Case Last Updated:

Jul 09, 2025