Charges held in Barto slaying
New evidence of blood — believed to belong to Melissa Barto, 26 — as well as a bullet lodged in the passenger side door of her boyfriend's car, led police to file charges in Barto's June 8 shooting death, according to the investigator who testified during two preliminary hearings on Tuesday.
During the contentious hearings, where family members could be heard making statements from the gallery, charges against two men, Ishemer D. Ramsey, 21, and Joshua W. Bowser, 22, both of Lyndora, were bound over to county court by District Judge William Fullerton at the Butler County Courthouse.
Ramsey, the alleged triggerman, was charged with homicide, hindering apprehension, abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence and conspiracy counts to the same.
State police allege he fatally shot Barto three times in the head during an argument in his car before soliciting the help of two other men in disposing of her body, which was later found partially burned in a field in Lawrence County.
Ramsey apparently suspected she was cheating on him, police said.
Bowser was charged with hindering apprehension and counts of conspiracy to abuse a corpse and conspiracy to tamper with evidence, after police allege he lent his vehicle to Ramsey to use to dispose of Barto's body.
Trooper Brian Knirnschild, who conducted the investigation, testified that on June 10 he was called to assist Butler City police with a missing persons investigation. When he arrived at the station, Ramsey had been detained based on a traffic stop by Butler Township Police.
At the time of the stop, Ramsey, who was Barto's boyfriend, was wanted for questioning in her disappearance, after she was last seen on June 8 leaving work at Miller's Quality Meats in Butler shortly before 3:30 p.m.
Barto, who was to attend her 6-year-old daughter's kindergarten graduation later that day, “never appeared at that graduation ceremony,” Knirnschild testified.
On cross examination, Knirnschild testified that Barto left work alone that day, but surveillance footage from Butler County Ford, which is down Main Street from Barto's workplace, showed Ramsey's vehicle heading down the road around the same time.
A missing passenger seat
When police later stopped Ramsey's car, they noticed the absence of a passenger seat and the “overwhelming odor” of bleach coming from the vehicle.
When arrested, Ramsey was also found armed with a 1911-style handgun, Knirnschild said.A search warrant was conducted on Ramsey's silver Hyundai Tiburon, and Knirnschild said a spot of blood was found in the roof liner on the ceiling of the vehicle over the passenger's seat, while a .45-caliber slug was recovered from inside the passenger side door.Surveillance footage from inside the Walmart store in Butler Township would later identify Ramsey and another man, James Howard-George, 23, of Butler, who is also facing charges after police say that he helped Ramsey dispose of Barto's remains, purchasing rope, tarp and latex gloves.Much of Knirnschild's testimony relied on statements made by Howard-George, who is allegedly cooperating with authorities.He previously waived his charges to Butler County Court.On June 12, Barto's body was found by a farmer in a field in Lawrence County, laying face up, with her lower torso burned. Under her body, Knirnschild said red rope, matching that which was purchased by Ramsey and Howard-George, was found. Police allege the two men used lighter fluid to ignite the body.Further surveillance footage also shows the men at a car wash on Route 356 washing the inside of Ramsey's vehicle, as well as traveling on a toll road that night, Knirnschild said.'Hearsay upon hearsay'Ramsey's attorney, Blaine Jones, reserved argument for the next level of court, but called the case “circumstantial.”Following the hearing he said he was frustrated by the hearsay evidence that was presented by the trooper.“His testimony was littered with 'this person told me this, that someone else told them,'” he said. “It was hearsay upon hearsay.”However, at the trial level, he said he is looking forward to “getting it straight from the source,” regarding Howard-George's testimony, who he believes will become a prosecution witness, he previously said.“I would have liked to have seen Mr. Howard-George on the stand today, I would have liked to have the opportunity to look him in the eyes and ask him some questions,” Jones said.During Bowser's hearing, Knirnschild testified that Howard-George told police that Bowser's car was borrowed by Ramsey to move Barto's body.Bowser later told police that “he knew Ishemer Ramsey was borrowing the vehicle to dispose of the body of Melissa Barto,” Knirnschild said.After going to Howard-George's home, Ramsey “requested the help with Melissa Barto's disposal,” Knirnschild testified. “He said that he said 'no' at that point, but (Bowser) ultimately provided his vehicle.”Ramsey then followed Bowser to Lyndora, where he left his vehicle at Bowser's grandmother's house and took Bowser's Grand Am, Knirnschild said.He said the vehicle was then returned in the morning hours of June 9, and later that day was taken by another individual for a trip to Erie. A search warrant conducted on that vehicle showed a positive test for blood on the carpeted area of the spare tire location in the trunk, Knirnschild said.Knirnschild also testified that Bowser admitted to providing tools that were used to remove Ramsey's passenger seat.Bowser's attorney, Ken Harris, also made no argument in court, and declined to speak following the hearing.Both men were scheduled for arraignment on Sept. 12. All three defendants remain in the Butler County Prison. Ramsey and Howard-George are being held without bail. Bowser is being held on $100,000 bail.A fourth person, Justin M. Johnson, 19, of Butler, was also charged with hindering apprehension or prosecution and false reports to law enforcement authorities, after police said he provided investigators a false alibi for Ramsey. He is in the county prison on $100,000 bail.'Get Nebby'Butler County District Attorney Richard Goldinger said no determination has been made toward seeking the death penalty in the case.Barto's family, who arrived wearing matching shirts reading “Get Nebby: Justice for Missy” said the shirts encourage parents to “know who their adult children are running around with ... so that nothing like these horrors ever happen again,” her father, Dan Barto, said.Nebby is a Western Pennsylvania term for being nosy, he said.Barto's brother, Ryan Barto said the family is confident that the prosecution “will bring justice for Missy.”
