July 12, 1988. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Four-year old Barbara Jean Horn disappears from the front yard of her home before her nude body is discovered inside a cardboard box resting on a curb in the same neighbourhood. Nearly four years later, a suspect named Walter Ogrod, who had lived across the street from Barbara Jean’s residence, is arrested after he confesses to her murder and after two trials, he is convicted and sentenced to death. However, Walter claims his confession was coerced by corrupt police detectives and there are numerous allegations of misconduct and serious issues with his conviction. In 2020, after a new review is performed of the case, Walter’s conviction is overturned. While he is finally released from death row and fully exonerated, no one else is charged with the crime. Last week, in Part One of our series about the murder of Barbara Jean Horn, we shared the basic facts about the case. This week, in Part Two, we will attempt to analyze and break down this crime by sharing all the different theories about what happened, as well as explore some other wrong conviction cases which took place in Philadelphia during this time period and involved the same law enforcement figures who put Walter Ogrod in prison.

If you have any information about this case, please contact the Philadelphia Police Department’s tip line at (215) 686-TIPS (8477).

Additional Reading:

"The Trails of Walter Ogrod: The Shocking Murder, So-Called Confessions and Notorious Snitch That Sent a Man to Death Row" by Thomas Lowenstein

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Ogrod_case

https://unsolvedmysteries.fandom.com/wiki/Barbara_Jean_Horn

https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=5752

https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/PhilaDA-CIU-Walter-Ogrod-Expert-Reports-2020-02-28.pdf

https://dpic-cdn.org/production/documents/PhilaDA-Answer-to-Walter-Ogrod-Amended-PCRA-Petition-2020-02-28.pdf

https://www.inquirer.com/news/walter-ogrod-exonerated-innocent-death-row-larry-krasner-philadelphia-20200605.html

https://www.inquirer.com/news/walter-ogrod-exonerated-murder-conviction-overturned-philadelphia-larry-krasner-20200610.html

https://www.inquirer.com/philly/columnists/will_bunch/walter-ogrod-death-row-stories-hln-larry-krasner-dna-testing-philadelphia-20180405.html

https://www.newsweek.com/pennsylvania-court-orders-death-row-inmate-tested-coronavirus-1493628

https://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/local/after-2-decades-on-death-row-wrongfully-convicted-man-will-be-set-free/2421261/

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/barbara-jean-horn-murder-philadelphia-walter-ogrod/

“The Trail Went Cold” will be appearing at the AdvocacyCon, taking place at the Indianapolis Marriott East in Indianapolis on March 28-30, 2025. To get a 10 % discount on tickets, please use our specialized promo code, “TRAIL10”, by visiting https://www.advocacycon.com/.

“The Trail Went Cold” is on Patreon. Visit www.patreon.com/thetrailwentcold to become a patron and gain access to our exclusive bonus content.

The Trail Went Cold is produced and edited by Magill Foote.

All music is composed by Vince Nitro.