By Caleb Hutton
The sheriff’s office tied up a few loose ends in the death of Belinda Barnett, 45, on Friday afternoon, June 29.
Barnett died this week in a doublewide mobile home fire at 6128 Poppy Court, in the Paradise Lakes area. She was under investigation for a $105,710 theft from Swan’s Moving and Storage in Bellingham, the sheriff’s office disclosed Friday.
A detective had tried to talk to Barnett early Wednesday, first by knocking on her door, then by using a neighbor’s telephone. But Barnett didn’t answer the door.
Firefighters arrived about 9:15 a.m. to find her home on fire. Barnett’s body was found near the front door. She died from smoke inhalation, Dr. Gary Goldfogel said. Goldfogel called the death a “likely suicide.”
The sheriff’s office put the following in writing on Friday:
It is suspected that Barnett may have been despondent over the criminal investigation into a substantial theft from her employer, Swan’s Moving and Storage in Bellingham, where she worked between May 2010 and January 2012.
Deputies had probable cause to arrest her for three counts of first-degree theft.
Here are a few photos, shot on a cell phone Thursday evening, showing the home. In the first photo, taken from the driveway, you can see the worst of the damage is at the back of the house where the master bedroom was. Surprising how much of the home was left.
It disturbs me greatly that the WCSD is comfortable stating that Ms. Barnett was despondent, but they refuse to listen when her friends try to give them info on her mental state up to the night before her death. Phone calls have not been returned and there has been a clear lack of interest in first-person testimony. Deputies and investigators evidently just want to close this case, which is obvious by the disregard of potential evidence left in her home.
If investigating a “likely suicide,” wouldn’t the victim’s cell phone be a potential source of information? Wouldn’t her closest friends and co-workers be able to contribute valuable information?
I wonder how much Swan’s has contributed to the WCSD…
No point in commenting, as any posts with even vague intelligence get moderated right off the board.
I think this story will take an interesting 180 once the REAL media/journalists get a hold of it…….
As one of her former bosses, I can suggest that Belinda has a very different side than most people know. Unfortunate as it is, this outwardly kind, sweet and bubbly person had a bit more to her makeup than just what she donned for the world to see. Unfortunately, even I was unaware of how deep it went, it seems.
I have not seen or spoken with her since 2004. This woman Belinda K Barnett was not an ANGEL! She had an EVIL side. I should know cause she is my half sister. She stoled from my mother/her mother and my family. And the destruction she left behind was unfathomable. Me and my family will never be able to forgive her. I just hope god can.