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Sisters Separated by Mother’s 1973 Murder Reunite, Confront Sealed Files

A Facebook family‑search group linked them in 48 hours, prompting a painstaking effort to reconstruct their past.

Overview

  • Theresa Fazzani located her sisters through a Facebook group in July 2025, leading to a reunion within 48 hours and regular contact since.
  • The women are piecing together their history as official case files remain sealed until 2073, and they have only recently visited their mother’s grave for the first time.
  • In December 1973, their father, Malcolm Barnes, murdered Helen Barnes with a two‑pound hammer, confessed days later, received a life sentence, and served nine years.
  • After the killing, Barnes told the children their mother was sleeping and drove them from Newport, Wales, to John O’Groats over five days.
  • Following his conviction, Theresa learned Barnes was not her biological father and was sent to live in London, while Janet and the two younger sisters were adopted in Wales.