DNA Evidence Links Madeira Beach Man to 1980 Tampa Stabbing Death

Robert Paul Bear, 63, of Madeira Beach, stood before a Tampa judge last Thursday facing charges that stretch back to October 1980, when Charles Barnes was found stabbed to death inside his home on East Okaloosa Avenue after he failed to show up for work. A grand jury had already returned its indictment. A judge ordered Bear held without bond.

Barnes was discovered during a welfare check after coworkers noticed his absence. Investigators believe the attack began in the master bedroom. Detectives reported finding blood-soaked bedding, beer cans, and signs that someone had rummaged through drawers. Barnes' car turned up later, abandoned in the Tahitian Inn parking lot with blood inside. The case went cold for decades.

What broke it open was the evidence that had been sitting in storage since 1980. Prosecutors say new forensic testing tied Bear directly to the scene: DNA recovered from under Barnes' fingernails and DNA found on a towel both pointed to Bear, and fingerprints collected at the time of the original investigation eventually led investigators to him as well. The specifics of which laboratory performed the retesting and whether modern genealogy techniques were involved have not been released.

Bear faces two charges: first-degree murder with a weapon while engaged in a burglary, and armed burglary. Under Florida Statutes § 782.04, first-degree murder is classified as a capital felony, punishable by life imprisonment or, in certain cases, the death penalty when the killing occurs during the commission of specific felonies, including burglary. Prosecutors have not stated publicly whether they intend to seek the death penalty in Bear's case.

Bear was scheduled to return to court this week. The indictment, court documents, and Hillsborough County Court proceedings formed the evidentiary basis for the charges.