The still-unsolved murder of a rich, beautiful and controlling bar owner, Vera Barton, put an innocent man in prison, made an obscure detective the Travis County Sheriff, and enriched a notorious gambler. But who really did it? This second in our series of hyper-local Chestnut Neighborhood histories unearths a long forgotten 1940s mystery that gripped Austin, East and West. While Essie Mae turned Cedar Avenue into a hub of stores and services (see Meet Me at Hudspeth’s Corner), Vera’s late husband Ollie Barton brought the speakeasy life from prohibition to legality, getting the first license to run a bar after prohibition ended. Vera inherited and expanded his businesses, becoming the wealthiest Black business owner in Austin by the time she turned 30. And then she was murdered.  We take a deep dive into the history and the evidence. Who did it? You decide.