By Janice Morse
The Cincinnati Enquirer
and David Eck
Enquirer contributor

SPRINGBORO - Nearly nine years after his wife was shot to death, Lt. Thomas James Barton was suspended with pay Tuesday and investigators began searching his house because of information investigators unearthed in the case.

Police Chief Jeffrey P. Kruithoff said he put the lieutenant, known as Jim, on administrative leave a day after Springboro officials received information from the Warren County Sheriff's "cold case squad," which investigates old unsolved homicides.

On April 11, 1995, Barton had told investigators he found his wife, Vickie, 40, shot to death in the bedroom of their farmhouse on Tewart Road in Franklin Township. Investigators previously said they thoroughly questioned the victim's husband, and he was able to account for all of his movements on the day of the slaying.

It was a crime that shocked the community because it involved a police officer's wife - and because Mrs. Barton was a well-liked nurse and instructor at Kettering Memorial and Sycamore hospitals.

Warren County Prosecutor Rachel Hutzel said the case was "aggressively investigated" at the outset.

Since then, Hutzel said, there have been improvements in technology "that may help us shake something loose."

Since Sheriff Tom Ariss launched his new cold case squad last year - focusing on several cases, including Vickie Barton's - investigators have become concerned about "inconsistent statements" from her husband, Hutzel said.

Investigators now have reason to believe that Barton "was not being completely frank and forthcoming" about his wife's slaying, she said.

However, Hutzel warned against jumping to any conclusions about Barton.

"We think that he may have information that may lead to the killer - but we have not concluded that it's him," she said.

Around 4 p.m. Tuesday, authorities began searching the Turnberry Court home where Barton now lives.

Investigators were still working inside the home late into the evening Tuesday.

Chief Kruithoff told reporters that Barton has no police powers and must remain in the area while an administrative investigation continues. He was unable to say how long the probe might take.

E-mail jmorse@enquirer.com