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Velma Barfield AI simulator
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Velma Barfield AI simulator
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Velma Barfield
Margie Velma Barfield (née Bullard; October 29, 1932 – November 2, 1984) was an American serial killer who was convicted of one murder but was linked to seven murders in total. She became the first woman in the United States to be executed after the resumption of capital punishment in 1976, and the first since 1962. She was also the first woman to be executed by lethal injection.
Velma Barfield was born Margie Velma Bullard on October 29, 1932, in Eastover, North Carolina, but was raised near Fayetteville. Her father was reportedly physically abusive and her mother did not intervene. Velma escaped her tumultuous household by marrying Thomas Burke in 1949. The couple had two children and were reportedly happy until Velma had a hysterectomy and developed back pain. These events led to a behavioral change in Velma and an eventual addiction to prescription drugs.
Thomas's escalating alcoholism and Velma's resultant complaints turned into bitter arguments. On April 4, 1969, after Thomas had passed out, Velma and their children left the house; when they returned, they found the house burned and Thomas dead. In 1970, Velma Bullard married a widower, Jennings Barfield, but the union lasted less than a year, as Jennings died of heart complications on March 22, 1971.[citation needed]
In 1974, Lillian Bullard, Velma's mother, showed symptoms of intense diarrhea, vomiting and nausea, only to fully recover a few days later. Later that year, during a Christmas visit, Bullard fell ill again with the same symptoms but died after being hospitalized on December 30. The following year, Barfield was convicted of seven counts of writing bad checks and sentenced to six months in prison, but was released after serving three months.
In 1976, Barfield began caring for the elderly, working for Montgomery and Dollie Edwards in Lumberton. Montgomery fell ill and died on January 29, 1977. Just over a month later, Dollie experienced symptoms identical to those of Bullard and died on March 1. Barfield later confessed to Dollie's murder. The following year, Barfield took another caretaker job, this time for 76-year-old Record Lee, who had broken her leg. On June 4, 1977, Lee's husband, John Henry, died after he had begun experiencing wracking pains in his stomach and chest along with vomiting and diarrhea. Barfield later confessed to his murder.
Another victim was Rowland Stuart Taylor, Barfield's boyfriend and a relative of Dollie Edwards. Fearing he had discovered that she had been forging checks on his account, Barfield mixed an arsenic-based rat poison into his beer and tea. Taylor died on February 3, 1978, while Barfield was "trying to nurse him back to health"; an autopsy found arsenic in Taylor's system. After her arrest, Jennings' body was exhumed and found to have traces of arsenic, a murder that Barfield denied having committed. Although she subsequently confessed to the murders of Bullard, Dollie, and John Henry Lee, she was tried and convicted only for the murder of Taylor.
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd is the grandson of Jennings Barfield and his first wife. His song "Velma" from his Wildflowers album gives a personal account of the murders and investigation.
Barfield was imprisoned at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, in an area for escape-prone and mentally ill prisoners, as there was no designated area for women under death sentences at the time of her incarceration. She was the state's only female death row inmate.[dead link] A death row unit for female inmates in North Carolina was subsequently established at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.
Velma Barfield
Margie Velma Barfield (née Bullard; October 29, 1932 – November 2, 1984) was an American serial killer who was convicted of one murder but was linked to seven murders in total. She became the first woman in the United States to be executed after the resumption of capital punishment in 1976, and the first since 1962. She was also the first woman to be executed by lethal injection.
Velma Barfield was born Margie Velma Bullard on October 29, 1932, in Eastover, North Carolina, but was raised near Fayetteville. Her father was reportedly physically abusive and her mother did not intervene. Velma escaped her tumultuous household by marrying Thomas Burke in 1949. The couple had two children and were reportedly happy until Velma had a hysterectomy and developed back pain. These events led to a behavioral change in Velma and an eventual addiction to prescription drugs.
Thomas's escalating alcoholism and Velma's resultant complaints turned into bitter arguments. On April 4, 1969, after Thomas had passed out, Velma and their children left the house; when they returned, they found the house burned and Thomas dead. In 1970, Velma Bullard married a widower, Jennings Barfield, but the union lasted less than a year, as Jennings died of heart complications on March 22, 1971.[citation needed]
In 1974, Lillian Bullard, Velma's mother, showed symptoms of intense diarrhea, vomiting and nausea, only to fully recover a few days later. Later that year, during a Christmas visit, Bullard fell ill again with the same symptoms but died after being hospitalized on December 30. The following year, Barfield was convicted of seven counts of writing bad checks and sentenced to six months in prison, but was released after serving three months.
In 1976, Barfield began caring for the elderly, working for Montgomery and Dollie Edwards in Lumberton. Montgomery fell ill and died on January 29, 1977. Just over a month later, Dollie experienced symptoms identical to those of Bullard and died on March 1. Barfield later confessed to Dollie's murder. The following year, Barfield took another caretaker job, this time for 76-year-old Record Lee, who had broken her leg. On June 4, 1977, Lee's husband, John Henry, died after he had begun experiencing wracking pains in his stomach and chest along with vomiting and diarrhea. Barfield later confessed to his murder.
Another victim was Rowland Stuart Taylor, Barfield's boyfriend and a relative of Dollie Edwards. Fearing he had discovered that she had been forging checks on his account, Barfield mixed an arsenic-based rat poison into his beer and tea. Taylor died on February 3, 1978, while Barfield was "trying to nurse him back to health"; an autopsy found arsenic in Taylor's system. After her arrest, Jennings' body was exhumed and found to have traces of arsenic, a murder that Barfield denied having committed. Although she subsequently confessed to the murders of Bullard, Dollie, and John Henry Lee, she was tried and convicted only for the murder of Taylor.
Singer-songwriter Jonathan Byrd is the grandson of Jennings Barfield and his first wife. His song "Velma" from his Wildflowers album gives a personal account of the murders and investigation.
Barfield was imprisoned at Central Prison in Raleigh, North Carolina, in an area for escape-prone and mentally ill prisoners, as there was no designated area for women under death sentences at the time of her incarceration. She was the state's only female death row inmate.[dead link] A death row unit for female inmates in North Carolina was subsequently established at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women.