Velma Barfield(1932-1984)
Velma dropped out high school in her junior year. She eloped with her
first husband at the age of 17 and settled down in Paxton. In 1964 her
husband was injured in a car crash and lost his job. He began to drink
heavily eventually becoming an alcoholic. Velma had him committed to
Dorothea Dix Hospital in Raleigh. Meanwhile she worked at a local mill
and took prescription tranquilizers for 'peace of mind'. Her husband
'mysteriously' burned to death in his bed in 1969 while smoking. Her
second husband died within 6 months of their marriage. Velma was
hospitalized 4 times for drug overdoses. Yet she still remained
dutifully religious amd taught Sunday school at the Pentecostal church.
Velma began to incur debts and wrote hot checks to cover them. In 1974
she killed her own mother, Lillie, with insecticide so that she could
fake her signature on a $1,000 loan. She poisoned two of her employers
and a lover over the next few years. The relatives of her lover did not
belive that he could have just died from 'acute gastroenteritis' and so
a full autopsy was performed. It was found that he had been poisoned
with arsenic which could mimic acute gastroenteritis. Autopsies on her
2nd husband revealed the same. Velma Barfield confessed to her crimes.
In court the jury deliberated for an hour and found her guilty of first
degree murder. She was sentenced to be executed in 1984.