Barbara Stager

American murderer

Barbara Stager

Born|

Barbara Terry[2]

(1948-10-30) October 30, 1948 (age 75)
Other names| Barbara Ford
Criminal status| Incarcerated
Spouse(s)| Larry Ford

Conviction(s)| First degree murder
Criminal penalty| Death sentence, later commuted to life imprisonment
Details
Victims| Allison Russell Stager III
Date| February 1, 1988
Country| U.S.
State(s)| North Carolina
Location(s)| Durham
Weapon| .25 caliber pistol[1]

Barbara Stager (born October 30, 1948)[3] is an American woman who was convicted in 1989 of murdering her husband, Allison Russell Stager III (Russell Stager), the previous year. Russell was shot while in bed; Barbara reported the shooting as accidental. Her first husband, Larry Ford, had also been killed under similar circumstances a decade earlier.[4] [5]

Stager was originally sentenced to death but that sentence was overturned on a procedural issue, and the life sentence she subsequently received by a different jury made her eligible for parole in 2009. She has been denied parole but has privileges which allow her to eat outside the prison complex provided she is accompanied by a court-approved sponsor.[6][7]

## In media[edit]

"Till Death Do Us Part: The Barbara Stager Story", is an episode of A&E's television series American Justice, which profiled the case.[8][9] Jerry Bledsoe wrote a book in 1994 about the case, entitled Before He Wakes: A True Story of Money, Marriage, Sex and Murder,[10] which was later made into a TV movie in 1998 with the same title starring Jaclyn Smith. A&E's City Confidential presented its perspective on the case in the 2003 episode "Durham: Dangerous Housewife".[11] Investigation Discovery's Deadly Women series portrayed the story in the 2010 "Fortune Hunters" episode[12] and their Scorned: Love Kills revisited the case in its own "'Til Debt Do Us Part", in 2012.[13] The Forensic Files series had an episode "Broken Promises"[14] about this case; Investigation Discovery examined the case a third time in 2015, with an episode entitled "No Accident" in its Fatal Vows series.[15]

In 1999, the Discovery Channel's The New Detectives series, Season 4, Episode 6, "Women Who Kill" featured Barbara Stager's crime.[16]

## References[edit]

1. ^ "North Carolina Reports: Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of North Carolina". state. January 1, 1991. p. 299. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
2. ^ Greenya, John (July 31, 1994). "DOUBLE INDEMNITY". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 30, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
3. ^ "NC DPS Offender Public Information". webapps.doc.state.nc.us. Retrieved December 5, 2021.
4. ^ "Parole denied for Durham woman who killed husband". WRAL.com. Capitol Broadcasting Company. May 13, 2009. Retrieved September 11, 2015.
5. ^ Barbara Stager, murderer and spendthrift, forensicfilesnow.com. September 13, 2019. Accessed April 4, 2024.
6. ^ Barbara Stager parole denied, wral.com. Accessed April 4, 2024.
7. ^ Blythe, Anne (September 22, 2017). "She's serving a life sentence for killing her husband. But she goes out to lunch?". Raleigh, NC: The News & Observer. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
8. ^ "Till Death Do Us Part: Barbara Stager Story - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies. A&E Television Network. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
9. ^ "American Justice". TVGuide.com. A&E Television Network. August 25, 1999. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
10. ^ Bledsoe, Jerry (July 28, 2015). "Before He Wakes: A True Story of Money, Marriage, Sex and Murder". Barnes & Noble. Diversion Publisher. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
11. ^ "City Confidential - Episode Guide". Aetv.com. August 18, 2010. Archived from the original on May 26, 2011. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
12. ^ "Deadly Women (Fortune Hunters) on Investigation Discovery, TV Guide UK". TVGuide.co.uk. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
13. ^ "Scorned: Love Kills | 'Til Debt Do Us Part". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
14. ^ "Forensic Files - Season 5, Ep 14: Broken Promises". FilmRise. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
15. ^ "Investigation Discovery GO | Fatal Vows | No Accident". Investigation Discovery GO. January 3, 2015. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
16. ^ "The New Detectives: Season 4 - Ep 6 "Women Who Kill"". FilmRise. December 1, 2014. Archived from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 10, 2017.

## External links[edit]

* Current status of Barbara Stager, Offender Number: 0386206, North Carolina Department Of Public Safety website. Accessed April 4, 2024.
* Forensic Files - Season 5, Episode 14: "Broken Promises"
* The New Detectives - Season 4, Episode 6: "Women Who Kill"
* State of North Carolina v. Barbara T. Stager(1991)

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* VIAF

National|

* United States