Texas man set to be executed for fatally strangling pregnant ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old son
11/16/2022 11:23 am PST
FORT WORTH, Texas (TCD) -- A 55-year-old man is scheduled to be executed this week via lethal injection for killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old son in 2005.
According to the Texas Department of Justice, Stephen Barbee asphyxiated the 34-year-old victim and her 7-year-old son, "transported their bodies to a wooded area, and buried them." The fatal strangling happened in their home, and the victims’ bodies were later found in a shallow grave in Denton County, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports.
Prosecutors argued that Barbee strangled his ex-girlfriend, Lisa Underwood, and her son, Jayden, because he didn’t want his wife to know Underwood was pregnant with what he presumed was his child, The Associated Press reports. However, evidence reportedly revealed that Barbee was not the father of the victim’s unborn child.
The victims were reported missing after they did not show up to a baby shower.
During an interview, Barbee allegedly told authorities he hadn’t seen Underwood for months, but he eventually confessed to the fatal stranglings. Since that confession, Barbee reportedly said he was coerced.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Barbee was scheduled to die via lethal injection on the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 16. He currently remains held on Death Row with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Barbee is seeking to stop the execution due to religious freedom violations and indifference to his medical needs, The Associated Press reports.
Barbee’s execution will reportedly be the fifth one this year in Texas.
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