In 1976, Velma Barfield, a white female, began working as a live-in caregiver for an elderly couple, 94-year-old Montgomery Edwards and his 84-year-old wife, Dollie, in Lumberton, North Carolina. On January 29, 1977, Montgomery fell ill and died suddenly. Just over a month later, on March 1, 1977, Dollie experienced similar symptoms and also passed away.
At the time, both deaths were attributed to natural causes, and no foul play was suspected.
Following the deaths of the Edwards couple, Barfield continued her work as a caregiver. She was later implicated in the deaths of several other individuals under her care, including her own mother, Lillian Bullard, and a boyfriend, Stuart Taylor. Barfield's pattern involved administering arsenic-based poison to her victims, leading to their untimely deaths. Her actions went undetected for some time, as the symptoms often mimicked natural illnesses.
Barfield was eventually arrested and confessed to multiple murders, including that of Dollie Edwards. She was tried and convicted for the murder of Stuart Taylor and was sentenced to death. On November 2, 1984, Velma Barfield was executed by lethal injection, becoming the first woman in the United States to be executed since 1962.
