Sophie Marie Barrera, a 50-year-old woman and owner of a dental laboratory, was killed on January 14, 1980, in St. Louis, Missouri. She had been embroiled in a financial dispute with a local dentist, Dr. Glennon Engleman, who owed her laboratory approximately $14,000 for services rendered. After Barrera filed a lawsuit to recover the debt and refused to settle for a lower amount, she became the target of a violent plot.
On the day of her death, Barrera was leaving her workplace in south St. Louis when she started her vehicle, a Ford Pinto. A bomb that had been planted in the car detonated upon ignition, killing her instantly. Investigators later determined the explosive device had been wired to the car's ignition system. The nature of the attack initially baffled authorities, but attention soon turned to Engleman due to the outstanding debt and the acrimonious legal battle between them.
The investigation revealed that Engleman, who moonlighted as a contract killer, had orchestrated the bombing to avoid paying his debt. Federal authorities eventually charged Engleman in connection with Barrera's death. In 1980, a federal jury found him guilty of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud related to the murder, resulting in a 30-year prison sentence. In a subsequent trial, he was convicted of damaging a vehicle in interstate commerce by means of an explosive, which added another 30 years to his term. Finally, Engleman was convicted of capital murder in a state court for Barrera's assassination and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years. He died in prison in 1999.
