On what should have been a day of celebration, his sixteenth wedding anniversary on February 18, 2011, Arthur Lee Burney was found dead in the barn of his Coweta, Oklahoma, home. The 53-year-old male appeared at first to have suffered a heart attack and hit his head, a narrative his wife, Patricia Burney, initially told authorities. However, the scene in the horse barn, where Arthur spent much of his time, was not what it seemed.
A subsequent autopsy revealed a more sinister cause of death: Arthur had been shot with a small-caliber rifle, the bullet wound to his brow cleverly obscured.
The investigation into the homicide quickly unraveled a shocking plot orchestrated from within his own family. Investigators discovered that Patricia had grown weary of her life with Arthur, a man described as a laid-back homebody. She was engaged in an affair and facing financial difficulties. Together with their 14-year-old daughter, Michelle, Patricia had made previous, unsuccessful attempts to poison Arthur. Their murderous intent escalated, leading them to enlist the help of Michelle’s 19-year-old boyfriend, Michael Richardson.
On that fatal anniversary, Patricia and Michelle drove to pick up Richardson. They promised him $6,000 to carry out the murder. Upon returning to the Burney property, Richardson was given a. 22-caliber rifle and took practice shots. As Arthur went about his routine, Richardson lay in wait, concealed in the barn's tack room. When Arthur entered, Richardson shot him. The conspiracy of silence was broken when Michelle confided in a friend about the murder, who then alerted law enforcement. This confession led investigators to the murder weapon, hidden on the property.
In the wake of the investigation, Patricia Burney, Michelle Burney, and Michael Richardson were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. The subsequent legal proceedings revealed the cold-blooded nature of the plan. Patricia Burney was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Michael Richardson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 28-year prison sentence. Due to her age, Michelle Burney was prosecuted as a juvenile and sent to a detention facility.
