Texas Man Murdered Ex-Girlfriend and Her Son, Finally Executed

A Texas man was just executed as the family of his victims watched through the glass panel.

FAMILY ALARMED AFTER MISSING AN EVENT

Back in 2005, Lisa Underwood owned a bagel shop named after her 7-year-old son, Jayden. Friends and family became alarmed after Underwood and her son failed to show up to a baby shower. Alarmed and unable to locate the pair, they filed a missing person report. 

THE CONFESSION

Soon after, the two were found murdered and buried in a shallow grave near Denton County.

The accused, Stephen Barbee confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend, 34-year-old Lisa Underwood, and her 7-year-old son, Jayden During the interrogation, Barbee explained he killed the two because was afraid Underwood might have exposed him.

THE HEARTBREAKING TRUTH

Underwood was pregnant and believed it was Barbee's child. Barbee became afraid that Underwood would likely tell his wife about their unborn child. He was also concerned about having to pay child support.

Barbee reportedly suffocated both Underwood and her son in their Fort Worth home. The most heartbreaking part was, the DNA test confirmed Barbee was not the father. 

POSTPONING THE INEVITABLE

Barbee's case has gone through a few up-and-down battles. From retracting his confession to postponing the date multiple times, his legal team put every effort to postpone the inevitable. 

One last effort, Barbee's lawyers argued that an execution would be torturous because of Barbee's physical disability. Over the years Barbee began to lose the motion in his joints. He was unable to straighten his arms and had to move around in a wheelchair, he even needed a tool to clean himself after using the bathroom.

His legal team argued the use of an IV would be extremely painful. “If someone wants my arms to straighten out in any way, I guess one would have to break my arms because even forcing them, they won’t straighten,” Barbee said in a written affidavit last year.

PROLONGED ONE LAST TIME

However, the warden ultimately created a plan that would not require Barbee to straighten his arms. On Wednesday, November 16, 2022, Stephen Baree was strapped to the gurney just after 6 pm, but his death was prolonged one last time. 

“Due to his inability to extend his arms, it took longer to ensure he had functional IV lines,” prison spokesperson Amanda Hernandez said in an email Wednesday night. Barbee was eventually pronounced dead at 7:35 pm.

Stephen Barbee was the fifth person to be executed in Texas this year.