Barbara Stager ( Terry; formerly Ford; born October 30, 1948) is an American woman who was convicted in 1989 of murdering her husband, Allison Russell Stager III (Russell Stager), the previous year. Russell was shot while in bed; Barbara reported the shooting as accidental. Her first husband, Larry Ford, had also been killed under similar circumstances a decade earlier. Stager was originally

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

but that sentence was overturned on a procedural issue, and the

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life imprisonment are c ...

she subsequently received by a different jury made her eligible for

parole Parole, also known as provisional release, supervised release, or being on paper, is a form of early release of a prisoner, prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated ...

in 2009. She has been denied parole but has privileges which allow her to eat outside the prison complex provided she is accompanied by a court-approved sponsor.

In media

"Till Death Do Us Part: The Barbara Stager Story", is an episode of A&E's television series ''

American Justice ''American Justice'' is an American criminal justice television program airing on the A&E Network. From 1992–2005, the show was hosted by television reporter Bill Kurtis. The show features interesting or notable cases, such as the murder o ...

'', which profiled the case.

Jerry Bledsoe Jerry Bledsoe (born 1941) is an American author and journalist known for several true crime titles based on murders in his native state of North Carolina. His journalism career, which spanned over 20 years, included newspaper work in the North ...

wrote a book in 1994 about the case, entitled ''Before He Wakes: A True Story of Money, Marriage, Sex and Murder'', which was later made into a TV movie in 1998 with the same title starring

Jaclyn Smith Jaclyn Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress. She is most notable for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series ''Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead to remain with the series for it ...

. A&E's ''

City Confidential ''City Confidential'' is an American documentary television show, originally airing on the A&E Network, that singles out a community during each episode and investigates a crime that has occurred there. Rather than being a straightforward proced ...

'' presented its perspective on the case in the 2003 episode " Durham: Dangerous Housewife". Investigation Discovery's ''

Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) Television, network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted ...

'' series portrayed the story in the 2010 "Fortune Hunters" episode and their '' Scorned: Love Kills'' revisited the case in its own "'Til Debt Do Us Part", in 2012. The ''

Forensic Files ''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was origin ...

'' series had an episode "Broken Promises" about this case; Investigation Discovery examined the case a third time in 2015, with an episode entitled "No Accident" in its ''

Fatal Vows ''Fatal Vows'' is an American television documentary series on Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime docu ...

'' series. In 1999, the Discovery Channel's ''

The New Detectives ''The New Detectives: Case Studies in Forensic Science'' (or simply ''The New Detectives'', formally "Forensic Detectives") is a documentary true crime television show that aired two to three different cases in forensic science per episode from 1 ...

'' series, Season 4, Episode 6, "Women Who Kill" featured Barbara Stager's crime.

References

External links

Current status of Barbara Stager, Offender Number: 0386206
North Carolina Department Of Public Safety website. Accessed April 4, 2024.
Forensic Files - Season 5, Episode 14: "Broken Promises"The New Detectives - Season 4, Episode 6: "Women Who Kill"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stager, Barbara 1948 births Living people American female murderers American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to death 1988 murders in the United States Mariticides 20th-century American criminals People convicted of murder by North Carolina Prisoners sentenced to death by North Carolina