Bitter Blood (80 page)
Before He Wakes: A True Story of Money, Marriage, Sex and Murder
She led an almost perfect life, and committed an almost perfect crime.
Barbara Stager appeared to be a devoted mother, loving wife, and dedicated church leader in her Durham, North Carolina, community. When she “accidentally” shot her husband, popular high school coach Russ, the police were inclined to believe her—until they found out ten years earlier her first husband had died in a strangely similar way. Detective Rick Buchanan’s relentless investigations into Stager’s life revealed a stunning vortex of compulsive lying, obsessive spending, and sexual promiscuity.
With every shocking new discovery, more of Barbara’s impeccable image unraveled. But the greatest shock—a damning piece of evidence Russ Stager left behind—revealed the nightmare truth about Barbara. New York Times bestselling author Jerry Bledsoe takes us deep into one of the most spellbinding cases of double life, lethal lust, and almost perfect murder.
Death Sentence: The True Story of Velma Barfield’s Life, Crimes, and Punishment
A shocking true story of a double life undone by murder.
When North Carolina farmer Stuart Taylor died after a sudden illness, his 46-year-old fiancée Velma Barfield, was overcome with grief. Taylor’s family grieved with her—until the autopsy revealed traces of arsenic poisoning. Turned over to the authorities by her own son, Velma stunned her family with more revelations. This wasn’t the first time the born-again Christian and devout Sunday school teacher had committed cold-blooded murder. Tried by the “world’s deadliest prosecutor,” and sentenced to death, Velma turned her life around and gained worldwide attention.
With chilling precision, New York Times bestselling author Bledsoe probes Velma’s stark descent into madness. From her harrowing childhood to the shocking crimes that incited a national debate over the death penalty, to the dark, final moments of her execution—broadcast live on CNN—Velma Barfield’s riveting life of crime and punishment, revenge and redemption is true crime reporting at its most gripping and profound.
Blood Games: A True Account of Family Murder
From the New York Times bestselling author of Bitter Blood comes the story of a greed so powerful it led to an unspeakable crime.
Wealthy Lieth von Stein lay dead and his wife Bonnie near death in their North Carolina home after a vicious assault with knife and baseball bat as they slept. The crime seemed totally baffling until police followed a trail that led to the charming von Stein stepson, Chris Pritchard, and his brilliant, drug-using, Dungeons-&-Dragons playing friends at N.C. State University. Blood Games is the shattering true story of degraded young minds—and a son’s gruesome greed turned horrifyingly real. Jerry Bledsoe masterfully reconstructs the bloody crime and its aftermath, as he takes us on a riveting journey into the secret twisted hearts of three young murderers.
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Table of Contents
Part One: The House on Covered Bridge Road
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Part Two: Murder in the Family
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