Oxygen's Black Widow Murders: Who is Barbara Stager and what did she do?

Barbara Stager, a North Carolina mother-of-two, served as a secretary at Duke University and an ad salesperson for a radio station prior to being found guilty in the death of her second husband, Russ Stager, while being named a suspect in the killing of her first husband, Larry Ford.

Both husbands died under similar circumstances and she explained to authorities how the gun accidentally went off both times. The deaths occurred years apart. Barbara, an ambitious writer, was accused of killing her husbands Russ and Larry to inherit their estates and claim their life insurance policies.

An upcoming episode of Black Widow Murders on Oxygen is scheduled to revisit the scheming murderer's case who was viewed as the ideal wife and mother ahead of the murder conviction. The preview for the episode reads:

"A voice from beyond the grave helps investigators solve a crime after a Sunday School teacher loses two husbands in a row under suspicious circumstances."

The episode, titled Barbara Stager, will air this Sunday, October 30, 2022.

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Russ and Barbara Stager married after the latter's first husband's suspicious death

Russ and Barbara Stager married in 1979 after her first husband Larry Ford's gun accidentally went off while he was cleaning it. The couple, along with two of Barbara's sons, started a new life as a spendthrift pair, and lived a lavish life using money she acquired through a mini ponzi scheme, scamming banks for years until she was caught in the act by Russ.

Some of their neighbors described Barbara Stager as the "perfect homemaker, loving mother of two, valued employee, and staunch Baptist," until they were knee-deep in debt. She won her husband's trust by forging his signature and lying to him about acquiring the money they would recklessly spend via book deals and from her former husband's estate.

Nonetheless, Russ Stager excused Barbara's financial mismanagement as he persisted in taking responsibility for their finances. They made a few major changes to their lifestyle, such as giving up their country club membership and relocating to a significantly smaller home to get their finances back on track. Meanwhile, Russ' parents agreed to assist the couple in repaying their debt.

As they put their plan into action, Russ died in February 1988, of a bullet wound to the back of his head. At the time, she claimed that she accidentally shot her husband, who had a loaded gun under his pillow for safety purposes, which went off when she tried to remove it thinking that an intruder had broken into their home.

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Incriminating evidence proved that Barbara Stager was behind her second husband's death

However, after digging deep into Barbara's past life and marriage following Russ' former wife and good friend Jo Lynn's suggestion, authorities realized that the first husband, Larry, died under similar and suspicious circumstances. Other incriminating evidence surfaced which proved that she shot Russ, called 911, and informed them of the tragedy/mishap.

After forensic evidence proved Barbara's account of the events from the night of the shooting incident wrong, she was arrested and tried in court. The prosecution claimed that Barbara shot Russ after sneaking the gun out of the drawer, leaving the bullet case next to his pillow, and then dialing 911. It was concluded that she was eager to claim his $170,000 life insurance money.

During her trial in May 1989, a jury found Barbara Stager guilty of murder. She was given a death sentence, which was later invalidated due to a procedural error. She was given a life sentence at the 1993 resentencing trial, with the possibility of parole.

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Black Widow Murders will air on Oxygen this Sunday at 7/6c.