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The case of Barbara Burns shocked seasoned detectives, not because it included gang violence or a notable victim, but because it was about the slow descent of a caregiver who could not take it anymore.
After caring for her mentally disabled sister, Debbie, for decades, Barbara Burns shot her sister in the head while she was sleeping. The incident took place on August 15, 2004. Barbara then engaged in a cover-up that lasted for weeks.
Barbara's actions were seen as not the result of a random impulse, but rather the manifestation of years of silence, financial pressure, and emotional exhaustion. This article will deal with five facts that shed light on the circumstances of two sisters living in an unnoticed world in a mobile home in Florida.
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Season 30, episode 20 of the true-crime series Snapped covered Barbara Burns' case. The episode streams on Amazon Prime.
5 chilling details about Barbara Burns' crime
1. She lived with the dead body of her sister for six weeks
After Debbie was shot in the head with a .38 caliber revolver by Barbara Burns, she had no escape plan at that moment. Barbara chose instead to cohabitate the same room as her sister’s dead body for nearly six weeks.
To mask the smell of decay, Barbara ran the air conditioning unit continuously on full blast and hung a bunch of cardboard air fresheners throughout the room. Potpourri was scattered over the bed where Debbie’s corpse lay shrouded in multiple layers of fabric and plastic.
2. She pretended Debbie was alive
Barbara made up a story for the neighbors that Debbie went to California to take care of a sick aunt. She never let on at work that there was an issue.
She kept her job at Lowe's for over a month, showed up to work on time, did her job, and returned every night to the house, where her sister's body was decomposing slowly.
3. She abandoned the house and continued cashing Debbie’s checks
Eventually, Barbara escaped the mobile home and left her sister's decaying body behind. She abandoned their dog, Leo, at a shelter and fled to Virginia Beach, a place she associated with childhood happiness.
There she lived in a homeless shelter and worked at a 7-Eleven. Even after she committed murder, she continued to collect $800 a month in disability checks from Debbie, which served to assist her in her new city.
4. She denied knowing her sister
When detectives finally located Barbara Burns in Virginia Beach, she denied everything at first. She stated she had no sister, had never owned a mobile home, and didn’t know who Debbie was in the photographs she was shown.
Only when images of her and Debbie with their dog were presented did she start to cry and finally acknowledge her identity. Even then, Barbara continued to profess that she did not remember what happened the night she shot her sister.
5. She left a body wrapped in a Star Wars comforter
Barbara Burns wrapped Debbie's body in her favorite Star Wars comforter, a brown blanket, and a white shower curtain. As per the Tampa Bay Times, Burns threw in a calendar marked that was marked only with the times of a few TV shows.
Barbara Burns eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 12 years. To this day, she says she cannot remember pulling the trigger.
