ARREST MADE IN DISAPPEARANCE OF FT WORTH WOMAN & SON

[furluvcats]

Just curious...have they said what evidence they have on this particular guy? And have they said which body has been found yet?

[TexasStooge]

Man charged in slayings had temper

FORT WORTH, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - Stephen Barbee was a quiet child who became increasingly angry as an adult, at times engaging in bizarre behavior such as setting fire to trees in his yard and yelling at neighbors for calling the fire department. After a turbulent, seven-year marriage ended in 2003, he started a new chapter in his life, becoming a newlywed in December. But he was deeply scarred by past tragedies.

More details to come.

[alicia-w]

was watching some of the legal talking heads last night and they were saying that the defense strategy would probably be leaning toward a crime of passion sort of thing. Definitely not murder one since it wasnt premeditated....

while this appears to be a capital case and they expect to charge him with capital murder, it might not happen that way...

[TexasStooge]

Affidavit: Business partner saw bodies

By BERT LOZANO and YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - Before Steven Barbee confessed to murdering Lisa and Jayden Underwood, at least one witness told investigators he saw the two bodies and was told about how the deaths occurred.

An affidavit identifies the witness as Ron Dodd, Barbee's business partner. Dodd lives in a North Tarrant County home with Barbee's ex-wife, Theresa.

In the arrest warrant, Barbee told police Dodd dropped him off at the home of Lisa Underwood on Friday. Barbee told police the pair "began to argue because he would not leave his wife" Patricia.

Barbee said Underwood then kicked him in his leg, and in response he "punched her in the face several times, causing her nose to bleed."

According to the affidavit, during the fight Barbee held Underwood on the floor "where she was suffocated and died."

Underwood's seven-year-old son entered the living room screaming, at which point Barbee told police he "placed his hand over the child's mouth and nose and suffocated him to death."

Barbee then said he drove Underwood's Dodge Durango SUV to a deserted road in Denton County, and called Dodd to the location when he ran out of gas. That's when Dodd told investigators he "observed the bodies of a female and male child in the back," and he left the scene shaken.

Barbee admitted in the affidavit to dumping the bodies in a shallow grave.

Dodd then stated he went back to Denton County to pick up his business partner, and Barbee allegedly "told him that he had killed the woman and her child."

Barbee, 37, grew up in Azle at a home where his parents still live. Neighbors remember him as a "good kid."

"He's just a normal everyday kid," said former neighbor Joyce Admire.

Stanley Statch was one of his friends at Azle High School.

"We'd hang out here and shoot baskets and stuff," Statch said. "He was always nice."

Years later, Barbee started a concrete business with his now ex-wife Theresa called Cowboy Coring, and lived in the North Tarrant County where Ron Dodd now lives.

Former neighbors there who did not want to be identified recall a meaner side to Barbee.

"I guess the way I would classify him is that someone who was angry and essentially considered himself above the rules - that they didn't pertain to him," the neighbor said.

Barbee eventually moved away from that area after divorcing his wife, and moved into a home with Patricia Reinhardt in Fort Worth. Neighbors there were too stunned to talk on camera.

Regardless of their overall feelings, everyone News 8 spoke to from Barbee's past and present share one thing in common: disbelief over the allegations that he killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend Underwood and her seven-year-old son.

Said one neighbor, "It's just hard to believe what some people will do."

[streetsoldier]

Disposal of the bodies goes to aforethought, plus that the suspect had a unwitting witness ex post facto...Capital Murder, two (or three, if the baby is included) sounds right.

[alicia-w]

i agree, just repeating what the talking heads were saying...

dont know what Texas law says about the baby, but I would think that the precedent's been set already for that. in fact they said something about killing a child under 6 referenced the baby and that was a capital count. so that would be three. hope he fries.

i feel sorry for his wife. but she may have been indirectly saved from a similar fate. who knows?

[TexasStooge]

FORT WORTH, Texas (WFAA ABC 8) - Fort Worth murder suspect's business partner arrested.

More details to come.

Maybe he does have an accomplice.

[TexasStooge]

Wife: Suspect didn't kill mom, son

By JEFF MOSIER and LAURIE FOX / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH, Texas – When Trish Barbee married her husband, Stephen, in December, she thought the two were ready to start a life together and make a new family with her two young children.

Just two months into that union, Mr. Barbee is accused of killing a woman who was pregnant with his child and her 7-year-old son.

And the life Mrs. Barbee thought she was building has come unraveled.

Mrs. Barbee, 39, said Wednesday that though police say her husband has confessed to the killings, she doesn't believe he killed Lisa Underwood, 34, and her son, Jayden.

Also Wednesday, police arrested Mr. Barbee's business partner on a parole violation.

That man, Ron Dodd, has told police he saw the victims' bodies in the back of Ms. Underwood's sport utility vehicle.

Mrs. Barbee said that no matter what her husband has been accused of, she still loves him.

She described a gentle man who wanted to make her and her two children, ages 6 and 9, happy.

Mrs. Barbee said her husband told friends she was "the love of his life."

"He wouldn't give me up for anything," she said. "He's a wonderful man. An angel," she said, choking back sobs.

"I don't think he did this. He's the sweetest thing in the world."

Mrs. Barbee said her husband dated Ms. Underwood "a long time ago." She said Mr. Barbee doesn't believe he is the father of Ms. Underwood's unborn child.

Mrs. Barbee said she has spoken with her husband in jail. She declined to comment on how much she knew about her husband's relationship with Ms. Underwood.

Police have said Mr. Barbee killed Ms. Underwood during an argument about his refusal to leave his wife.

"She wouldn't go away," Mrs. Barbee said. "He kept telling her to go away and she wouldn't go away."

Mr. Dodd, who worked with Mr. Barbee in a tree-trimming business, was booked into the Tarrant County Jail about 5:30 p.m. Jail officials weren't sure why Mr. Dodd was arrested. He has at least two criminal convictions on his record, including harassment and telephone harassment.

A police spokesman could not be reached for comment Wednesday night. Earlier in the day he declined to comment on any possible charges against Mr. Dodd for aiding Mr. Barbee.

According to records, Mr. Dodd assisted Mr. Barbee, even after he saw the bodies of Ms. Underwood and Jayden.

Police Lt. Gene Jones said there are no other suspects in the slayings of the Underwoods.

Police have filed a capital murder with multiple victims case against Mr. Barbee. He remained in jail Wednesday with bail set at $2 million.

"This is a very painstaking and tedious process," said Lt. Jones, a department spokesman.

He said he didn't know when the case would be filed with the Tarrant County district attorney's office. Ms. Underwood's family said through a spokeswoman that a date has not been set for the funeral, but the services will be private.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Mr. Dodd told police that when he saw the bodies in the back of Ms. Underwood's SUV, he "became shaken and left the scene, not wanting to get involved."

But later, Mr. Barbee called Mr. Dodd for a ride after leaving Ms. Underwood's Dodge Durango on the bank of a creek in Denton. Mr. Dodd told police Mr. Barbee confessed to killing the Underwoods, according to the document.

New details also emerged Wednesday about Mr. Barbee's background.

Since 2002, Tarrant County sheriff's deputies have responded to nearly two dozen calls at the Ridge Country Road home where Mr. Barbee once lived. Nine were burglar alarm calls, but officials said the others ranged from abandoned vehicles to a domestic disturbance.

The only call that resulted in an investigation was an assault allegation made by a Fort Worth man who had attended a party at the home and apparently fought with Mr. Barbee.

The case was investigated, but the Tarrant County district attorney's office declined to prosecute, said Terry Grisham, spokesman for the sheriff's office.

On Jan. 24, 2003, an emergency call was made from the house. When investigators arrived, Mr. Barbee was on the floor threatening to commit suicide. Officials requested an ambulance to transport Mr. Barbee to the hospital.

Staff writer Debra Dennis contributed to this report.

[TexasStooge]

Fort Worth murder suspect's business partner arrested

By MARY ANN RAZZUK, BERT LOZANO and YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA ABC 8

FORT WORTH, Texas - A business partner of Fort Worth murder suspect Steven Barbee was arrested by police on Wednesday for parole violation.

Before Barbee confessed to murdering Lisa and Jayden Underwood, Ron Dodd told investigators in an affidavit he saw the two bodies and was told about how the deaths occurred.

Dodd lives in a North Tarrant County home with Barbee's ex-wife. He was arrested in 1997 on nine charges, including an assault and family violence charge. Though they wouldn't say exactly what happened that led to his parole violation arrest, police said they are talking to Dodd regarding the case.

"I can tell you that we are speaking to Mr. Dodd," said Fort Worth Police Lt. Gene Sims. "We believe that there is still information he can assist us (with)."

In the arrest warrant, Barbee told police Dodd dropped him off at the home of Lisa Underwood on Friday. Barbee told police the pair "began to argue because he would not leave his wife" Patricia.

Barbee said Underwood then kicked him in his leg, and in response he "punched her in the face several times, causing her nose to bleed."

According to the affidavit, during the fight Barbee held Underwood on the floor "where she was suffocated and died."

Underwood's seven-year-old son entered the living room screaming, at which point Barbee told police he "placed his hand over the child's mouth and nose and suffocated him to death."

Barbee then said he drove Underwood's Dodge Durango SUV to a deserted road in Denton County, and called Dodd to the location when he ran out of gas. That's when Dodd told investigators he "observed the bodies of a female and male child in the back," and he left the scene shaken.

Barbee admitted in the affidavit to dumping the bodies in a shallow grave.

Dodd then stated he went back to Denton County to pick up his business partner, and Barbee allegedly "told him that he had killed the woman and her child."

Barbee, 37, grew up in Azle at a home where his parents still live. Neighbors remember him as a "good kid."

"He's just a normal everyday kid," said former neighbor Joyce Admire.

Stanley Statch was one of his friends at Azle High School.

"We'd hang out here and shoot baskets and stuff," Statch said. "He was always nice."

Years later, Barbee started a concrete business with his now ex-wife Theresa called Cowboy Coring, and lived in the North Tarrant County where Ron Dodd now lives.

Former neighbors there who did not want to be identified recall a meaner side to Barbee.

"I guess the way I would classify him is that someone who was angry and essentially considered himself above the rules - that they didn't pertain to him," the neighbor said.

Barbee eventually moved away from that area after divorcing his wife, and moved into a home with Patricia Reinhardt in Fort Worth. Neighbors there were too stunned to talk on camera.

Regardless of their overall feelings, everyone News 8 spoke to from Barbee's past and present share one thing in common: disbelief over the allegations that he killed his pregnant ex-girlfriend Underwood and her seven-year-old son.

Said one neighbor, "It's just hard to believe what some people will do."