Buried Memories

The Bloody Crimes and Execution of the Texas Black Widow

By: Irene Pence

Narrated by: George Newbern

1985, Gun Barrel City, Texas: Police searching for missing Fire Department captain Jimmy Don Beets dug inside a wishing well in the neatly tended garden of Beets's wife, 48-year-old Betty Lou Beets. Not only did they find his body, but they also found the body of Betty Lou's fourth husband, Doyle Wayne Barker. It wasn't long before investigators unearthed the terrible truth. As Betty Lou's sordid past emerged, so did her chilling trail of marital violence. She shot her second husband, Billy York Lane, in the back. She tried to run over her third husband, Ronnie Threlkeld, with a car. Both survived to tell their horrific stories. But Barker and Beets, spouses four and five, weren't so lucky. After a sensational trial, Betty Lou Beets was sentenced to die by lethal injection. Fifteen years later, on February 24, 2000, she again drew national attention by becoming the second woman to be executed in Texas since the Civil War.

©2001 Irene Pence (P)2014 Tantor

Critic reviews

"One of the most infamous murderers in modern Texas history." ( Dallas Morning News)

Great Story and Narration

This is almost unbelievable but true. It is narrated so well, which makes it easy to listen to.

Good true crime

I like that this book didn't have much filler and basically stuck to the facts. .

Great story, enough detail without detracting from the overall story.

This narration perfectly balanced how the law enforcement, legal, and crime scene investigations wrapped around Betty Beets storyline.

Well read.

The narrator was quite good. I'll look for other things he's read. The writing was good. Not great (like The Executioner's Song), but nicely paced and clean.

this lady lived directly across the canal from my new property

this was the first true crime story I've been this close to... literally across the canal!