She Devils Around the World

by Sylvia Perrini

  The prosecution alleged that Anjette had murdered her victims out of hatred and greed and had benefited financially by $50,000. The State claimed that their evidence would show:

  (1) Each of the victims had an exceptionally close relationship to the defendant.

  (2) Each of them died from arsenic poisoning.

  (3) The defendant was the only close, personal, attendant to all four victims.

  (4) The defendant showed little or no grief for any one of her victims, even though each was exceedingly close to her.

  (5) The defendant collected a considerable amount of money from the death of each victim.

  (6) The burials of all were similar in that each was lavishly done by the defendant.

  (7) All victims were carried to the same hospital, at which place they were attended by the defendant.

  (8) The defendant expressed a strong dislike for each of the victims either before or after his or her death.

  (9) The defendant predicted the death of all of the victims except Ben Lyles.

  To prove their case, the prosecution had fifty-one witnesses. These included restaurant employees, witnesses from the hospital, and expert witnesses. The only defense witness was Anjette.

  One restaurant waitress swore that she had heard Anjette say about her daughter Marcia, “I’m going to kill the little Lyles-looking son of a bitch if it is the last thing I ever do”. The husband of the waitress said he had also heard Anjette say the same thing. Other restaurant employees stated that Anjette had said of her mother-in-law Julia, “The old devil! I hate her. I wish she was dead”.

  Other employees testified to seeing Anjette place something in a glass of buttermilk which she took to Julia in the hospital. Others witnessed the same behavior with lemonade which was taken to Marcia in hospital.

  A nurse testified that Anjette brought some homemade lemon juice to Marcia who became violently ill immediately after drinking it. Other nurses described how when Marcia was suffering from her terrible hallucinations, Anjette “acted as though it was hilarious. She laughed”.

  The jury looked at Anjette with horror and loathing as this testimony was given.

  The Sheriff’s office produced a piece of paper taken from Anjette’s office where the name Julia Lyles had been repeatedly written, as in an attempt to perfect a signature. A handwriting expert testified that Julia’s signature on the funeral note and her will were forged.

  Throughout the parade of witnesses’ the prosecution produced, Anjette made detailed notes of their testimony.

  At the end of the prosecution’s case, Anjette, looking sincere and serious, took to the witness stand and gave an unsworn statement. This prevented a cross examination by the prosecution. She was dressed in a black, long sleeved dress with her hair tidily pinned up against her head. In her hand, she clutched her pages of notes. She addressed the jury, “Gentlemen of the jury, I have not killed anyone”. She then went through point by point all the witness’s testimony against her. She addressed the jury about her belief in magic, herbs, and her use of candles, assuring them there was nothing sinister in her beliefs. To explain her laughing at Marcia’s dreadful hallucinations, Anjette said, “When I get upset, I laugh. I cannot help it. I have done it all my life. Instead of crying, I laugh”.

  She finished up by declaring, “I loved Marcia. I did not kill my child. I have not given any child poison. I did not kill Ben, Julia Lyles, or Buddy. I hope that you will believe me when I say that because it is the truth”.

  When Anjette returned to the defense table, she collapsed into her mother Jetta’s arms and for the first since the trial had begun, she cried.

  There followed the closing arguments by the prosecution and their appeal to the jury to find Anjette guilty as she deserved to die. The defense then followed with their closing arguments and plea to the jury to find Anjette innocent of all charges.

  The judge then gave the jury their instructions: they had, he said, three choices: 1.) to find Anjette guilty without mercy, 2.) to find her guilty with mercy or 3.) to find her not guilty. He explained that a guilty verdict without mercy would result in the death penalty for Anjette.

  The all-male jury took only an hour to deliver their guilty without recommendation for mercy verdict. Minutes later, Judge Long sentenced Anjette to death on December the 5th in Georgia’s electric chair. Anjette was the first white woman sentenced to death in Georgia. Anjette received the verdict calmly. The only visible reaction was she bit her lip and her skin reddened slightly.

  Her lawyers immediately appealed, and a series of court hearings followed. Eventually, Anjette’s lawyers successfully won an insanity plea. A Sanity Commission diagnosed her with chronic paranoid schizophrenia. In Georgia, it was against the law to execute an insane person. It was a catch-twenty-two situation because if she recovered her sanity, she would be executed. As she confided to a friend who visited her, “They think I’m crazy as hell, and I’m going to let them keep thinking it because if they don’t, they’re going to fry my ass!”

  Anjette was confined to Milledgeville State Hospital for the insane. Here, she spent close to twenty years before dying of natural causes on December 4, 1977, at the age of fifty-two. She was buried next to her daughter Marcia.

  JANIE LOU GIBBS

  THERE’S NOTHING LIKE MUM’S COOKING.

  Janie Lou Gibbs was born on December 25, 1932, in Cordele, Georgia, known as the Watermelon Capital of the World. In 1948, at the age of sixteen, Janie married Marvin Gibbs, a farmer. She appeared in all intents and purposes to be the perfect wife, mother, and avid Christian Fundamentalist church attendee. Janie also ran the local day-care center and was popular with the mothers and children. In 1965, Marvin at the age of 38 and her husband of eighteen years, was taken ill after eating a lovingly prepared family meal. He collapsed at home and was rushed to the hospital emergency department where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The doctors attributed the cause of death to a previously undiagnosed liver disease.

  Marvin’s sudden death caused shock among the local church goers, and there was considerable support and sympathy for the young widow and her three children. Janie was so appreciative of the support she received from the church members that she bequeathed 10% of the insurance money from Marvin’s death to the church.

  Tragedy struck again a year later when Janie’s thirteen-year-old son Marvin, Jr., appeared to have inherited the same liver disease that had afflicted his father. He, too, collapsed suffering from severe cramps shortly after having eaten one of his mother’s home cooked meals and died. Yet again, the church community was a tower of strength for Janie in this family tragedy, and Janie thankful to the church for their support, once again gave 10% of the insurance money to the church congregation.

  However, just a few months later, Janie’s sixteen-year-old son Lester became ill, suffering from headaches and dizzy spells. He was discovered dead at home in January of 1967. The doctors at the hospital attributed his death to hepatitis. Once again, the church, in disbelief at the number of tragedies befalling the young widow, rallied around in support. Janie appeared broken hearted and crushed by all that she had endured over the past two years. She told the church congregation that without their support, she could never have coped and once again gave a percentage of the insurance payout to the church.

  One piece of happy news for Janie in 1967 was that her son Roger’s young wife was pregnant. In August, the church was delighted to see Janie smiling again as she held her young grandson Raymond in her arms. But before the end of October, both her grandson Raymond and his father Roger, her son, were dead.

  The doctors were mystified by the baby’s death. He had been a healthy strong child. An autopsy failed to find anything wrong. In Roger’s case, it seemed as if his kidneys had just stopped functioning. The doctors were suspicious and called the law enforcement agency. Another autopsy was performed on Roger, and arsenic poisoning was detected. The police then disinterred the other dead members of the Gibbs family and si
milar results were found.

  Janie Lou Gibbs was arrested on Christmas Eve of 1967. In court, she admitted poisoning her family with rat poison. Her lawyers pleaded insanity. In February of 1968, she was declared clinically insane and sent to the state mental hospital. In May of 1974, she was declared well enough to stand trial. In May of 1976, Janie was convicted of murdering her family with poison. The judge gave her life for each member of her family. In 1999, Janie, at the age of sixty-six, was released from prison on parole into the custody of her brother on medical grounds. She was suffering from advanced Parkinson's disease. Janie Lou Gibbs died on February 7, 2010, at the age of seventy- eight.

  VELMA BARFIELD

  GATEWAY TO HEAVEN

  Early Life

  Velma Barfield (née Bullard) was born on October 29th, 1932 in rural South Carolina. Velma was the second born of nine children and the eldest daughter born to Presbyterians Murphy and Lillie Bullard. Murphy Bullard was an impoverished, small, tobacco and cotton farmer. The house that Velma was born into was a small, wooden, unpainted house with no running water or electricity. As the Great Depression tightened its grip around the country, Murphy Bullard found it harder and harder to make a living from the farm as crop prices fell by about 60%. He gave up the farm and took a job in a saw-mill. When the saw-mill laid Murphy off, he moved his family into his parents’ home in Fayetteville, North Carolina and found work in a textile mill.

  Murphy Bullard, Velma’s father, was an authoritarian. He was the undisputed ruler of his family, and Velma’s mother was the compliant, docile wife. Murphy was a big drinking man, was easily angered, and didn’t hold back from taking the strap to the children if they annoyed him or disobeyed him. Lila, Velma’s mother, never argued or tried to stop Murphy from hitting the children, fearful that he would turn on her.

  In 1939, when Velma was seven years old, she began attending the local elementary school with her older brother Olive. Her teachers found her smart, and she received excellent grades. Velma at first loved school as it was an escape from her crowded, volatile home life, but that soon wore off as she was picked upon by her class mates for always being dressed in hand-me-downs. They also made fun of the contents of her lunch-box, which consisted of cornbread and a slice of ham. This affected Velma so much that she would hide from the other children while she ate her lunch.

  Velma hated the poverty she and her family lived in and began stealing change from her father’s pockets to enable her to buy candies from the store opposite the school like the other kids. Then, from an elderly neighbor, she stole $80. This enraged her father so much, he took the strap to her and beat her black and blue. She was never known to steal as a child again.

  With nine children to support, life in the Bullard family was tough. With so many children, Velma’s mother was often ill and as Velma grew older her mother demanded more and more help of Velma with the house and with the smaller children.

  Although Murphy Bullard was tyrannical, he also loved his children and in particular Velma, much to Olive’s, her brother, jealousy. Although money was short, Murphy Bullard would take them out on excursions and teach them to swim and fish in the nearby rivers. He also taught them all to play baseball and would organize games for his children and their friends.

  Twice each summer, Velma would be sent to a Presbyterian Bible School.

  When Velma was thirteen, the family moved to Robeson County, and Velma enrolled at Parkton Public School. Although no longer achieving the high grades she had enjoyed when younger, Velma did excel at basketball and was chosen to play on the school team. When her mother gave birth to twins, she made Velma quit the team as she needed Velma’s help at home. Velma deeply resented this but did as she was told.

  When she was fifteen, Velma began seeing a boy from school, Thomas Burke, who was a year older than she. He was a tall, thin, dark haired boy, and they got along together well. Murphy Bullard forbade them to see each other out of school until she was sixteen, so the young couple had to limit their time together to the playground.

  When they did begin to date, it was under strict guidelines set down by her father.

  First Marriage

  Thomas proposed to hazel-eyed Velma when she was seventeen, and she accepted. Her father was furious but despite her father’s rage, she stood up to him and married Thomas in 1949. They both left high school, and Thomas took work anywhere he could: in a cotton mill, as a farm laborer, and as a delivery truck driver.

  Velma gave birth to her first-born son, Ronald Thomas, on December 15th, 1951. She delighted in being a mother and was probably for the first time in her life genuinely happy. On September 3rd, 1953, Velma had her second child, a daughter they named Kim. Thomas and Velma, although poor with only the basics in life, were content. When the children began school, Velma returned to work at a textile plant to bolster the family income. Velma had the night shift. Apart from working, she was also extremely active in the children’s school life. She took an active part in all school activities, was always one of the first to volunteer for chaperoning on school trips, and was an active member of the PTA. She was one of the most popular moms at the school with the children and teachers seeing her as being fun and a terrific sport. Velma was also committed to teaching Ronald and Kim Christian values and regularly escorted them to a Baptist church.

  In 1963, Velma’s life changed. She started to have medical problems and underwent a hysterectomy. The operation was successful physically. For many women having a hysterectomy is emotionally difficult, especially when the hysterectomy is carried out during the childbearing years as Velma’s was. Her hormones changed which led to mood swings, hot flashes, temper tantrums, nervousness, and night sweats.

  Velma worried that she was less feminine since she could no longer have children even though she and Thomas had not wanted more than two children. She did not want to be a replica of her worn out mother. Following the operation, she was also in a lot of pain especially in the lower back. One of the most common complaints after a hysterectomy is pain. The majority of women following the surgery are given prescription-strength painkillers to help lessen the discomfort and in a short period of time they can then take over-the-counter pain relievers, if needed. Velma found that the over-the-counter painkillers were not strong enough.

  With the change in his wife, Thomas began to spend more time out of the house. He joined the United States Junior Chamber more commonly known as the Jaycees. The Jaycees is a private organization that was established in the 1920s to provide opportunities for young men to develop personal and leadership skills through service to others.

  Velma resented these meetings as she was left alone in the evenings with the children, and when Thomas began going for drinks with the other men after the meetings finished Velma was furious. Velma was a teetotaler and saw alcohol as the devil’s drink.

  When he returned home, noisy arguments would occur and tensions in the house were taut. When Thomas had a car accident in 1965 and suffered a concussion, Velma was convinced it was due to driving after drinking. Thomas vehemently denied the accusation and said he had fallen asleep at the wheel because of tiredness. Unfortunately, as a result of the concussion, he suffered from severe headaches from then on. This caused Thomas to drink more to ease the pain. The tension in the house increased leading to Velma being hospitalized from stress. In the hospital, she was treated with valium. With her already suffering from addiction to painkillers, she also became addicted to valium.

  When Velma returned home, she signed up with a few different doctors to collect her prescription drugs. None of the doctors were aware she was seeing other doctors, and so Velma began taking a variety of medications that were not meant to be mixed with each other.

  In 1967, Thomas was arrested for drunk driving which led to him losing his driver’s license and, therefore, his job as a delivery driver for Pepsi-Cola. Velma was livid, and Thomas was devastated. He felt ashamed and depressed which had the effect of making him drink more. The children,
Ronnie and Kim, no longer felt comfortable inviting their friends to the house because of their father’s drinking and their parents’ arguments. Thomas eventually secured another job at a nearby mill and would get a lift to work with a neighbor.

  Not only were the children worried about their father’s drinking but they, as well as Thomas, were concerned about Velma’s pill taking. Sometimes, she would be exceedingly groggy, and her words were slurred as if she was drunk.

  In April of 1969, while Velma and the children were out and Thomas was comatose in a chair, the house caught fire. The fire brigade arrived and took Thomas to hospital where he died of smoke inhalation. On learning of her husband’s death, Velma collapsed. Just a few months later, the house burned down again and was destroyed. This time, the house was insured, and Velma and the children moved in with her parents, Murphy and Lillie, while they waited for the insurance check.

  Just a few months later, Velma sat intensely proud at her son, Ronnie’s, graduation ceremony. He, having achieved the honor of being the salutatorian, delivered the opening speech of the ceremony. A salutatorian is an American honor given to a graduating student with the second highest academic rank. For his speech, Ronnie gave public praise to his mother and credited Velma for any exceptional qualities he possessed.

  Second Marriage

  Not too many months after Thomas died; Velma met a widower Jennings Barfield. Jennings had lost his wife around the time that Thomas had died and so when they met they were both feeling fairly lonely. Jennings had taken early retirement due to his health. He suffered from emphysema, diabetes, as well as heart disease. Velma and Jennings married in a church on August 23rd, 1970.