Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Jacksonville man convicted of killing wife for $2M insurance
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 26, 2006
ST. AUGUSTINE - A North Florida man faces a death sentence or life in prison for gunning down his wife on a beach, then making up a story about a botched robbery. Justin Barber, a business analyst from Jacksonville, was convicted Saturday of shooting his wife, April Barber, 27, at Guana River State Park in August 2002. A jury will give its sentencing recommendation to Circuit Judge Edward E. Hedstrom, who will decide Barber's fate. Barber, 34, told deputies he and his wife were shot during a late-night robbery on the beach. She was found dead with a single .22-caliber gunshot wound to her cheek; Barber suffered four slight wounds, investigators said. Prosecutors said Barber killed his wife to collect on a life insurance policy worth more than $2.1-million. They said Barber was facing mounting debt and his wife's allegations of infidelity. He was arrested in July 2004. Barber's lawyer, Robert Willis, said he was shocked by the verdict. During the trial, Willis acknowledged that his client had been involved in affairs with several women during his three-year marriage. But he argued that the prosecution's account of the killing didn't add up.
[Last modified June 26, 2006, 02:16:12]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
