The Murders of Linda Barnes and Patricia Miller
Warning, this case discusses murder, drug use, and sexual assault.
For this case, I watched an episode of Signs of a Psychopath. It’s season 5 episode 4, titled ‘Heat Will Destroy.’
A man in prison for one crime admits to killing another woman years earlier.
Background
Sadly, not much is known about either woman. At the time of her death, Linda Barnes was estranged from her second husband, James. Linda had taken out a restraining order against him.
Linda Barnes
In 1988, Patricia ‘Patsy’ Miller lived at the River Oaks Condominiums in Melbourne, Florida. She worked as a nurse. She had no idea that she lived so close to the man who would end up killing her.
Patricia Miller
The Murder of Linda Barnes
On December 12, 1997, a co-worker of Linda’s contacted the police to do a wellness check when Linda didn’t show up for work.
When the police arrived, they found James Barnes inside the home alone. Linda’s body was found in a bedroom closet. He was arrested and brought in for questioning.
James agreed to tell the police what happened if Linda’s ex-husband, Tony Verzi was present. Tony agreed and the police recorded James’ interview.
James’ Story
James said he had been released from prison on October 31, 1997, and immediately began to use drugs again.
On December 11, James said Linda found drugs in their home and became upset. He said Linda ran up to their bedroom and told him to get out of the house.
James said when he was able to get inside the bedroom. He said he stepped on Linda and grabbed her by the neck from behind after she had kneed or kicked him. He said she fell to the floor face-first, and he held onto her. He said he saw blood but Linda was able to grab onto the wall and knock him off balance.
James had downplayed the entire situation. There were broken doors, door frames, and holes in the walls of the home. Linda was killed and put into the closet.
He washed the dishes, took out the garbage, and spent the entire next day alone in the home. He told the police that he wanted to make things look as normal as possible.
On January 9, 1998, James Barnes pled guilty to first-degree murder. He was sentenced to life in prison.
The Murder of Patricia Miller
While James was in prison, he converted to Islam. On November 1, 2005, James sat down with another inmate and his spiritual advisor, Sherman Insco. James confessed to murdering Patricia in 1988.
James said he never knew what Patricia’s name was and had only learned it from newspaper articles. James lived near Patricia’s apartment complex.
James said he removed his clothes, entered Patricia’s apartment through a window, grabbed a knife from her kitchen, and sexually assaulted her.
James took shoelaces from Patricia’s shoes and tied her hands behind her back. He then sexually assaulted her again, strangled her, and beat her with a hammer.
James said he took Patricia’s bank card and a few dollars. Before he left, he set fire to Patricia’s bed. He put items from the house that he had touched inside a bag, got dressed, and left the house. He said he believed he had locked the front door behind him. He said entered the apartment to kill not to rape. However, it’s believed that he had been planning a sexual assault as he had entered the house naked.
During the interview, Insco asked James about the time he had bragged about knowing the temperature of the body for DNA. James said he knew that “heat will destroy.”
James was asked why he had killed Patricia. He wouldn’t go into details but claimed that Patricia had once humiliated him. He said he didn’t want to demean her so he didn’t want to say anything else.
On December 13, 2007, James was found guilty of first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death.
James Barnes
Other
On August 3, 2023, James was executed via lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Bradford County, Florida.
James was interviewed for a show called On Death Row in 2010. In this interview, he bragged about killing 2 more people.
James said he killed a drug addict named Chester Wetmore in 1988. He said he killed him with a shotgun and was helped by 2 accomplices to bury Westmore’s body.
On April 2, 1991, the body of Brenda Fletcher was found. She had been listed as a missing person. James said Fletcher was a sex worker and drug addict. He had accused her of stealing from him, but when she denied it, he killed her.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I wouldn’t be surprised if James did kill Westmore and Fletcher. He seemed like he loved to brag about his crimes. He also loved to blame his victims as if they were the problem and he wasn’t. It’s probably a good thing that he was so eager to confess otherwise 3 of the 4 murders would have been unsolved.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Barnes_(murderer)
https://www.newsweek.com/florida-executes-self-confessed-serial-killer-james-barnes-1817401
