The Tulsa Triple Murders
Warning, this case discusses murder and sexual assault.
For this case, I watched an episode of Forensic Files. It’s season 14 episode 14, titled ‘Fate Date.’
Three people are killed in the early morning hours in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Background
I’m going to briefly discuss the three victims without giving too much away.
Fred and Rebecca Barney had been married for 6 years, but were going through a divorce. The divorce was amicable, so the two were still living together until the divorce was finalized.
Kenneth Maxwell was a 24-year-old truck driver. He lived only a mile away from the Barney’s, but had no connection to them. Kenneth was just driving home from a party, and was truly in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Kenneth Maxwell and Rebecca and Fred Barney
The 911 Call
In the early morning hours of February 22, 2003, Kenneth called 911 around 3:11am. He had been driving home from a party, and saw what looked like flames coming out of a home.
On the 911 call, Kenneth could be heard asking someone if there was a fire in the house. When the first responders arrived, they found Kenneth’s car in front of the house. Kenneth was slumped over in his seat, and he had been shot with a .22 caliber gun.
Inside the house, the police found the bodies of Fred, 50, and Rebecca, 42. Fred had been once in the head while he was in the kitchen making food. His body was covered with a rug.
Rebecca had been shot several times in the head in one of the bedrooms. She was found nude, and a pillow covered her face. It was believed that the pillow was used to muffle the gunshots. Rebecca’s clothes and glasses were found in the living room. Rebecca’s autopsy would later reveal that she had been sexually assaulted.
Arson experts ruled that the fire hadn’t been an accident. The stove in the kitchen had been pulled out, and the gas line had been cut. However, Kenneth had saved a lot of the evidence by calling 911. He was a Good Samaritan, and had lost his life by trying to help.
A Possible Suspect
The police were able to determine that all 3 victims had been shot with the same .22 caliber gun. There was no forced entry into the house, and the only item that had been stolen was the Barney’s computer.
On the night of the murders, Rebecca and Fred had been seen at Arnie’s, a bar just a few minutes from their house. Rebecca and Fred were also accompanied by a man that Rebecca claimed was her new internet boyfriend. Rebecca didn’t introduce the man by name, but said he was her “10 inch cowboy.” The witnesses from the bar described Fred that night as looking bored and disinterested.
Rebecca, Fred, and “cowboy” left the bar at 2am, which was closing time. The 911 call came into the police dispatcher at 3:11am.
Rebecca’s autopsy revealed that there wasn’t much evidence found from her rape kit, due to Rebecca having her menstrual cycle at the time. She did have saliva on her body, which was swabbed, and sent in for testing. Sadly, not enough markers could be found to match any DNA in CODIS.
The Emails
In the Barney’s home, the police found several emails that Rebecca had printed out. The username that Rebecca had been writing to was ‘cowboy4you67.’
The communication between Rebecca and ‘cowboy’ was sexual in nature. They sent each other suggestive photos. The ‘cowboy’ had sent her a photo of his penis with a ruler next to it.
The Tulsa Cyber Crimes Unit was able to determine that Rebecca and ‘cowboy’ had meet 3 days before the murders. This man was identified as James Kidwell, 31, from Gore, Oklahoma. James was divorced with 2 kids, and was living with his mom. He also had a warrant out for slashing one of his ex-girlfriend’s tires.
On the day that James was to be arrested for the murders, the Gore police pulled him over for an unrelated crime. When they impounded his car, it was a mess, and appeared as if he had been living out of it. The police found a loaded rifle, but testing revealed that it wasn’t the murder weapon.
A young woman had also been with him when he was arrested. The woman told the police that they had met online, and she regretted dating him. James had actually met this woman just 12 hours after he killed 3 people.
The Evidence
The police searched James’ mother’s home. They didn’t recover the murder weapon or the Barney’s computer.
The police did search James’ computer. James had deleted the over 70 emails between him and Rebecca. He had also been searching news articles for the triple murders he had committed.
When the police questioned James, he denied knowing Rebecca. Later, he said he did know Rebecca, and had gone to the bar with her and Fred on the night of the murders. James said he went to have a sexual encounter with Rebecca, but was turned off when Fred went with them to the bar. James claimed he only stayed at the bar for 5-10 minutes, and drove home to Gore.
In James’ dryer, the police found two shirts that had been washed. However, there was still a rust colored stain on them. The stains were tested, and Rebecca couldn’t be ruled out as a contributor.
The saliva on Rebecca’s body was tested, but the sample was weak. Rebecca’s rape kit was re-examined. A testing called WSTR was used to sort the Y chromosomes from the female DNA. James Kidwell’s DNA was a match.
The Conviction
It’s believed that James and Rebecca had planned to meet. But, Rebecca had asked Fred to come along because it was her first date with someone she had met online. James was still hoping he and Rebecca would hook up, but Rebecca said no. James forced her to undress, assaulted her, and killed her, Fred, and Kenneth when he was passing by on his way home.
In November 2004, James Kidwell was convicted of 3 counts of first degree murder. He was sentenced to life without parole.
James ‘Cowboy’ Kidwell
The murder weapon and the Barney’s computer was never found.
FINAL THOUGHTS
James felt rejected and instead of just leaving and meeting someone else, he killed 3 innocent people. He then tried to cover up his crimes by starting a fire. Kenneth is a hero for calling the police instead of just ignoring what he had seen. However, he lost his life because of it which is heartbreaking. James deserves to rot in prison because I guarantee he would hurt someone else if he was out on the streets.
Sources
https://casetext.com/case/kidwell-v-martin-1
https://forensicfilesnow.com/index.php/tag/rebecca-barney/
https://www.newson6.com/story/5e36870b2f69d76f6209cdef/james-kidwell-found-guilty-of-murder
