Barbara Marie Opel is an American woman convicted of paying a group of teenagers to murder a 64-year-old man with

terminal cancer Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced ...

in 2001. She is serving a

life sentence Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

, with no prospect of

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

Murder

Opel was living with Jerry Duane Heiman, aged 64, and his 89-year-old mother, whom she cared for. In order to steal $40,000, she paid five teenagers, including her own 13-year-old daughter, to murder Heiman. Her other children, aged 7 and 11, were instructed by her to help mop up his blood. Kyle Boston, aged 14, received $220, whilst his 13-year-old cousin was paid roughly $100, for the killing. 17-year-old Jeffrey Grote was given a car. On April 13, 2001, the five teenagers ambushed Heiman and attacked him with knives and

baseball bat A baseball bat is a smooth wooden or metal club used in the sport of baseball to hit the ball after it is thrown by the pitcher. By regulation it may be no more than in diameter at the thickest part and no more than in length. Although histor ...

s. He was found eight days later, in a shallow grave, roughly ten miles from his house.

Trial

Opel denied that she wanted him dead, despite regularly telling friends "I wish he was dead". She was found

guilt Guilt may refer to: *Guilt (emotion), an emotion that occurs when a person feels that they have violated a moral standard *Culpability, a legal term *Guilt (law), a legal term Music *Guilt (album), ''Guilt'' (album), a 2009 album by Mims *Guilt ( ...

y and was narrowly spared the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

, as the jury could not reach a unanimous decision. Following her conviction she was banned from any contact with her children, or being in the same prison as them. Opel's daughter Heather, pleaded guilty to first degree murder at the age of 14. She received life in prison, with a non-parole period of 22 years, making her eligible for parole in 2023 at the age of 36. In April 2022 her sentence was reduced by the Snohomish County Superior Court to 20 years.Kyle Boston was sentenced to 18 years, after pleading guilty to second degree murder. His unnamed cousin was tried as a juvenile and was released at the age of 21. Jeffrey Grote (Heather Opel's boyfriend at the time of the attack), pleaded guilty to

first degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

and received a 50-year prison sentence. Marriam Oliver, aged 14, was Heather Opel's best friend and also participated in the murder. Oliver pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 22-year prison sentence. Opel is currently incarcerated in the

Washington Corrections Center for Women Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW, originally the Purdy Treatment Center) is a Washington State Department of Corrections women's prison located in Gig Harbor, Washington. With an operating capacity of 740, it is the largest women's p ...

In the media

Opel's case has been featured on the

Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. As of February 2015, approximately 86 million Ameri ...

program ''

Deadly Women ''Deadly Women'' is an American true crime documentary television series produced by Beyond International Group and airing on the Investigation Discovery (ID) network. The series focuses on murders committed by women. It is hosted by former ...

'' in the third-season finale episode called "Blood Lines," appearing as the first of the three cases featured in the episode. Her case is also featured on Season 2, Episode 8 titled “Mommy’s Little Killers” from the show Deadly Sins’’.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opel, Barbara 1964 births American female murderers American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Living people People convicted of murder by Washington (state) Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Washington (state)