Judias V. "Judy" Buenoano (born Judias Welty, also known as Judias Goodyear and Judias Morris; April 4, 1943 – March 30, 1998) was an American

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who was

executed 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 ...

for the 1971 murder of her husband James Goodyear. She was also convicted for the 1980 murder of her son Michael Buenoano and of the 1983 attempted murder of her boyfriend John Gentry. Buenoano is also acknowledged to have been responsible for the 1978 death of her boyfriend Bobby Joe Morris in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

; however, by the time authorities made the connection between Buenoano and Morris, she had already been sentenced to death in the state of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. Buenoano is also believed to have been involved in a 1974 murder in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, and in the 1980 death of her boyfriend Gerald Dossett. After her arrest, Dossett's body was exhumed and analyzed for signs of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

poisoning. No charges were laid in that case. Buenoano was the first woman to be executed in Florida since 1848 or electrocuted in USA since 1976.

Early life

Judias Welty was born and raised in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, the third of four siblings. Her mother died when she was four, and she was sent along with her baby brother Robert, to live with her grandparents. After her father remarried, they moved to live with him in

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in, and the County seat, seat of, Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Chaves County forms the entirety of the List of micropolitan areas in New Mexico, Roswell micropolitan area. As of ...

. She was reportedly abused by her father and stepmother, who starved her and forced her to work as a slave. When she was fourteen, she spent two months in prison for attacking her father, stepmother and two stepbrothers. Upon being released, she chose to attend reform school in where she graduated in 1960 becoming a nursing assistant. She gave birth to Michael, an illegitimate son the following year.

Crimes

Judy Welty was married to James Goodyear (born December 7, 1933), a sergeant in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

. He died on September 16, 1971 in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. His death was initially believed to be due to

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...

. In 1973, she moved in with Bobby Joe Morris (born 1939). In January 1978, he died in

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Las Animas County, Colorado, United States. The population was 8,329 as of the 2020 census. Trinidad lies north of Raton, New Mexico, and s ...

by poison. Later that year, she legally changed her name to "Buenoano" (corrupted

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for "good year"). In 1979, Buenoano's son Michael (March 30, 1961May 13, 1980) became severely ill, with symptoms including

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...

. On May 13, 1980, Buenoano took Michael out in a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

; the canoe rolled, and Michael, weighed down by his arm and leg braces, drowned. Following Michael's death, Buenoano opened a beauty salon. In 1983, Buenoano was in a relationship with John Gentry. Gentry was severely injured when his car exploded after a friend gathering in

Pensacola, Florida Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ...

. While he was recovering from his injuries, police began to find several discrepancies in Buenoano's background. Further investigation revealed that, in November 1982, she had begun telling her friends that Gentry was suffering from a terminal illness. "Vitamin pills" which Buenoano had been giving Gentry contained arsenic and

paraformaldehyde Paraformaldehyde (PFA) is the smallest polyoxymethylene, the polymerization product of formaldehyde with a typical degree of polymerization of 8–100 units. Paraformaldehyde commonly has a slight odor of formaldehyde due to decomposition. Paraf ...

Exhumation Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

s of Michael Goodyear, James Goodyear, and Bobby Joe Morris showed that all had died of arsenic poisoning. Buenoano received substantial life insurance payouts after each death.

Conviction, imprisonment, and execution

In 1984, Buenoano was convicted for the murder of Michael and the attempted murder of Gentry. In 1985 she was convicted of the murder of James Goodyear. She received a twelve-year sentence for the Gentry case, a life sentence for the Michael Buenoano case, and a death sentence for the James Goodyear case. She was convicted of multiple counts of grand theft (for

insurance fraud Insurance fraud is any act committed to defraud an insurance process. It occurs when a claimant attempts to obtain some benefit or advantage they are not entitled to, or when an insurer knowingly denies some benefit that is due. According to the ...

), and is thought to have committed multiple acts of

arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...

(again, for purposes of insurance fraud). She was incarcerated in the

Florida Department of Corrections The Florida Department of Corrections operates state prisons in the U.S. state of Florida. It has its headquarters in Florida's capital of Tallahassee. The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the ...

Broward Correctional Institution The Broward Correctional Institution (BCI) was a correctional facility located in the former Country Estates CDP and in Southwest Ranches, Florida, operated by the Florida Department of Corrections.electric chair An electric chair is a device used to execute an individual by electrocution. When used, the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes fastened on the head and leg. This execution method, ...

at the

Florida State Prison Florida State Prison (FSP), otherwise known as Raiford Prison, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida. It was formerly known as the "Florida State Prison-East Unit" as it was originally part of Florida St ...

.Trischitta, Linda, Ariel Barkhurst and Kathleen Haughney.
Broward women's prison to close May 1
." ''

Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding B ...

''. January 12, 2012. Retrieved on April 21, 2013. Her last meal consisted of broccoli, asparagus, strawberries and hot tea. When asked if she had any last words, Buenoano said "No, sir." Buenoano's body was cremated after her execution.

References

External links

Entry on Judias Buenoano at the Clark County Prosecutor's official site

Inmate Release Information Detail - Inmate 160663
''

''. Retrieved on 2008-05-29. {{DEFAULTSORT:Buenoano, Judy 1943 births 1971 murders in the United States 1980 murders in the United States 1983 crimes in the United States 1998 deaths 20th-century executions by Florida 20th-century executions of American people American people convicted of attempted murder American people convicted of fraud American people convicted of murder American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Bombers (people) Executed American female serial killers Executed American women Executed people from Texas Filicides in Florida Mariticides Murderers for life insurance money People convicted of murder by Florida People executed by Florida by electric chair People from Quanah, Texas Poisoners Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Florida Women sentenced to death

Early life

Crimes

Conviction, imprisonment, and execution

See also

References

Further reading

External links