Buried Memories [Paperback]

Irene Pence (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2001

1985, Gun Barrel City, Texas: Police searching for missing Fire Department Captain Jimmy Don Beets dug inside a wishing well in the neatly-tended garden of his wife, 48-year-old Betty Lou Beets. Not only did they find his body, but that of Betty Lou's fourth husband, Doyle Wayne Barker. Each had been shot in the head and buried in a sleeping bag. It wasn't long before investigators unearthed the terrible truth.As Betty Lou's sordid past as a topless dancer, cocktail waitress, and wife to five husbands emerged, so did her chilling trail of marital violence. She shot her second husband, Billy York Lane, in the back. She tried to run over third husband, Ronnie Threlkeld, with a car. Both survived to tell their horrific stories. But Barker and Beets, spouses four and five, weren't so lucky.After a sensational trial, Betty Lou Beets was sentenced to die by lethal injection. Fifteen years later, on February 24, 2000, she again drew national attention by becoming the second woman to be executed in Texas since the Civil War.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle (March 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786012633
• ISBN-13: 978-0786012633
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,437,955 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was a Juror. I know this story, June 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Buried Memories (Paperback)

I was a Juror when Betty Beets was tried for the murder of Jimmy Don Beets.

This book is the first accurate account I've read -- as I understand the story from the evidence presented at trial. The author obviously did extensive research (unlike the more sensational media reports). The book is a fast read and manages to tell about the murder without being unnecessarily gruesome or sensational.

I had a friend save newspapers during the trial. When it was over and I had an opportunity to read the accounts, I was very unhappy with the way the trial was reported -- nothing inaccurate, just important legal points left out of the account.

I was extremely upset by the media accounts of the trial in the weeks before the execution. Again, important legal points left out of the account.

This book includes those important details that lead the reader through the trial as it was presented to the jury. The participants were well described and the evidence accurately portrayed (to the best of my memory). It would be entertaining if it wasn't a true story.

This is a book that once opened, stays that way until the end.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Dramatic story of the Texas Black Widow, May 19, 2001

By 

Phallon (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buried Memories (Paperback)

The story of Betty Lou Beets, the Texas Black Widow was a thrilling and interesting book. No detail was left untold, and the author seemed to describle the Black Widow for who she truly was, a cold-hearted killer. The chilling story of how she conspired to kill her husbands Jimmy Don Beets and Wayne Barker, each buried in a sleeping bag captures the readers attention from the very beginning. It is truly a book that you cannot put down. I reccommend this book for every fan of trhe true crime genre.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Be careful what you Wish for, November 15, 2002

By 

TundraVision (o/~ from the Land of Sky Blue Waters o/~) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Buried Memories (Paperback)

A dead husband in the Wishing Well, another under the Shed out yonder. What attracted these guys to the poisonous web of Betty Lou Dunevant Branson Lane Threlkeld Barker Beets? (Kinda reminds one of Ray Wiley Hubbard & Jerry Jeff Walker's Betty Lou Thelma Liz, eh?) She either attempted to or did kill 4/5 of her husbands, until G.W. and the State of Texas put a final end to her. Here's a piquant possible explanation of the Texas Black Widow's allure - offered up by a law enforcement pursuer: "A dog in the hunt don't know he's got fleas."

I read a lot of True Crime and I am happy to have encountered this author. She spins a good and balanced True Tale and her words don't get in the way. It's an addictive account (like the tabloids at the checkout, only accurately researched and reported) of one Malevolent Mama.