What happened to Jimmy Don in the Betty Lou Beets case?

Jimmy Don Beets, a former Dallas firefighter, was fatally shot in the head while he slept in August 1983. His wife, Betty Lou Beets, along with her son, concealed his body in the yard of their mobile home. They reported Jimmy Don missing, claiming he had fallen from his boat on Cedar Creek Lake.

It took nearly two years for the remains of Jimmy Don Beets and Betty Lou Beets’ ex-husband, Doyle Barker, to be discovered in 1985. Betty Lou Beets, a convicted murderer, received the death penalty for killing Jimmy Don, motivated by the desire to obtain his life insurance and pension.

Betty Lou Beets, born in 1937, was married five times during her life and had a history of violent behavior, including the shooting of her second husband in 1972. Dubbed the “Black Widow,” she was accused of murdering two husbands but was convicted only for Jimmy Don’s death. The Doyle Barker case never went to trial. The case is featured in the Oxygen series Killer Grannies, season 1, episode 6, which aired on December 28, 2025.

Early Life and Marriage

Betty Lou Beets grew up in East Texas and married young. By the time she met Jimmy Don Beets, she had already been through four marriages. She married Jimmy Don in 1983 when she was 46, and he was 47. Their marriage lasted only nine months before his death.

Murder and Concealment

Jimmy Don disappeared on August 6, 1983. Betty Lou Beets reported that he had gone fishing and never returned, citing a heart condition as a possible cause. In reality, she shot Jimmy Don with a .38-caliber pistol, assisted by her son in burying him alongside Doyle Barker’s body. Betty Lou Beets collected approximately $100,000 in life insurance after the murder and attempted to access Jimmy Don’s pension.

Investigation and Trial

In June 1985, authorities recovered the bodies after an anonymous tip. Autopsies confirmed the deaths, and evidence linked Betty Lou Beets to the crimes. During her trial in April 1985, prosecutors highlighted the insurance claims and family testimonies as evidence of financial motive. The jury convicted her of capital murder.

Execution

Despite appeals citing inadequate legal counsel, the verdict stood. On February 24, 2000, at age 62, Betty Lou Beets was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, becoming the second woman executed in Texas since the Civil War and the fourth in the U.S. since 1976.

The case remains a notable example of crimes committed by older women and is documented in Killer Grannies.