Who was Barbara Cameron? Jilted Mississippi woman gunned down boyfriend after he refused to marry her
A Mississippi woman, Barbara Cameron, who was outraged that her boyfriend did not want to tie the knot with her, she shot him dead. The woman who was a former Amway saleswoman was in love with her boyfriend Clyde Daniels II. The pair dated for around seven years but things took a turn for the worse in 2009. Cameron's shooting of Daniels has been documented and covered in Oxygen's 'Snapped' which airs on Sundays at 6/5c.
The relationship
Clyde had two children, Chip and Sheila, from his first marriage that lasted for 17 years. He then left Linda for a woman Maureen Daspit whom he married in 1981. The couple also had two children, Cassie and Dustin, together and even started an Amway business. Clyde had then handed the business to Maureen and started to work at a farm as a caretaker.
The couple ended up getting a divorce in 2002 and Clyde moved on to dating Barbara Cameron, who was a former Amway saleswoman who had also started working at the farm. Clyde and Cameron moved into a trailer on the property where they stayed with Clyde's son Dustin. After Dustin moved out, Cameron's son, Max Weldon, moved into the trailer. Cameron and Clyde ended up being together for seven years and things seemed fine. However, January 20, 2009, changed everything when Cameron called 911 to say that she had found Clyde unconscious outside their trailer.
Murder scene
When the police arrived at the scene, they found Clyde, 61, lying dead in a pool of blood. As per an autopsy report, Clyde had been shot twice, once in the neck and once in the head. Cameron seemed very upset and visibly distraught. She revealed that after seven years of being together, the couple had decided to tie the knot.
She said that the two were watching TV and had been about to go to bed. Cameron revealed that Clyde then stepped out onto the porch to smoke a cigarette as she was taking a shower. She then heard a few loud bangs and rushed outside to find Clyde collapsed with two men walking away, Picayune Item reports.
She hid in the back of the bedroom until authorities arrived. When asked if anyone had a reason to harm Clyde, she said he did not trust banks and would keep large amounts of money at home. Former Pearl River County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Shane Tucker shared, "There was I think what turned out to be $8,000 in cash under the mattress. She also said there was $30,000 in cash buried in a PVC pipe in the backyard."
Barbara Cameron unravels
Investigators asked Cameron to take a polygraph test to which she had agreed. Tucker said, "She was so nervous, just kind of flushed, you know? Pale color. Her knees were weak. She was having trouble walking." Investigators were unable to interview Cameron and returned to the crime scene for clues.
They were able to find how Cameron's story did not really add up and discovered if Cameron had been in the shower when Clyde was shot, the killers would have been well out of her sight by the time she got dressed and ran out. While speaking to Clyde's children, investigators learned how Cameron had been pestering Clyde to get married.
The children also said their father did not get along with Max which added further strain to their relationship. When investigators were able to administer the polygraph test to Cameron, she failed. Phone records show that on the night of the murder, Cameron and Max had called each other many times. The Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department arrested both Cameron and Max.
They were both charged with murder and held on a $1 million bond.
Getting caught
Weldon blamed Cameron for the murder completely and when asked why his mother would kill Clyde, he responded saying, "I love my mother, but she does like money." Cameron admitted to setting up the murder with Weldon and said she had left a gun outside for him.
She had also left $1,000 cash immediately after the murder. She also waited for Weldon to reach a safe distance away from the trailer before calling 911. She pleaded guilty to murder in 2011 and was sentenced to life in prison.