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Status: Sentenced to death on May 13, 1985. Commuted to life in
prison without parole on March 3, 2010
SIMMONS, BEORIA A.,
DOB 5-17-54, was sentenced to death May 13, 1985 in Jefferson County for
murder, rape, and four counts of kidnapping.
In three separate cases he abducted
Robin Barnes, Shannon House, and Nancy Bettman, at gunpoint, raped and
killed them. These crimes occurred May 18, 1981, March 25, 1982 and
March 11, 1983 respectively. On June 11, 1983 he abducted a fourth
victim who managed to escape and identify Simmons.
Beoria Simmons kidnapped, beat, raped, and executed three women with a
pistol in Jefferson County in 1981, 1982, & 1983. A fourth would-be
kidnapping/rape/murder victim escaped.
Serial killer Beoria Simmons was convicted of three
counts of murder and rape and four counts of kidnapping from the early
eighties. Simmons would abduct white females at gunpoint, rape them and
then shoot them. An intended victim finally escaped and identified
Simmons, putting an end to his murder spree.
Simmons, who is black, was sentenced to the electric
chair for kidnapping and murdering three women, whose bodies were dumped
in or near Louisville's Iroquois Park.
A fourth victim, a 16-year-old girl, escaped as
Simmons tried to rape her in 1983, then identified him to police. The
murder victims, who also were raped, were Robin Barnes, 15,
Shannon House, 29, and Nancy Bettman, 39. They were killed in
1981, 1982 and 1983.
Deal with serial killer could take him off death
row
By Janelle MacDonald - Wave3.com
March 1, 2010
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A man who
has been on Kentucky's death row for 25 years may not be for much longer.
55-year-old Beoria Simmons is scheduled to be in court on March 2. According
to the family of his victim, Simmons is set to take a plea deal that no
one convicted of three murders should be allowed to make.
Simmons' actions changed the life
of Kaye Barnes life for good and ended the life of her cousins, Robin
Barnes.
"She was raped, sodomized, and
shot in the chest and once under the chin and out the temple," said
Barnes. "Her left wrist was broke, I guess where she was trying to get
out of the car and get away from him. It took three days to find her."
It took police two more years to
find her killer.
Robin Barnes was Simmons first
victim, but not his last. Between Robin's death on May 18, 1981 and his
arrest June 11, 1983, Simmons also abducted, raped and killed Shannon
House on March 25, 1982, and Nancy Bettman on March 11, 1983. Both of
their bodies were dumped in Iroquois Park.
A fourth victim was abducted near
Churchill Downs. She was also taken to Iroquois Park, where Simmons told
her she was going to be raped. She stabbed him and got away. She helped
police catch Simmons.
Simmons was sentenced to death in
1985 and has been appealing his case basically since then. His latest
appeal, Barnes said, has resulted in a deal that will take him off death
row and keep him in prison for life but only if he agrees to drop all
appeals.
"It's not good enough for me,"
said Barnes.
Barnes said her family was told by
prosecutors that the plea deal was for the best because if Simmons'
appeal resulted in a new trial, there could be problems making a 29-year-old
case.
"Original detectives, original
witnesses and if they didn't have all these original people, half of
them are dead now, that he could walk," said Barnes.
While she understands the
reasoning, Barnes said it is unfair. She has waited for justice in her
cousin's death and life in prison isn't what she waited for.
"I want to be there when he dies,"
said Barnes. "I don't want him to die in prison, I want him to die of
lethal injection, what he was convicted for."
The Commonwealth's Attorney's
office could not talk to us about this story because of Simmons' pending
court hearing. He is scheduled to be in court at 2 p.m., where Barnes
said he will make his plea deal.
Plea deal changes death sentence to life sentence
for convicted killer
Wave3.com
March 3, 2010
LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - A death
row inmate who killed three women in Louisville will now spend life in
prison. A judge approved the change in sentence for Beoria Simmons.
In the courtroom, Simmons
apologized to the families of three women he abducted, raped and killed
in the 1980s.
"I just want to say I'm sorry for
all the grief and pain I've caused throughout the years," said Simmons.
"You know, if I could undo it I'd undo it. But I can't, so I pray to God
he'd bless you all, you know, just bring some peace to your life."
Kaye Barnes, the cousin of Simmons
first victim, Robin Barnes, said she did not feel that a life sentence
for Simmons was the justice was her cousin deserved.
Prosecutors say the plea deal was
the best option to keep Simmons behind bars after problems were found
with the jury selection at his original trial which could have given him
a new one.
