Electric Library He knew if he came up here he was gonna die". Following Goodyear's death in 1971, Buenoano collected the benefits from various life insurance policies on her husband's life totalling approximately $33,000. But I was a Christian when I came here. Several of the alleged vitamin capsules were recovered and found to contain the arsenic. In early February, Judi cashed three life insurance policies on Morris, further fattening her bank account. In fact, James Goodyear, Sr., had been home from Southeast Asia for barely three months when he was admitted to the U.S. "When I was asking the judge in the drowning case to admit the other A total of 240 men and one woman have been put to death in the three-legged chair which was built by inmates in 1923. She told a federal judge during a 1990 hearing that she was sexually abused in some homes, physically abused in others and many times went hungry. conversion. On June 25th 1983 Judi announced she was pregnant and John went out to get some champagne to celebrate. The elder Goodyear, Michael's father, died of arsenic poisoning in 1971, just three months after returning from a year's tour of duty in Vietnam. From 1983 to 1985, Buenoano faced three separate Florida juries who convicted her of crimes against her loved ones. in 1971, then collecting $85,000 in life insurance proceeds. County: ESCAMBIA FL She said it was useless to go back for Michael. 06/25/1983 She had, not surprisingly, a poor view of her family and is reported to have said of her brother Robert "I wouldn't spit down his throat if his guts were on fire". He knew if he came up here he was gonna die. ''I don't have any fear about where Judy is right now, and she had no fear,'' said Jeanne Eaton, a cousin from Houston. Sentence: 15Y 0M 0D, 06/25/1983 northwest of Dallas. On May 13th, 1980 Judi took Michael and his younger brother James canoeing on the East River. Judis trial in that case opened October 15 and lasted three days; jurors deliberated a mere two hours before voting to convict, and Judis 12-year prison sentence was made consecutive with her life term for Michaels slaying. Investigators first became suspicious of Buenoano in 1983, after her fiance, John Gentry, survived a car bombing in downtown Pensacola.
They started fishing between 10:30 and 11:00 A.M., moving upriver along the shore. But prosecutor Belvin Perry pressed Kimberly on why she gave a different story in her sworn statements to investigators before the trial, and why she never told her mother about Morris' abuse. Judy faced a death sentence, and a successful appeal was unlikely. ''He's not going to go around dealing with every death penalty case,'' said Patty Silverman, public relations director for the network. She was the first woman to be executed in Florida since 1848, when a slave girl named Celia was hanged for battering her master to death. She is also believed to have been involved in a 1974 murder in Alabama; on his deathbed, Bobby Joe Morris confessed to having participated in that murder, but police were unable to find enough evidence to press charges. Michael dropped out of high school in Florida. When Dr. Auchenbach could find no explanation for these symptoms, he attempted to *196 stabilize Goodyear's condition but these attempts failed. In October 1982, John and Judi purchased life insurance policies on one another, Judi later boosting the coverage from $50,000 to $500,000 without Gentrys knowledge, paying the premiums out of her own pocket. } Buenoano was the first woman executed in Florida since 1848, and the third executed in the United States since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. It was suggested by handwriting experts that Michael's signature on the insurance applications may have been forged. On rebuttal, the state presented Kimberly's boyfriend, David Lackey, who testified that Kimberly had told him that appellant had drowned Michael in order to collect insurance. Ms. Buenoano collected $85,000 in life insurance and veteran benefits after Goodyear died. Wikipedia In 1980, Buenoano took Michael out in a canoe; the canoe rolled, and Michael, weighed down by his arm and leg braces, drowned. ``Shes not scared because its like she said, she goes to a better place, said Mrs. Hawkins, 30. Aliases: JUDIAS BUENOANO JUDY GOODYEAR If shed just let that last boyfriend alone, she probably could have walked away from the other murders." She was also convicted for the 1980 murder of her son Michael Buenoano and of the 1983 attempted murder of her After three months of therapy at Walter Reed Hospital beginning January 24, 1980, Michael Goodyear (age 19) had been transferred to Tampa to begin long- term physical therapy and occupational rehabilitation for profound heavy metal neuropathy, a degeneration of nerves outside the spinal column which had left Michael with no nerve or muscle function below his knees and elbows. In fact, she was not pregnant and had booked a cruise for herself and her children. Judis husband celebrated the event by adopting Michael Schultz. Special Agent Roger Martz tested the capsules, and found the poison paraformaldehyde. Buenoano v. State, 478 So.2d 387 (Fla.App. If shed just let that last boyfriend alone, she probably could have walked away from the other murders." Last month, Texas put Karla Faye Tucker to death for a double-pickax murder. son, his paralyzed legs weighed down by heavy braces, from their canoe as prosecutors alleged. Judi's last appeal was turned down on March 29th 1998 (see Appendix) and the then state Governor Lawton Chiles duly signed her death warrant. But as the scheduled March 30 electrocution of Ms. Buenoano nears, she is unfamiliar to many of the national advocates who took up Ms. Tucker's cause and pleaded for mercy for her. ``He came home from Vietnam ill and he never got well,'' she said. He knew if he came up here he was gonna die". She was duly arrested and bailed on the charge of attempted murder of John Gentry. James' grand jury testimony reflected that he was unsure of how the canoe capsized. Visitors are allowed every weekend from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Your email address will not be published. It is claimed that Bobby Joe's mother overheard Judi telling "The son of a bitch shouldn't have come up here in the first place. James Goodyear adopted Michael. Death penalty opponents had hoped that the case of Karla Faye Tucker, the 38-year-old murderer whose sex, religious conversion and self-promotion sparked inordinate interest and opposition to her execution last week in Texas, would give momentum to their movement. It is estimated that she collected around $240,000 in insurance money from the deaths of her husband, son and boyfriend in Colorado. She had also recently been telling her friends that John had a terminal illness. After the Gentry case, an autopsy on Sgt Goodyear's exhumed body revealed that he had been poisoned with arsenic. My father was tied to a chair before he was stabbed numerous times and shot in the head. Buenoano v. State, 527 So.2d 194 (Fla. 1988) (Direct Appeal-Goodyear). Prosecutors said she had used some of the money for a new car, for a diamond ring, to start her nail salon, to live the high life. She had a difficult childhood. The state's theory was that appellant did not love Michael, viewed him as a burden and set out to kill him in such a way that his death would appear as an accidental drowning so that she could collect the life insurance proceeds. The episode cost her sixty days in jail, confined with adult prostitutes, but when the judge asked if she was ready to go home, Judi opted for reform school. Ms. Buenoano's best hope to avoid becoming the next woman scheduled to On May 13th, 1980 Judi took Michael and his younger brother James canoeing on the East River.
As a member of the Army, Michael was insured for $20,000.00 under a servicemen's group life policy on which he had designated the principal beneficiary to be determined "by law." That led police to look back into what had previously been considered the accidental deaths of her husband, US Air Force Sergeant James Goodyear, in 1971, and her 19-year-old handicapped son Michael, in 1980. Florida hasn't executed a woman in 150 years, and only two women have been executed in the nation since the U.S. Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976 after a three year moratorium. Not finding Michael, she said she began swimming downstream with James until she was picked up by Ricky Hicks. ''Judy could have been guilty, she could have been innocent,'' said Eaton. Appellant first reported that Michael was wearing a life jacket, but later stated that he wore a ski belt. Loneliness was not a problem for the recent widow. I think John Gentry survived because his Florida car had a sun roof. Bodies were exhumed and autopsies indicated evidence of poisoning in all three cases. Citations: However, his car exploded before the celebration began. After her arrest, Dossett's body was exhumed and analysed for signs of arsenic poisoning. In Jamess room, they also found marijuana and a sawed-off shotgun, jailing him for possession of drugs and an illegal weapon. Ms. Buenoano, a 54-year-old former nail salon owner, is scheduled to die There has been no similar outcry for Ms. Buenoano, described Later, raving in delirium on his deathbed, Morris blurted out, Judi, we should never have done that terrible thing. She also was suspected of killing a boyfriend in 1978 but was never charged because she had already been sentenced to death. Appellant's former sister-in-law, Peggy Goeller, testified that she had spoken by telephone with appellant twice in November, 1980. It's no wonder that Judy Buenoano is called the "Black Widow." "I have eternal security and I know that when I die I will go straight to heaven and I will see Jesus," she recently said. Excellent article. By December, she was feeding Gentry vitamin capsules that produced dizziness and vomiting. Florida has executed 39 people since 1976. She passed 13 years on Florida's death row writing letters, crocheting blankets and baby clothes, and maintaining her innocence. judge scheduled a hearing on the constitutionality of the chair later Like so many of the other criminals discussed in these pages she had had a difficult childhood. Then Chamberlain learned that Goodyear's husband, an Air Force sergeant, died after returning from Vietnam and a boyfriend, Bobby Joe Morris, died in 1978, It was rotten luck all around but at least it paid well. March 1961. James Goodyear, three months after he returned to Orlando from Vietnam in 1971. ''She was mostly afraid of leaving her children and how upset they were.'' He was glad that the pain was going to be over soon." On May 13, 1980, Michael was canoeing with his mother and younger brother on the East River, near Milton, Florida, when their boat overturned. Judy, meanwhile, went on as best she could without her eldest son, opening a beauty parlor in Gulf Breeze, dating Pensacola businessman John Gentry II. In the television interview, Ms. Buenoano contends the deaths and the bombing all were coincidental. She was of Latina ethnic background. They are confined to their cells at all other times, except for medical reasons, exercise, social or legal visits or media interviews. The elder Judias Welty died of tuberculosis when her daughter was barely two years old, and the family disintegrated. ``Mothers just don't murder their children. Because he was experiencing extreme nausea and vomiting, Gentry checked into a hospital on December 15, 1982. During Florida's last electrocution a year ago, a foot-long flame shot Judy was dubbed the "Black Widow" at her trial by Pensacola prosecutor Russell Edgar and the name was ceased upon by the media. I was not in Vietnam.'' Who Was Judy Buenoano? ``I'm tired, Sue. Colorado never prosecuted her. 1976. Buenoano would be the 1st woman that Florida has executed since 1848, 3 years after statehood, she is 1 of 6 women on Florida's death row. Owens and Lodell Morris each testified that Buenoano admitted she killed Goodyear. In 1973, she moved in with Bobby Joe Morris (?-1978); in January 1978, he succumbed to arsenic poisoning. WebJudy Buenoano was born on April 4, 1943 (age 55) in Texas, United States. The trial court found four aggravating circumstances and no mitigating factors and sentenced Buenoano to death. Michael, seated in the lawn chair, wore both his leg braces with leather shoes, his Robbins hook and, by James' account, a ski belt. months after Karla Faye Tucker of Texas become the 2nd woman to die in The victims' families were not represented at the prison. In later years, Judi would describe her mother as a full-blooded member of the nonexistent Mesquite Apache tribe, but in fact, they hardly knew each other. The growing family moved to Orlando, Florida. Goodyear died in 1971 of arsenic poisoning three months after he returned to Orlando from a year's tour in Vietnam and nine years after he married the former cocktail waitress. Judys daughter Kimberly Hawkins was 3 when her father was killed, and 16 when her mother was arrested. Hicks stated that thirty minutes had passed since he had rescued appellant and James. Did Drew Peterson Murder Kathleen and Stacy? Buenoano dozed from 1 until 4 a.m., when she received a last meal of steamed vegetables, fresh strawberries and hot tea. The two got married in 1962 and had two more children, James and Kimberly. Ms. Buenoano's daughter believes she is innocent, but concedes little En route to his new post, he stopped off to visit his mother in Florida, and that was the beginning of the end. Five sticks of dynamite in the trunk almost killed him. Looking into Judy Goodyear's past led him to the 1980 drowning of her 19-year-old paraplegic son, Michael Goodyear, when their canoe supposedly capsized Mr. Robertson, however, does not know much about Ms. Buenoano, a spokeswoman said. Buenoano v. State, 527 So.2d 194 (Fla. 1988) (Direct Appeal-Goodyear). James Goodyear, died of an apparent heart attack shortly after returning home from a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1971. Joe Morris in Trinidad, Colo., in 1978. Her father remarried and took Judi and Robert to live with his new wife in Roswell, New Mexico. But a lawsuit by seven death row inmates that challenges the constitutionality of the chair as cruel and unusual punishment comes to trial in Federal court on Feb. 23 and could halt the electrocutions. Colorado prosecutors decided not to continue with case against her over the murder of Bobby Joe Morris as she was already under sentence of death in Florida. She submitted 20 reasons that her trial and sentence were not fair. She remained at Foothills High School--a girls reformatory in Albuquerque-- until her graduation in 1959, at age sixteen, and she would despise her family from that day on. She did it." Gentry testified that Judy became angry when he refused to take her vitamins. Judi received $20,000 from Michael's military life insurance but the sheriffs officers began taking interest in the case when it was discovered that there were also two other, civilian, policies on Michael's life. When Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker on Tuesday, 14 years had passed since a woman was put to death in the United States. Colorado prosecutors decided not to continue with case against her over the murder of Bobby Joe Morris as she was already under sentence of death in Florida. There has been no similar outcry for Ms. Buenoano, described He and Kimberly are Buenoano's children by Goodyear. The local police received an anonymous phone call, traced to a local pay phone which led them to the motel room where the dead body of a man was found who had been shot in the chest and had his throat cut. She also was convicted of drowning her paraplegic son and with blowing up her fiance's car. 
Amnesty International - Death Penalty USA Pages (Kuno Sandholzer) Her mother died when she was 4, and Ms. Buenoano knitting blankets and baby clothes that she gives to her daughter to Wayne Manning of Lawtey had a day off from work, so he brought his 7-year-old grandson, Steven, to the prison. According to an archived record from the Florida Department of Corrections, Judy was 5 7 tall and weighed 170 pounds. (Velma Barfield and Karla Faye Tucker) She was not an especially attractive 54 year old and her execution was the third in a series of four that Florida carried out in quick succession that Spring. Soon after she moved to Colorado, Bobby Joe became ill and was admitted to hospital on January 4th, 1978. northwest of Dallas. Sylvia Smith, Buenoano's state-appointed attorney, said she has been unable to see sealed documents that might cast doubt on the accuracy of FBI analysis of arsenic-laced pills that were used to convict Buenoano. During Florida's last electrocution a year ago, a foot-long flame shot The Issues. Sadly the canoe capsized. Buenoano is serving a life sentence for the 1980 drowning of her 19-year-old partially paralyzed son, Michael, and she was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the 1983 attempted car-bombing murder of John Gentry in Pensacola. The day after Michael's discharge from the VA hospital, appellant, Michael, and appellant's other son, James (age 14), and daughter, Kimberly (age 13), went on a fishing trip on the East River in Santa Rosa County. It is claimed that Bobby Joe's mother overheard Judi telling "The son of a bitch shouldn't have come up here in the first place. She clenched her fists, shut her eyes and lowered her head as prison officials securely strapped her into the wooden chair. He said Morris never beat the children, but "sometimes we had to leave the house and just drive around when he was drinking. John Gentry gave police two of Judys fake Vicon C vitamins for testing. Soon after she moved to Colorado, Bobby Joe became ill and was admitted to hospital on January 4th, 1978. Investigators first became suspicious of Ms. Buenoano in 1983, after her fiance, John Gentry, survived a car bombing in downtown Pensacola. OR ATT. In 1971, she was married to James Goodyear (1934-1971), a sergeant in the USAF. In legal documents she was JUDIAS V. BUENOANO a/k/a JUDY ANN GOODYEAR. and JUDY A. BUENOANO.. I don't want to see her burned alive in it. Buenoano is to be put to death in the electric chair at 7:01 a.m. Monday for the arsenic poisoning of Sgt. Next to him was Dusty Rhodes, who as a state attorney investigator had gathered evidence against Buenoano in the Goodyear case. But state prosecutors, who pointed out that Buenoano has been convicted of multiple murders, told the court that Smith was only trying to postpone her client's execution date. Buenoano was the first woman executed in Florida since a slave named Celia was hanged in 1848 for killing her master. Conviction: GRAND THEFT,$300 LESS &20,000
