Execution Report: Danny Barber

Danny Lee Barber, 43, was executed by lethal injection on 11 February 1999 in Huntsville, Texas for the murder of a woman while burglarizing her home.

On Monday, 8 October 1979, Barber, then 24, broke into the home of Janice Ingram in Balch Springs, a suburb on the east side of Dallas. Barber struck Ingram in the head and face with a piece of pipe, killing her. He then stole items including her purse, a clock radio, and a calculator.

Ingram's naked body was discovered by her mother, Ruth Clowers, and brother, Roy Clowers, on 26 October.

According to one news report, Barber confessed that he found a piece of pipe in Ingram's back yard and picked it up, intending to use it to break a window. Instead, he found an open door and walked in, startling Ingram. She began screaming and would not stop, so he began clubbing her with the pipe. According to the Associated Press, Barber blamed the killing on alcohol and depression.

About seven months later, on 4 May 1980, Barber was arrested for breaking into a Dallas County flea market. While in jail, he confessed to Ingram's murder. He also confessed to the January 1979 murder of 48-year-old Mercey Mendez. She had been beaten, sexually molested, and shot three times in the head. Her body was dumped on a road in a wooded area near Mesquite. Barber also pleaded guilty to the 21 April 1980 murder of Mary Caperton and the 17 January 1979 murder of a man, also in Dallas County. He said he had sex with two of the corpses.

Barber knew both Janice Ingram and Ruth Clowers and had done yard work for both of them. He had lived next door to Clowers for about a year.

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