James Kidwell found guilty of murder

After two days of deliberations, a jury has found a Tulsa man guilty of killing three people. <br/><br/>James Kidwell will spend the rest of his life behind bars for his murdering Rebecca Barney, her

Thursday, December 2nd 2004, 6:00 am

By: News On 6

After two days of deliberations, a jury has found a Tulsa man guilty of killing three people.

James Kidwell will spend the rest of his life behind bars for his murdering Rebecca Barney, her ex-husband Fred Barney, and Kenneth Maxwell.

It was a long wait for members of the Barney and Maxwell families jurors deliberated more than 14 hours over two days to reach the guilty verdict.

This case all started last year. That's when prosecutors say James Kidwell met Rebecca Barney online. After meeting up with her and her ex-husband, he went back to their house and shot Fred Barney. Kidwell then had sex with Rebecca at gunpoint, and then shot her three times. After setting the house on fire, he saw Kenneth Maxwell, who was calling 911 to report the fire. Kidwell shot and killed Maxwell just in case he saw anything.

The guilty verdict signals closure for the Barney family. Bill Robinson, Rebecca Barneyâ€™s brother: "It's been a long time coming, we knew it was up and down especially while they were deliberating but I'm happy, I'm really happy."

Kidwell's family cried when the verdict was read. Kidwell mouthed "I love you" to his mother as he was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.

Prosecutors say this is the most serious crime they've seen that started with an Internet date.