Watch CBS News

Ex Arrested In Texas Double Murder

A man told police he suffocated his pregnant ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old son after an argument over his refusal to leave his wife, according to documents released Tuesday.

Police said Stephen Dale Barbee was charged with capital murder Tuesday after confessing to the slayings of Fort Worth bagel shop owner Lisa Underwood and her son, Jayden. Barbee, 37, was the father of the unborn daughter, according to the arrest warrant affidavit.

CBS News Station KTVT-TV reports about 200 people gathered in Fort Worth Tuesday night for what had been planned to be a candlelight vigil to pray for the safe return of Lisa and Jayden Underwood - but then became a memorial.

"They are going to be sorely missed," said Debbie Lindley, a friend and neighbor of Lisa Underwood. "They were great people."

Among those at the vigil was Darius Ownes, a friend of Jayden's. "I'm sad," said Ownes, "but I am glad that he is with God now."

"How an innocent little boy, really a beautiful little child ran across a monster like that," said Rafael Pantoja, a customer of the bagel shop, which was named after a baby nickname of Jayden's. "That really hurts me."

"God will handle him. Definitely," vowed another mourner.

Underwood, 34, who was seven months pregnant, and her son were reported missing after she did not show up at her baby shower Saturday, prompting a national Amber Alert. Blood was found in her Fort Worth home, but there was no sign of forced entry, police said.

Fort Worth police Lt. Gene Jones said investigators found two bodies in rural Denton County on Tuesday, hours after Barbee was arrested in Tyler, about 120 miles east of Fort Worth. The bodies were in a shallow grave in woods near Northlake, about 25 miles north of Fort Worth, police said.

Barbee told investigators Underwood kicked him in the leg Friday night and that he punched her in the face several times, causing her nose to bleed. He held her on the floor and suffocated her, according to the affidavit.

Police say Barbee told them that he killed Underwood's son when the boy ran into the room screaming.

Authorities say Barbee then put the bodies in the back of his SUV and drove to Denton County and dug a grave.

Barbee's business partner told police that Barbee asked for rides several times early Saturday and, at one point, called to say he had run out of gas. The man said he delivered gas to Barbee but left shaken after he saw two bodies in the back of the SUV. Police Sgt. J.D. Thornton said Tuesday that investigators had talked to others who knew about the crime but that no one else had been arrested.

The affidavit also revealed that a Denton County deputy briefly stopped Barbee early Saturday because the man was covered in mud and seemed suspicious. Barbee gave a false name and birth date before running into the woods.

The bodies were found about 10 miles from where Underwood's vehicle was discovered in a creek Monday.

Barbee was arrested early Tuesday in Tyler, where authorities said he had been working clearing trees. En route to jail in Fort Worth, police took Barbee to the Denton County site and he led them to the bodies, authorities said.

Lindley, whose 7-year-old son grew up with Jayden, said Barbee and Underwood broke up last fall because Barbee had another girlfriend, but she didn't know of any violent incidents between the couple. It's unclear if that girlfriend is the woman Barbee married.

Lindley said Underwood met Barbee about two years ago at the store she co-owned, Boopa's Bagel Deli. She said Jayden had never met Barbee; the boy always stayed at the Lindleys' house when they went on dates.

Leah Huff, a longtime customer, said that when she ate breakfast there a week ago Underwood talked excitedly about the baby, saying she wouldn't pick out a name until she saw her infant's face for the first time.

Underwood never mentioned the father and was planning on raising her daughter by herself, Huff said.

"She was warm and loving, but she was also very independent," Huff said Tuesday. "She raised Jayden by herself, and Jayden was awesome. Being a single mother was no big deal to her."

Jayden, a bright child with big brown eyes and glasses who recently started playing soccer and was involved with Cub Scouts, was excited about becoming a big brother, Huff said.

On Tuesday, the mound of flower bouquets, balloons and stuffed animals grew outside the bagel shop. A note said, "God bless Lisa and her two little angels."

On a driveway across from Underwood's house, neighborhood children scrawled messages in pink, yellow and blue chalk, outlined in hearts: "We miss you" and "We love you Lisa and Jayden."

Several studies have found that pregnant women are more likely to die of homicide than of any natural cause, The Washington Post reported in December after a yearlong study. At least 1,367 pregnant women and new mothers have been killed since 1990, and the number likely is higher because 13 states said they had no way of knowing how many such deaths occurred.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.