Barbara Sheehan and Stacey Lannert on Oprah Winfrey Show Today

Oprah Winfrey talks with Barbara Sheehan and Stacey Lannert, who admit to killing their loved ones Today at 7:00pm EDT - KGO (ABC)

How is Barbara Sheehan?

Barbara Henry Sheehan, 47, claimed her husband abused her for 18 years. Ms Sheehan had been married for 24 years to Raymond Sheehan, a former NYPD crime scene unit sergeant. Ms Sheehan told incidents where she was physically assaulted and threatened. Raymond Sheehan allegedly beat and threatened Barbara by saying he would harm her father and daughter and then kill himself.

Raymond Sheehan, 49 in 2008 when he died, often talked about going down in glory. Mr Sheehan was confident he could control Barbara by using his hand literally and figuratively.

Raymond Sheehan went down in glory but not by his own hand. Barbara Sheehan, a public school secretary, gunned down her husband with his own guns in a hail of 11 bullets.

On Feb 18, 2008, Barbara Sheehan’s friend contacted her cell phone and failed to get a response. They had a pre-arrangement to send coded messages to ensure Barbara could get a message out if she needed help. Her friend panicked and dialed police, fearing the worst. Cops arrived at the house to discover Raymond Sheehan dead. Barbara Sheehan was arrested.

Barbara Henry Sheehan told how she had secretly saved up $1600 in her bid to leave her husband. Before she managed to do so, Raymond abused her one last time before she caved in under pressure and shot him.

Barbara Sheehan said in her interview she had no regrets after killing Raymond Sheehan. Mrs Sheehan said she felt safe as the abuse stopped.

Barbara Sheehan is free on a $1 Million bail.

Who is Stacey Lannert?

On July 4, 1990, in St. John, Missouri, Stacey Ann Lannert, age 18, shot and killed her father, Tom Lannert, who was asleep in the family’s home. In her statement to the police, Stacey claimed that her father had sexually abused her. She was arrested, tried, and found guilty of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.

When Stacey was in the third grade her father began sexually abusing her. The abuse accelerated to sexual intercourse, usually occurring when Tom was drunk and Deborah would not allow Tom to sleep with her. Stacey was sworn to secrecy by her father and thought it was something favorite daughters did with their dads. When she was in the eighth grade she realized that what was happening was wrong and not normal and she began avoiding him but this did little but ignite Tom’s anger.

On the day of the murder Stacey and Christy spent their hours at a fair then got a hotel room later that night. Worried that Tom would kill their puppy, they returned home at 4:15 a.m. to sneak the puppy out. Stacey entered the house through the basement window. In the basement was the rifle Stacey used when learning to shoot. She later confessed that it was at that point that she decided to kill her father.

Tom Lannert was asleep on the couch. Stacey leaned the rifle on a ledge, pointed it at her sleeping father, and pulled the trigger. The bullet struck Tom, and broke his collarbone. He jumped up, not knowing he was shot, and told Stacey to call 911. Stacey searched for the phone but was unable to locate it. Tom began berating her for taking so long in getting him help and Stacey began to panic. She later confessed to thinking, ‘He doesn’t deserve to live’ and returned to find him lying back on the couch. She shot him in the head, killing him. She then left the house the same way she had entered, carrying the rifle with her.

The next day she gave the rifle to a friend to get rid of it and then she and another friend returned to her father’s house with a plan to make it appear as if she had just returned and discovered his body. After cleaning out her car she called the police. During questioning her friend implicated Stacey and soon after Stacey confessed to the murder. Her dreams of Tom being out of her life forever and of inheriting his estate valued over $100,000, came to an end.

Prior to his murder, Tom Lannert had recently dissolved his consulting business, put his house up for sale, and spoke to neighbors of moving to San Francisco.

summaries from various sources