Facts of the Crime:
On May 1, 1981, Ian Deco Lightbourne was convicted and sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of Nancy O’Farrell. According to the facts of the February 18, 1981 indictment, the murder occurred on the night of January 17, 1981. Lightbourne pried open and broke the window screen of O’Farrell’s home. He took some of the victim’s belongings, which included a necklace, a small silver bank and some money.
Sources revealed that Lightbourne admitted to surprising O’Farrell with the intrusion and forced her to submit to sexual relations. Since he knew the victim personally, Lightbourne killed O’Farrell in order to avoid identification and arrest. Lightbourne shot O’Farrell on the left side of her face with a .25-caliber automatic pistol; a pillow was placed over O’Farrell’s face before the shot was fired. Medical experts claimed the victim bled to death.
According to trial sources, Lightbourne was discovered not long after the murder. Lightbourne was pulled over by a police officer, who was responding to an earlier anonymous phone call reporting a suspicious vehicle – the same one driven by Lightbourne. Once the officer discovered the .25-caliber pistol during a pat search, the officer arrested Lightbourne. During his indictment, medical experts testified that traces of sperm were found in the victim’s vagina and pubic hair was found at the scene of the crime that matched and connected Lightbourne to O’Farrell’s murder.
Lightbourne was sentenced to death in Marion County on May 1, 1981.
Bookmarks