In March 1987, Newton took out $50,000 life insurance policies on her 23-year-old husband, Adrian, and her 21-month old daughter, Farrah. A policy already existed for her 7-year-old son, Alton. At the time, the Newtons were having marital problems. Although they lived together, they were both dating other people. On April 7, 1987, police were dispatched to their apartment complex on a report of a possible shooting. The deputy found the bodies Newton's husband and two children, each shot to death with a .25 caliber handgun. Newton and her cousin were at the location when the deputy arrived. Earlier in the evening, Newton took a blue bag out of her car and put it in an abandoned house which belonged to her parents. A homicide detective later recovered the bag, which containing a .25 automatic pistol. A ballistics expert established that the pistol was the murder weapon. Gunpowder residue was found on Newton's skirt. Newton, the primary beneficiary on the insurance policies, made claims on the policies following the killings. Newton maintained her innocence throughout, blaming the killings on an unknown drug dealer who was owed money by her husband. She was executed by lethal injection on September 14, 2005 at the Mountain View Unit of the Texas Department of Corrections.
