Murder for Insurance: Highlighting Military Risks

On December 15, 2015May 4, 2025 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Army, Cold Cases, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, Military Policy, National Guard, Navy, Non Combat Death, Stateside Death, Suspicious Deaths, True Crime, USAF, USCG, USMCLeave a comment

In a recent episode of Deadly Women, profiler Candice DeLong highlighted the case of Paul Berkley, a US Navy reservist living in Raleigh, North Carolina. After returning from a deployment overseas to the Middle East in 2005 without injury, he returned home to his wife, Monique, who had him murdered by her teenage lover less then a week later. The motive was a common one I see in both murders and murder for hire cases in the military: Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance (SGLI) policy. The SGLI insurance plan offers increments of $50,000 up to $400,000. This case emphasizes the fact that military men and women are at risk of becoming victims of murder by their abusive, manipulative spouses or those who benefit from the large financial payout that comes with the death of a service member.

I recognized the motive to kill for the insurance money because I had studied other cases in the military involving this motive. It’s a pattern. Civilians are targeting our military members for the benefits and insurance money. So I googled “murder insurance military” today and found more examples to bolster this theory. Based on the research, it is mostly civilian women who murder their military husbands for the SGLI. Other cases involved military members who killed their spouse for the insurance payout. Although most of the cases are female civilians targeting military men, I did find two examples of male civilians targeting female soldiers for the insurance money.

In Their Name:
James Goodyear, US Air Force (Orlando, Florida, 1971)*
Kenneth Barnes, US Army (Fort Gordon, Georgia, 1972)*
Chester Garrett, US Army (Fort Bliss, Texas, 1977)*
Lee Hartley, US Navy (Jacksonville, Florida, 1982)*
Bill Lipscomb, US Air Force (Lackland AFB, Texas, 1986)
Anthony Riggs, US Army (Fort Bliss, Texas, 1991)*
Joseph Snodgrass, US Air Force (Clark AFB, Philippines, 1991)
David Russo, US Navy (Lemoore Naval Air Station, California, 1994)*
Elise Makdessi, US Navy (NAS Oceana, Virginia, 1996)*
Doug Gissendaner, US Army Veteran (Auburn, Georgia, 1997)*
Kevin Spann, US Army (Fort Gordon, Georgia, 1997)*
Marty Theer, US Air Force (Fayetteville, North Carolina, 2000)*
Lynn Reister, US Army (Fort Bliss, Texas, 2002)*
David Shannon, US Army (Fort Bragg, North Carolina, 2002)*
Jeremy Meyers, US Army (Fort Lewis, Washington, 2003)
Gary Prokop, US Army (Fort Hood, Texas, 2003)*
Philip Shue, US Air Force (Lackland AFB, Texas, 2003)*
Paul Berkley, US Navy Reserve (Raleigh, North Carolina, 2005)*
Michael Severance, US Air Force (Dyess AFB, Texas, 2005)*
Donald Gower, US Army (Fort Hood, Texas, 2007)
Gilbert Hart, US Army Retired (Clarksville, Tennessee, 2009)*
Travis McGraw, US Air Force Reserve (Saluda, North Carolina, 2011)
Patricia MacCallum, US Army Veteran (Medford, Oregon, 2012)
Isaac Aguigui, US Army (Fort Stewart, Georgia, 2014)*
Alphonso Doss, US Navy (Orange Park, Florida, 2014)*
John Eubanks, US Army (Fort Stewart, Georgia, 2014)*
Brandon Horst, US Army (Minnesota National Guard, 2014)*
Michael Walker, US Army (Aliamanu Military Reservation, Hawaii, 2014)
Michael Andrews, US Army (Fort Benning, Georgia, 2015)*
Dmitry Chepusov, US Navy (Armed Forces Network, Germany, 2015)*
Jonathan & Lenin Otero, US Army (Florida National Guard, 2015)
Nathan Paet, US Air Force (Nellis AFB, Nevada, 2015)*
Elizabeth Shelton, US Navy (Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, 2015)**
David Wi, US Army (Fort Campbell, Kentucky, 2015)

The asterisk (*) denotes that the soldier was a victim of alleged homicide, homicide or attempted homicide for the insurance money. **Elizabeth Shelton and unborn baby survived the murder-for-hire plot.

Indeed the Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance has been a motive for murder as recently as 2015. As military members, we have the option to decline this insurance plan but most of us want to make sure our loved ones are cared for in the event something does happen. If at any point, you choose your spouse as the beneficiary and then remove them as a beneficiary from the insurance policy, they are informed. It’s sad that a program created to ensure our families are taken care of in the event we die in combat has turned out to be a motive for sociopathic spouses to murder the insured. In this research, most of the cases involved civilian women targeting men serving in the Army.

In an effort to always look out for our troops and present information in a way that educates them, it is my hope that those serving in the military realize that they are in fact a target because of the benefits they have including the Servicemen’s Group Life Insurance policy. It’s unimaginable to most, that a person, let alone a woman, would be capable of these heinous crimes but it’s happening as evidenced by the Paul Berkley case on Deadly Women and the above listed cases.

As with most things, it is important to have a large data set to work with so the next part of this research could include a more in-depth look at cases on the internet and an analysis of the spousal relationship prior to the homicide. If there were red flags such as abuse, financial difficulties, etc., was there a place the soldier could turn to in an effort to help escape what could be a dangerous situation. There are lots of variables to consider and this helps open up the dialogue.

Both males and females are abusers, rapists, and murderers. Although most crimes are committed by men according to the research, we must have empathy for the situation male soldiers may find themselves in when they become victims of crimes. It’s also important to note that according to the Department of Defense over half the victims of sexual assault in the military are men and very little report the crime.

How many are victims of domestic abuse?
Where do they turn to for help if they are being abused by their spouse?
Do they go to the Commander and risk tarnishing their career in any way?
Do they turn to resources on base and risk them informing the Commander that they reached out for services?
Are they fearful they will risk the very career that provides for their children and families?
Are men not reporting being abused by their spouses because they are afraid the Chain of Command won’t believe them?
Are they afraid the Chain of Command will believe their spouse instead?
Are soldier’s being exploited and/or extorted by their spouses?

We need to make it clear to both our male and female soldiers that they have a safe place to turn to in the event they find themselves a hostage of a domestic violence relationship or a sexual assault by one of their own. We most certainly do not want our male soldiers to feel isolated and end up dead simply because people can’t fathom that they can be victims and women can be wicked too.

Forensic Files Premiered ‘True Lies’: Military Spouse Kathleen Lipscomb Found Murdered on Side of Texas Highway (January 7, 2004)

On January 7, 2004October 11, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Sexual Assault, True Crime, USAFLeave a comment

Kathleen Lipscomb’s body was found on a deserted street outside of San Antonio. Months passed, then years, and the crime went cold. Then Kathleen’s family hired a private investigator who discovered a diary among her personal effects. Two of the diary entries helped police to piece together what had happened to Kathleen Lipscomb, and why. -True Lies, Forensic Files (S8,E27)

Editor’s Note: Full episodes of Forensic Files are available on a variety of media platforms. FilmRise Channel and Forensic Files Channel both feature full episodes of Forensic Files on YouTube. You can also find full episodes of Forensic Files on both Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. On Netflix, the seasons are grouped as collection 1-9. On Amazon Prime Video, you can find Season 1-10 here; Season 11; Season 12; Season 13; Season 14; Season 15; Season 16; Season 17; Season 18; Season 19; Season 20; and Season 21. Start bingeing and see for yourself why Forensic Files is such a hit!

‘A Clue From the Grave’ by Irene Pence Unveils the Military Homicide Investigation of Air Force Spouse Kathleen Lipscomb in Texas (May 1, 1997)

On May 1, 1997August 24, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Cold Cases, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, Military Policy, Scandals, Sexual Assault, USAFLeave a comment

‘A Clue from the Grave’ by Irene Pence is a fascinating look into the investigation of US Air Force wife Kathleen Lipscomb’s murder in San Antonio, Texas in 1986. Her husband MSgt William Lipscomb, who was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base as a Military Training Instructor, would eventually be accused of her murder and stand trial at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in 1989. This book shows the difficulties the detectives face when it comes to investigating crimes perpetrated by a transient military member.

If not for the persistence of Kathleen’s mom Nadine and her sister Darlene, Bill Lipscomb almost got away with murder. Kathleen’s family did not want to believe that Kathleen’s estranged husband committed this crime but nonetheless wanted to find out who killed Kathleen. Kathleen was found battered and nude on the side of the road outside the city limits of San Antonio. It appeared that she had been raped and murdered elsewhere and her body was dumped at this location. As a result, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Department had jurisdiction of the investigation of Kathleen’s murder. The book revealed that Air Force leadership was not aware that Bill Lipscomb was even considered a suspect by the local Sheriff’s Department. In the meantime, Bill Lipscomb requested a humanitarian transfer to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia so that he would be near his parents who would help him care for Kathleen and Bill’s two children.

After the investigation stalled at the Sheriff’s Department and it looked like no one would be held accountable for Kathleen’s death, Nadine and Darlene decided to hire two private investigators to find out who killed Kathleen. The private investigators carefully went through the list of suspects to rule people out but they could not rule out Bill Lipscomb after what they discovered. These investigators learned that Bill had plenty of motive to kill Kathleen including the fact that Kathleen threatened to turn Bill and his Air Force colleagues in to Air Force leadership for their role in a WAPS test promotion cheating scandal. Bill also wanted custody of the two children so Kathleen used her knowledge of this cheating scandal as leverage in the divorce proceedings so she could keep custody of the two children. In addition, Bill Lipscomb had over $300,000 worth of life insurance on Kathleen, one policy was purchased after Kathleen decided to divorce him. Coincidentally, Kathleen was murdered just days before the final divorce proceedings. Nadine and Darlene began suspecting Bill more and more as time went on because of statements made by Bill and Kathleen’s children and the controlling behavior he exhibited after Kathleen died.

It would be the private investigators that Kathleen’s family hired who convinced the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) to get involved. Bill was no longer in the San Antonio area so no one but the AFOSI had jurisdiction over him. The crime was committed in Texas yet Bill had been conveniently transferred to Virginia. Thanks to the thorough work by the two private investigators, the AFOSI had probable cause to investigate Bill Lipscomb. The AFOSI used both their knowledge of the WAPS test cheating scandal and what they learned from the private investigators to begin their own investigations. They would learn from others involved in the cheating scandal that Bill did in fact cheat on his promotion testing which is how he was able to achieve the rank of MSgt so soon. They would also learn from Kathleen’s date book that she was fully aware of the cheating scandal and knew that Bill was having an affair with another Air Force member he worked with. It would be this date book that gave the investigators involved in the case a reason to suspect Bill Lipscomb of her murder. In the end this information would become ‘A Clue from the Grave’ that helped Kathleen solve her own murder.

Kathleen Lipscomb Found Dead on Side of Texas Highway; Air Force MSgt Bill Lipscomb Pleaded Guilty to Murder, Sentenced to Life in Prison (June 9, 1986)

On June 9, 1986October 15, 2019 By AdministratorIn Armed Forces, Domestic Violence, Felony Crime, Homicide, In Their Name, Military Policy, Sexual Assault, USAF3 Comments

Kathleen & Bill Lipscomb — Kathleen Lipscomb and MSgt William Lipscomb, U.S. Air Force (Photo: Forensic Files)

Air Force spouse Kathleen Lipscomb, 30, was found dead on the side of a highway in San Antonio, Texas on June 9, 1986. She was murdered and the case went unsolved for years. Kathleen was a nurse and she had two children with her husband William ‘Bill’ Lipscomb. Bill, 33, was a MSgt in the Air Force and was stationed at Lackland Air Force Base. They were married for eight years but had recently separated. Their arrangement was for Bill to spend time with the two children on the weekends. But one Sunday night, Kathleen never showed up to pick up the children. Bill went to Kathleen’s apartment but she wasn’t there. The next morning there was no sign of her. One of her co-workers contacted a family member because she didn’t show up to work and they were worried. Later that day, Kathleen Lipscomb was discovered nude and dead on the side of the highway. Based on the evidence, police deduced she had been murdered elsewhere.

Bill Lipscomb was immediately called in for questioning. The police wanted to check for any wounds that might be on his body. The children told police their father was with them the entire weekend and confirmed his alibi. An autopsy revealed Kathleen had sex 24 hours before she was found dead. During the investigation, detectives learned Kathleen was dating a married man. His name was Dr. David Pearl and Kathleen was in love with him. Dr. Pearl admitted he was with Kathleen over the weekend but insisted he had nothing to do with her murder. One week after Kathleen’s murder, her car was found in a restaurant parking lot not far from her apartment. Investigators found no useful forensic evidence in the car. Based on the food contents in her stomach, investigators determined she was most likely murdered on Sunday night and dumped in the field during the early morning hours on Monday.

For two years, investigators searched for Kathleen’s killer. Kathleen’s family suspected her estranged husband Bill had something to do with her murder. Seven months before the murder, Bill had increased Kathy’s life insurance to $300,000. Kathleen’s family hired a private investigator to look into the case. The PI learned of the name Shannon Gilbert from Kathleen’s day planner. She was in the Air Force with Bill and it was rumored she was having an affair with him. Shannon Gilbert would not speak with the PI without an attorney present. The PI also found a note about WAPS (Weighted Airman Promotion System) testing and it said Bill had all the answers to the test. Kathleen was accusing Bill of cheating. The Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) joined the investigation because it involved allegations of cheating. Dr. Charles McDowell believed the scene had been staged to look like a rape and murder.

McDowell also suspected someone else dumped the body. Kathleen’s daughter revealed another important piece of information to the family. She told family members she thought her father killed her mom because he wasn’t home the entire weekend. One of his friends Anthony ‘Tony’ Barello took them out for dinner on Sunday and when they woke up in the middle of the night, they realized their father was gone. Investigators ordered forensic DNA testing but the biological evidence had been mislabeled then mishandled. Forensic testing was not possible. Investigators needed more than circumstantial evidence to corroborate the children’s story. During the investigation, detectives learned Bill cheated on the military promotion testing and Kathleen knew it. During the divorce proceedings, Bill wanted custody of the children and Kathleen was not going to let that happen. Was Kathleen using this information as blackmail during the custody battle?

At the crime scene, Kathleen’s clothing was neatly rolled which suggested someone with military training dumped the body. When investigators caught up with Tony Barello, he was eager to talk. Tony immediately acknowledged he dumped Kathleen’s body in the field. He told them Bill Lipscomb was the killer. Tony still had evidence directly linking Bill to the crime and investigators confirmed it was Kathleen’s blood in a small chest she was stored in after she was murdered. OSI took over the homicide investigation. Bill’s former girlfriend also admitted that Bill told her he was going to kill his wife. OSI brought Bill Lipscomb in for questioning but Bill denied everything. They believed he sought revenge for Kathleen’s threats to expose him for the military promotion scandal. They believed Bill asked his friend Tony to take the children out for dinner so he could kill Kathleen while they were out.

When Kathleen arrived and noticed the children missing, the two most likely argued. At some point, Bill strangled Kathleen and then stored her in a chest in the house. Once the children were asleep, Tony retrieved Kathleen’s body and dumped her on the side of the highway to stage it as a sex crime. MSgt Bill Lipscomb was charged with the rape and murder of Kathleen Lipscomb in July 1989. Bill Lipscomb pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and in 1990 a Langley Air Force Base military judge sentenced Bill Lipscomb to life in prison. Although under the terms of the plea agreement, Bill Lipscomb will spend no more than 60 years at the Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, a reduction in rank and a dishonorable discharge. In return for their cooperation, Tony Barello and Shannon Gilbert were not charged. Shannon Gilbert changed her name and is now in the federal witness protection program.

“Although his wife was not killed on government property or in Virginia, the Air Force tried Lipscomb here under a law that gives the military authority to handle any criminal transgressions by an active-duty serviceman.” –Daily Press (August 22, 1990)

Source: True Lies, Forensic Files

Forensic Files:

Full episode: Kathleen Lipscomb’s body was found on a deserted street outside of San Antonio. Months passed, then years, and the crime went cold. Then Kathleen’s family hired a private investigator who discovered a diary among her personal effects. Two of the diary entries helped police to piece together what had happened to Kathleen Lipscomb, and why. -True Lies, Forensic Files (S8,E27)

Investigation Discovery:

Preview: When a wife begins an affair behind her domineering husband’s back with a coworker, he soon finds out and begins an affair of his own. Little do they realize that the relationships they have entered into are not what they seem. -Sex, Secrets & Sergeants, Scorned: Love Kills (S5,E5)

While Kathy Lipscomb spends late nights at the hospital with the handsome Dr. Pearle, her husband’s career in the Air Force is taking off, but so is his relationship with a hot young officer. When the affairs are exposed the consequences are fatal. -Sex, Secrets & Sergeants, Scorned: Love Kills (S5,E5)

Editor’s note: With a cable subscription, you can download the free ID Go app and watch Investigation Discovery programming at your convenience. And for those who do not have cable, you can watch “unlocked” episodes on the ID Go app including the latest premieres. For those who prefer commercial free programming during your binge session, Prime Video has an ID channel: ‘True Crime Files by Investigation Discovery” available for $3.99 a month. It’s a compilation of older seasons but totally worth the cost if you are a true crime addict. Download the ID Go app or purchase ID True Crime Files & binge away.

MILITARY JUSTICE FOR ALL

Tag: Bill Lipscomb

Murder for Insurance: Highlighting Military Risks

Forensic Files Premiered ‘True Lies’: Military Spouse Kathleen Lipscomb Found Murdered on Side of Texas Highway (January 7, 2004)

‘A Clue From the Grave’ by Irene Pence Unveils the Military Homicide Investigation of Air Force Spouse Kathleen Lipscomb in Texas (May 1, 1997)

Kathleen Lipscomb Found Dead on Side of Texas Highway; Air Force MSgt Bill Lipscomb Pleaded Guilty to Murder, Sentenced to Life in Prison (June 9, 1986)

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