5 chilling details about Barbara Garcia's crime

Oxygen's Snapped is re-airing today the episode on Barbara Garcia. The episode was originally aired on October 22, 2017, and it will re-air today, July 29, 2025, at 12 a.m. ET.

The Oxygen episode follows the case of a 51-year-old nurse from Hobart, Indiana, who was convicted of murdering her husband by overdosing him on insulin on October 30, 2003. The incident happened after the couple got into a heated argument over Garcia's gambling problems, following which she proceeded to poison him with insulin.

The Snapped episode covers in detail the gruesome murder of Cipriano Garcia, the husband of Barbara Garcia. It includes interviews from investigators and others connected to the case.

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Barbara Garcia: 5 gruesome details of her crime

Before the episode re-airs today, here are five details from Garcia's crimes.

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1. Cipriano Garcia was murdered over financial disputes with his wife, Barbara

Barbara Garcia is a retired nurse from Hobart, Indiana, who murdered her 71-year-old husband, Cipriano Garcia, on October 30, 2003. The couple argued over financial issues, especially Barbara's gambling losses.

Following this, Barbara spiked Cipriano's beverage with Klonopin and Artane, intending to sedate him. Once he was sedated, she administered insulin injections to him, which she had stolen from her diabetic daughter, resulting in his death.

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2. Barbara enlisted the help of her daughter

Barbara Garcia then asked her daughter, Tammy Garcia, to help her hide Cipriano’s body. She told her daughter that he had died of a heart attack, but she needed to hide his death to keep receiving his retirement and social security money.

The mother and daughter initially dragged the body into the garage on a rug, but they were unable to lift it into a vehicle.

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3. Cipriano’s body was dumped in Illinois

Meanwhile, Barbara did her best to pretend everything was normal. The next day, which was Halloween, she got her hair done and also handed out candy to kids. It was only on the day after that Barbara and Tammy finally managed to move the body.

Barbara Garcia's crimes were covered in Oxygen's Snapped (Image via Getty)

They took it to Illinois and dumped the body near a lake. They left the body wrapped in a rug and tied with electrical cords along the slope of the lake.

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4. Cipriano’s body was finally discovered, and Barbara was charged

Cipriano Gracia's body was finally discovered on November 3, 2003, wrapped in a rug and tied with electrical cords. The body was recovered, and an autopsy was conducted, which revealed that there were abnormally high insulin levels in his body.

Following this, on November 10, 2003, the State charged her with the murder of Cipriano Garcia. It was revealed that Cipriano had threatened to leave her and cut her off from all his money. Barbara feared that he would discover that she had withdrawn $4000 from his account and leave her, driving her to murder him.

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5. Barbara Garcia's arrest and sentencing

The jury trial began on September 26, 2005, and she was found guilty on October 4, 2005. During her sentencing, the court took into account the factors of her age and clean criminal history.

Barbara received a sentence of 55 years in prison, avoiding the maximum 65-year term. Her daughter, Tammy, pleaded guilty to the charge of assisting in moving and concealing Cipriano's body, and she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

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Barbara Garcia's case will be explored in detail in tonight's Oxygen Snapped episode.

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Edited by pratigya dhali