The Barbara Opel case is the 2001 Washington state murder in which Opel, a live-in caregiver in Everett, recruited five teenagers, including her own 13-year-old daughter, to beat and stab her 64-year-old employer Jerry Heimann to death so she could take his money. She was convicted of aggravated first-degree murder in 2003 and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, where she remains.
How Opel Came Into Jerry Heimann’s Home
Jerry Heimann was a retired Boeing worker living in the 3700 block of 22nd Street in Everett with his 89-year-old mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease. In the fall of 2000, he hired Barbara Opel to care for her and let Opel and her three children move into the basement.1Seattle Weekly. Little Girl Lost
Opel was a divorced mother of three whose life had been marked by extreme instability. Her family moved 22 times in seven years, cycling through motels, strangers’ homes, and their car, and had been evicted from rental units ten times. She had been investigated by Child Protective Services on multiple occasions.1Seattle Weekly. Little Girl Lost Heimann was terminally ill with cancer at the time he took her on.2The Herald. A 2001 Killer, Then 13, Will Be Released From Prison Early The relationship between the two quickly turned contentious.
The Murder of Jerry Heimann
Heimann was killed on April 13, 2001. Prosecutors alleged Opel plotted his death to gain access to nearly $40,000 in his bank accounts.3The Seattle Times. Jury Sentences Opel to Life in Prison She recruited five teenagers to do the killing: her 13-year-old daughter Heather Opel; Heather’s 17-year-old boyfriend Jeffrey Grote; 14-year-old Marriam Oliver; 14-year-old Kyle Boston; and Boston’s 13-year-old cousin. Opel reportedly promised them cash, a car, and passes to a roller skating rink.4The Seattle Times. Story of Opel’s Childhood Told as Jury Weighs Penalty Heather, according to a diary entry police later recovered, participated with the hope of being rewarded with a dirt bike. The entry read: “So my mom said if I helped kill Jerry I can go get one.”5Seattle Weekly. Opel’s Hopeful
That evening, the teenagers ambushed Heimann at his front door. They beat him with an aluminum softball bat and Seattle Mariners souvenir bats and stabbed him repeatedly. The fatal blow was a bat swing to his neck that severed his spinal cord.6Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Opel Gets Life in Prison During the attack, Opel stayed in the basement with her two younger children, ages 7 and 11, and yelled encouragement to the attackers upstairs.2The Herald. A 2001 Killer, Then 13, Will Be Released From Prison Early The group then transported Heimann’s body to the Tulalip Indian Reservation. Opel used Heimann’s credit card to pay for the teenagers’ dinner and a night at the Rodeway Inn.
Heimann’s 89-year-old mother was left alone in the house for about a week. When relatives found her, she was dehydrated, sitting in a blood-spattered wheelchair, and had resorted to eating newspapers.2The Herald. A 2001 Killer, Then 13, Will Be Released From Prison Early
How the Case Broke
Police were first drawn to Opel after learning she had rented a truck using Heimann’s checkbook. She initially told authorities Heimann was out of town. The case broke open when Opel’s 11-year-old son disclosed what had happened and led investigators to Heimann’s body on the Tulalip Reservation.2The Herald. A 2001 Killer, Then 13, Will Be Released From Prison Early
Trial and Life Sentence
Opel was charged with aggravated first-degree murder in Snohomish County Superior Court. Because of the aggravated charge, prosecutors considered seeking the death penalty, which would have made her the first woman executed by Washington state.1Seattle Weekly. Little Girl Lost Her trial began March 20, 2003, before Judge Gerald Knight.7The Seattle Times. Opel Case Timeline
Opel denied she wanted Heimann dead for his money. She testified he “berated her family with snide comments and obscene names,” that she “was tired of living in hell,” and that she believed he “deserved a beating.”3The Seattle Times. Jury Sentences Opel to Life in Prison Prosecutors countered that after the killing, she spent more than $6,000 of Heimann’s money on clothes, meals, and renting a new home. On April 8, 2003, after five hours of deliberation, the jury found her guilty.
In the penalty phase, defense attorney Brian Phillips argued Opel suffered from “brain dysfunction” that left her unable to comprehend the consequences of her actions, and called witnesses who described her as deeply immature and relating to her children more as a peer than as a parent.4The Seattle Times. Story of Opel’s Childhood Told as Jury Weighs Penalty The jury deliberated seven hours and deadlocked, with seven jurors favoring death and five favoring life. Because Washington law required unanimity to impose a death sentence, Opel was sentenced on April 18, 2003, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.8Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Opel Gets Life Without Parole Judge Knight also barred Opel from having any contact with her three children and recommended she not be housed in the same prison as her daughter or Marriam Oliver.9The Herald. Woman Sought Contact With Daughter She Hired to Kill Man
Deputy prosecutor Chris Dickinson argued Opel “wrecked the lives of the teens with her greed.” Prosecutors called her a “Fagin-like” figure who had exploited her position of authority over the children.9The Herald. Woman Sought Contact With Daughter She Hired to Kill Man
What Happened to the Five Teenagers
The five teenagers were charged and sentenced separately, with outcomes that varied by age and by how each was prosecuted.
- Jeffrey Grote, 17 at the time, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and agreed to testify against his co-defendants. He was sentenced to 50 years.10The Herald. Teen Killer 50 Years
- Heather Opel, 13, was convicted and sentenced to 22 years.11The Seattle Times. Shorter Sentence Denied for Inmate Convicted of Everett Murder
- Marriam Oliver, 14, was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 22 years.
- Kyle Boston, 14, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to more than 18 years.
- Boston’s 13-year-old cousin was convicted of first- and second-degree murder in juvenile court and was required to remain incarcerated until age 21, after which he was released under Washington state law.
Later Sentence Reductions and Releases
In the years after the convictions, the sentences of the younger co-defendants were reworked by developments in juvenile sentencing law. The 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Miller v. Alabama held that mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juvenile homicide offenders were unconstitutional. Washington responded in 2014 with Senate Bill 5064, which allowed people sentenced as adults for crimes committed before age 18 to petition the state Indeterminate Sentence Review Board for release after serving at least 20 years.12Washington State Legislature. 2SSB 5064 Bill Report
Marriam Oliver’s 22-year sentence was eventually reduced to 20 years, and she was released in October 2021. Governor Jay Inslee had denied an earlier clemency petition in 2013, citing “serious concerns with her behavior in prison and her numerous infractions,” and the state Clemency and Pardon Board declined to recommend commutation in a 3-1 vote in 2016.13The Herald. Woman Who Was 14 When She Helped Kill a Man Is Denied Clemency
On April 1, 2022, Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Edirin Okoloko reduced Heather Opel’s sentence from 22 years to 20, after Prosecutor Adam Cornell said Heather, then 34, had been rehabilitated and posed a low risk of reoffending. The victim’s family opposed the reduction. Heather was ordered to serve four years on probation and planned to live with a couple in Anacortes who had adopted her in 2018.2The Herald. A 2001 Killer, Then 13, Will Be Released From Prison Early
Later that month, the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board ruled that Jeffrey Grote could be released after serving more than 20 years of his 50-year sentence, finding him a “low risk to commit more crimes if released with conditions.” Cornell criticized the decision, saying Grote bore a “higher level of culpability” than the younger co-defendants.14The Herald. Sentenced to 50 Years in Everett Slaying, He’ll Get Out After 21
Barbara Opel’s sentence was not affected by any of these reforms. She was an adult at the time of the crime, and the juvenile sentencing provisions do not apply to her aggravated first-degree murder conviction. She remains incarcerated.