Murder of Tim Pasa by Barbara Pasa investigated on Snapped

Snapped is examining the murder of Timothy “Tim” Pasa, who was poisoned by his wife, Barbara Pasa, in their home in Centerville, Iowa. Barbara then tried to hide the crime by setting fire to their home.

On the morning of May 5, 2018, the home Tim and Barbara shared with their two teenage children was ravaged by fire. Luckily, the two kids had left the house early for a soccer tournament, but the firefighters did find the charred remains of 50-year-old Tim.

Initially, the fire appeared to have been caused by a candle in the master bedroom where Tim’s remains were discovered. However, the fire department investigators noticed a few red flags.

The fire detectors appeared to have been disabled beforehand, and the investigators concluded that the offending candle was not lying on its side when the fire started. This meant that someone had deliberately lighted the candle while holding it in their hands.

The final red flag for the fire investigators was that Barbara did not seem overly concerned that her husband was dead.

An autopsy revealed that Tim did not have any smoke damage in his lungs, meaning he was dead before the fire started. The examination showed he was actually killed by propofol, a drug used as an anesthetic. Propofol was the drug blamed for the death of pop star Michale Jackson.

As a nurse, Barbara Pasa had access to drug that killed Timothy Pasa

Barbara was working as a circulating nurse at a local hospital and had access to the drug. The cops also learned that the couple, who had been married for 18 years, were having serious problems in their relationship. Both Tim and Barbara had told friends they wanted a divorce.

On one occasion in April 2018, Barbara told friends she “f***ing hated Tim.” One of the friends came forward and told investigators that Barbara had said, “She knew how to get rid of somebody if she wanted to,” although the witness did admit she may have been joking.

Relatives of Tim also told the cops that he told them he believed his wife was poisoning him.

The police further learned that Barbara had recently bought a life insurance policy on Tim worth $200,000.

Barbara Pasa found guilty of Tim Pasa murder

Eventually, a jury convicted Barbara Pasa of first-degree murder and arson. She was given a mandatory life sentence for the murder and 25 years for the arson. She was also ordered to pay $150,000 to her husband’s heirs.

At the sentencing, Judge Sean Showers said Barbara had shown “malice, heinousness, and a lot of evil intent” in committing the crime. Showers also said there was “overwhelming evidence” to convict the killer and that she had denied her husband the right to see his children grow up.

Snapped airs Sundays at 6/5c on Oxygen.