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Crime News Accident, Suicide, or Murder

After 66-Year-Old Socialite’s Death, Police Investigate Her Own Son: “Red Flag”

Steven Lucas claimed his mother fell down the stairs and died in an accident, but police discovered a more sinister reason for Bette Lucas’ death.

By Caitlin Schunn

Police in Tyler, Texas rushed to the home of Bette Lucas on June 5, 1988, after the well-known “southern belle” fell down the stairs in a tragic accident, according to her son. The 66-year-old matriarch of the Lucas family was the widow of Baker Lucas II.

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“Everybody knew the Lucases,” said David Dobbs, former prosecutor and Smith County District Attorney, on Accident, Suicide or Murder. “They were a prominent family. Baker, her husband, had been the mayor. Bette was involved in all the social circles.”

Bette’s son, 46-year-old Baker Steven Lucas III, and her granddaughter, Stephanie, were with her at the time of her fall. They said they were returning a borrowed videocassette recorder (VCR), which was found on the floor near her body.

“Bette started carrying the VCR up the stairway, and in the process, she lost her balance and she fell down the staircase,” Sgt. Randy Melton, homicide division of the Tyler Police Dept., said on Accident, Suicide or Murder.

Steven and his daughter buried Bette Lucas the day after her death. But the more they talked to police about what happened, the more convinced officers became that her death wasn’t an accident.

“He showed us the point on the balcony, the rail on the second floor, where she was at,” Melton said. “I’m sitting there looking. For her to go over here, to where he said she landed, it’s impossible. I just couldn’t logically see that she could do that. A free fall going over that staircase. That was the first, I call it, red flag.”

Police exhume Bette Lucas' body and perform an autopsy

The grave being dug up on Accident Suicide Murder Season 5 Episode 19

Despite her quick burial, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office decided to investigate Bette Lucas’ death further. The paramedics told law enforcement that Steven Lucas was waiting outside when the ambulance arrived.

“The paramedics indicated that looking back on it, it was odd that Steve met them outside the front door of the residence while his mother lay in the foyer bleeding to death,” Dobbs said.

They reported that Steven and Stephanie also stayed behind to clean up, and did not ride with Bette to the hospital. When police took a look at the VCR found near Bette’s body, they were surprised.

“It was still fairly intact. It surprised me,” Melton said. “How did it fall from the second floor over a dozen feet and not be more broken than it was?”

Witnesses at the hospital reported seeing scratches on Steve’s face when he did arrive to take his mother off life support.

On Friday, June 10, 1988, a judge signed a court order to do an autopsy on Bette Lucas against her son’s wishes. She had no broken bones, which was inconsistent with a fall that large. Six lacerations were found at the base of her skull, and the pathologist determined they were made by a sharp instrument, and ruled she died of blunt force trauma.

“The pathologist said her injuries were not consistent with a fall,” Melton said. “There’s nothing on the stairs or staircase that would have caused those type of injuries.”

Police used physics experts to do measurements of the stairs, landing and entry way, and perform recreations of what Steven Lucas claimed happened.

“These experts come to the conclusion that if she had fallen over the balcony quickly, she would have fallen straight down [to the floor],” Vanessa Curry, former reporter for the Tyler Morning Telegraph, said on Accident, Suicide or Murder. “There’s no mathematical or technical way that that could have happened the way they said it happened.”

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Police discover Steve Lucas had a million dollar motive to kill his mother, Bette

After determining that Bette Lucas was murdered, and the only witnesses were her son, Steve, and granddaughter, Stephanie, police investigated why Steve would want his mother dead and quickly came up with an answer: money.

“Steve’s finances were in shambles. He had a lot of debt. Couldn’t keep a job,” Melton said.

After her husband’s death, Bette had sold the family real estate business to Steve for $200,000, but Steve had yet to make a payment to his mother.

“He owed money to Stephanie’s private school. And they were trying to collect debt on that,” Curry said.

Just before she died, Steve asked his mother for $50,000, and Bette cut him off. Bette was also standing between Steve and millions of dollars after inheriting her late husband, Baker Lucas', estate, which was worth between $3 and 4 million. Those assets would pass to Steve upon her death.

The crime scene featured on Accident Suicide Murder Season 5 Episode 19

“In the months before the incident, Steve had actually hired a lawyer to evaluate if there was any other way for him to remove Bette as the trustee and get to the money before her death,” Dobbs said. “It clearly indicates that Bette is the obstacle to Steve obtaining his father’s money and that once she is gone, he would have access to all of this money, at a time when he was in a financial crisis.”

Bette’s hairdresser provided a crucial piece of testimony: Bette intended to change her will, and cut her son out of it, and was planning to tell him this the weekend that she died.

“He relied upon his mother. He was trying to get more money from her,” Dobbs said. “And she was drawing a line. That’s a linear pathway towards a motive for murder.”

Where is Steven Lucas now?

In November 1988, Steven Lucas was indicted by a grand jury for his mother’s murder. The grand jury didn’t find enough evidence to indict Stephanie.

“Stephanie was just there but did not participate in the incident. That’s what we believe,” Melton said.

At Steven’s first trial, the jury came back deadlocked, leading to a mistrial due to a hung jury. In September 1994, he was tried again, and this jury found him guilty of murder. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison, and eventually died.

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