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Social Media Obsession and Lies Led to a Double Murder

A lonely Facebook fanatic ripped apart two families over an internet fight.

Pranshu "Maverick" Dwivedi
5 min readApr 14, 2021
(From L to R) Barbara, Jenelle and Marvin Potter | Image courtesy: TimesFreePress

How heartless would you possibly need to be, to be able to shoot a woman while she holds her infant in her arms? In addition to the obvious repercussions of leaving a little child orphaned, the mere thought of a dead woman holding a bloodied baby in her arms is mind-numbing.

You’d probably think it would have to be a scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, where murdering a pregnant Beatrix Kiddo was a child’s play for Bill.

However, what if a mere social media feud and alleged “cyberbullying” drive someone to commit such a heinous act? This case is probably one of the most chilling examples of what extremes today’s digital life and its psychological impact can lead people to.

On January 31, 2012, Billy Payne and his girlfriend Billie Jean Hayworth, were found dead — their bodies laying next to their 7-month-old baby boy who was left unharmed. They’d both been killed by a single gunshot to their faces, and Payne’s throat had also been slashed.

The bloodied bodies lay in an apartment in the peaceful and quiet Mountain City in Tennessee — leaving the town in shock and horror.

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Pranshu "Maverick" Dwivedi
Pranshu "Maverick" Dwivedi

Written by Pranshu "Maverick" Dwivedi

Stay-at-home-dad who "retired" from a 12-year career in finance at the age of 35. Curious thinker with an opinion on nearly everything and is here to share it.

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