Kenny Barbour Sentenced to 66 Years and 6 Months

On September 16, 2024, Kenny Barbour was sentenced for the murder of Phyllis Auman. After the defendant’s tense exchange with Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Clint Carwile, the judge ordered the defendant to serve 66 years and 6 months incarceration, with 16 years and 6 months suspended, leaving an active sentence of 50 years.

On May 20, 2024, the Amherst County Circuit Court accepted Kenny Barbour’s plea of guilty to the first-degree murder of Phyllis Auman. Phyllis was a 73-year-old neighbor of Barbour who was known throughout her neighborhood as a kind person who would help those in need. Phyllis had been giving Barbour, along with other neighbors who couldn’t drive themselves, rides to various stores so they could purchase necessities.

Barbour, age 53, became obsessed with Phyllis and jealous of her time. In July of 2023, Phyllis was found beaten to death in her home on Boxwood Farm Road. Barbour called 911 and left an anonymous tip about Phyllis and then returned to the scene of the crime when law enforcement arrived.

Phyllis had sustained injuries all over her body. She was beaten with an old blender which left a distinctive bruising pattern all over her body. Barbour’s brutal administrations caused Phyllis’ head to internally detach itself. Barbour then sexually abused his victim’s corpse.

Barbour attempted to clean the scene of the crime by changing his victim’s clothing and using cleaning products on external surfaces. However, he left his DNA in her mouth and a partial bloody handprint on a household appliance. Additionally, Barbour wrote a letter from prison to a friend in which he confessed to the crime.

At his sentencing hearing, Barbour said that he did not mean to kill Phyllis, that he was just drunk and angry with her. Barbour was sentenced to 66 ½ years incarceration with 50 of those years active and the remainder suspended. At age 53, this effectively is a life sentence for Barbour.