Naman Shrestha
The peaceful lives of Annette and Nathan Copeland and their children were interrupted when a feud with a neighbor turned deadly in the spring of 2003. When the authorities responded to a shooting incident, they discovered the couple dead in their house in Loveland, Texas, sending shockwaves across the entire community. The detectives uncovered a heated rivalry and a series of police complaints that ultimately led to the tragedy. All the intricate details about the case and the investigation that ensued are covered extensively in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Fear Thy Neighbor: House of Shards’ with the help of exclusive and insightful interviews with the Copeland’s surviving family and the officials who solved the case.
Annette and Nathan Copeland’s Deaths Were Reported by Their Kids
On March 12, 1964, in Arcadia, California, Mary Annette Brady Copeland entered the world of Johnny Brady and Mary Bradley as a little bundle of joy. Having grown up in a loving household alongside her sisters, Jerry Sunkle and Ona Presto, Mary moved to the quaint town of Lovelady in Texas in 1998, after living several years in Houston. A couple of years later, she suffered a huge loss as her father passed away in 2000. She worked as a librarian at the Lovelady Elementary School. Being a religious individual, she was an integral member of the Lovelady Antioch Baptist Church. She was married to the love of her life, Nathan Ray Copeland, who was born to David and Luceil Copeland on November 30, 1959, in Rolla, Missouri.
The beloved brother of Gordon Perry Copeland and Cynthia Jean Harmon, Nathan co-owned an air conditioning business called Copeland Heating and Air in Houston from 1978 to 1998, with Annette. Just like his wife, he was also a member of the Lovelady Antioch Baptist Church. Nathan retired from the business after he was diagnosed with a disability that left him unable to work. The couple had two children — a son, Cody Ray Copeland, and a daughter, Courtney Mae Copeland-Stapp.
The picture-perfect lives of Annette and Nathan unraveled in the early hours of May 14, 2003. When the Houston County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from the Copeland household, they heard Annette’s last moments as she was being attacked in her house. Minutes later, another call was made by the couple’s two children, who reported a double homicide in the house. After rushing to the Lovelady residence, the authorities found both 39-year-old Annette and 43-year-old Nathan Copeland dead, with the cause of death being multiple gunshot wounds.
Annette and Nathan Copeland’s Killer Had a Dispute With Them
Annette and Nathan Copeland’s quiet life in the town of Lovelady was reportedly disrupted soon after the arrival of new neighbors — Barney Roy Fuller Jr., his wife Linda, and their children Bonnie and Jacob. According to the show, when Annette found out that her son, Cody and Jacob had been exchanging mature notes, she confronted the Fuller family, which led to the start of the feud between the two families. So, both sets of parents instructed their kids to stay away from each other’s families. Another subject of the feud was the alleged target shooting Barney did in his yard at odd hours of the night, disturbing the Copelands’ peace. As per the documentary, in one instance, Barney also shot multiple rounds at the Copeland house, but no action was taken against him, as there was no evidence that Barney was the shooter.
The feud intensified when the Copeland dog, Katie, allegedly killed some of the Fuller family’s chickens. On the night of New Year’s Eve 2000, Barney allegedly called the Copeland’s phone and wished them Happy New Year’s Eve before threatening to kill them. Consequently, he was arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat. Not long after, he was released on bail, but Annette was quick to obtain a restraining order against him, requiring him to maintain at least 300 yards of distance from the Copeland family at all times. It is alleged that he also shot the dog, Katie, when she ran over to the Fuller property.
The Killer Became Furious After He Was Summoned at Court
On another night, the Copeland family heard a gunshot before their power went off. It turned out that somebody had shot and damaged their electric transformer. Although they believed Barney was responsible, the authorities couldn’t find definitive proof tying him to the incident. On May 13, 2003, Barney became furious when he was summoned to court for the threat he had made on New Year’s Eve 2000. After his wife and children moved out of the house that night, Barney reportedly walked over to the Copeland residence, armed with an assault rifle and a handgun, around 1:30 am on May 14. He fired about 60 rounds into the house before breaking in and shooting Nathan to death in the master bedroom. He then killed Annette, who was on a call with the authorities, in the bathroom, before going into their son, Cody’s, room.
The shooter reportedly shot the then-14-year-old thrice, once in the arm, once in the face, and once through the back of his neck. Somehow, the teenager managed to survive. When he couldn’t turn on the light in Courtney’s room, he tried to light the house on fire, as per the show. After Barney left the house, Courtney and Cody called the authorities and reported the entire ordeal. Soon, the police arrived and surrounded the Fuller house. Barney walked out of his home and surrendered without any incident. He was arrested, after which he reportedly confessed to the shootings. As a result, he was charged with the double homicide of his neighbors, Annette and Nathan Copeland.
Barney Roy Fuller Jr. Was Given the Lethal Injection For Committing Murder
In 2004, Barney Roy Fuller Jr. pleaded guilty to capital murder in connection with the deaths of the neighbor couple, Annette and Nathan Copeland. Declining to attend his trial in July 2004, his punishment phase was conducted without his presence. Consequently, after nine days of courtroom hearings, he was given the death penalty for his involvement in the gruesome crime. A few years later, in May 2008, Barney’s appeal to get his death penalty overturned was rejected by the Court of Appeals. After spending the next few years on death row, the killer asked for his appeals to be dropped so that his death sentence could be expedited. Finally, on the evening of October 5, 2016, 58-year-old Barney Roy Fuller Jr. was executed by lethal injection.
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