Woman pleads guilty in baseball bat beating death in 2019; victim found stuffed in barrel

ONEONTA, Ala. — An Alabama woman was sentenced to 50 years in prison after accepting a plea deal related to a man who was found dead inside a barrel in 2019 outside her trailer.

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Blount County District Attorney Pamela Casey on Friday said that Sara Burgess Moore, 40, of Blountsville, pleaded guilty to murder in connection with the death of Adam Beard, 35, according to The Associated Press.

Beard was a father of six. He had been missing for about three days when his body was found on Sept. 3, 2019, the AP reported.

Beard was beaten to death. His body was wrapped in plastic and placed inside a barrel that was found behind Moore’s trailer, AL.com reported. Moore was at first changed with capital murder during a robbery.

Her trial was scheduled to start next week, AL.com reported. She took the plea deal and was sentenced to 50 years in prison. She has been held without bond since she was arrested in 2019.

Three other people -- Haley Ragsdale, 23; Ryan Hunter Farr, 24; and Jesus “Jesse” Flores, 43 -- were also charged with capital murder but according to AL.com, the dates for their trials have not been announced yet.

In a statement, Moore said that Beard went to her trailer to get a phone from Flores, AL.com reported. When he got in the trailer, Flores and Farr reportedly started to hit him in the head with a baseball bat. She told officials that she was in the bathroom when she heard Flores and Farr say that it was her turn.

The bat was reportedly passed back and forth. Moore said after hitting him, Flores and Farr put a bag over his head, AL.com reported. That was when they tied him up under the trailer. Farr and Flores allegedly took money and other items from Beard’s pocket.

Moore said that Beard’s phone was tossed into a field and the three of them moved his body from under the trailer into the barrel, the AP reported.

Beard’s scooter was found after it was sold for $300 and they located his cellphone. A baseball bat was also found where the barrel was, according to the AP.