The distinction between love and obsession is incredibly thin, but some people choose to overlook it. This is what took place in the tragic and heinous murder of mother-of-three Barbie Dailey in Muskegon, Michigan, in September 2016. Her killer first aired his rage and anguish on Facebook in this digital age of social media before killing her.
The episode of “Primal Instinct: The Imposter” on Investigation Discovery deftly describes the case that justly sparked important discussions about domestic abuse and victim awareness across the nation. We have the information you need if you are already intrigued and want to know the specifics, as well as the identity and current whereabouts of the criminal.
Why Did Barbie Dailey Pass Away?
Barbra Ann “Barbie” Dailey, a native of Muskegon, Michigan, was a well-liked local woman and a free-spirited young mother of three little children, who ranged in age from 4 to 8 months. She had been employed by both Walmart and Hillcrest Nursing Center at the time. Barbie was a “absolutely incredible” young woman, according to her sister Karol Rawson, who also noted that “she was always full of fun.” Everywhere she went, she genuinely exuded this atmosphere of happiness and peace. The 22-year-old was solely praised by her neighbours, who noted how she brought nothing but warmth to the entire community.
Barbie and Rawson did not have a happy childhood since their mother Shawn Marlie Dailey, who pleaded no guilty to three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, was given a sentence ranging from 12 to 22 and a half years in jail. According to Rawson, their mother had assisted her lover, who is accused of sexually assaulting Rawson while she was a youngster (aged between 13-15). As a result, Barbie and her sister grew distant from one another, but Rawson insisted that their Facebook messages to one another had started to melt the ice.
The two sisters even decided against setting up a play date for their individual kids in favour of getting together. Everyone was so shocked when Barbie’s neck had been slit and she had been discovered that evening, September 4, 2016, in her Muskegon home. Around 7:15 p.m., her then-boyfriend, 29-year-old Joshua Michael Salyers, called 911 to tell them of the situation. Several minutes after the Muskegon police arrived, they discovered Joshua knelt over Barbie’s body as she bled to death.
The young lady was brought to Mercy Health Muskegon’s Hackley Campus with multiple lacerations around her neck, where the medical examiners declared her dead. According to Barbie’s autopsy report, she had sustained serious blunt force damage to her neck, head, and upper back as well as signs of being strangled. She had numerous scrapes, bruises, and abrasions from fighting for her life. According to the study, Barbie had four neck abrasions, including one that was 12 cm long and so deep that it actually sliced through her jugular vein and trachea.
Who killed Barbie Dailey?
Detectives started to suspect the boyfriend, Joshua Salyers, right away during their investigation. According to reports, he began dating Barbie five months prior to the latter’s savage attack. Joshua appeared to Barbie’s family to be completely polite and friendly at first, but over time, his toxic and domineering conduct became apparent. Joshua allegedly started controlling Barbie’s life, selecting what she should dress, and even attempting to make her quit her work out of jealousy over the stepfathers who were raising Barbie’s kid, according to Rawson.
Joshua also has prior convictions for misdemeanours for commercialising sex, misdemeanour sex assault, misdemeanour assault, malicious use of a telecommunications service, and indecent exposure dating back to 2013. His first conviction was for malicious annoyance by writing in 2004. After some time, Barbie made the decision to end her relationship with Joshua. Before eventually residing with Kevin Dailey, the father of Barbie, he first moved into the home of one of their family acquaintances. Through a flurry of Facebook posts honouring Barbie, Joshua was attempting to mend fences with her.
However, on the fatal morning of the assault, Barbie had called her father to ask him to evict Joshua because, according to reports, he had been bothering her by sending her a stream of texts nonstop. The last of Joshua’s threatening Facebook posts, which was made at 1:40 PM on the day of the murder and read, “One cut… Two cuts… Three cuts… Four…,” was discovered by the police. My plan will actually lessen this suffering. He also sent Rawson a threatening message that said, “Cut, cut, cut, somebody is going to pay,” which was later uncovered.
Kevin Sander, Barbie’s next-door neighbour, had numerous security cameras set up all over his property. On the day of the murder, one of them captured Joshua and Barbie entering her home together. Doug Carlson, a different neighbour, told the police that Barbie decided to stay home alone on the day her friends and family went on a picnic. He thought Joshua might have used this as an opening to kill Barbie.
According to Sander, one of his cameras caught Joshua leaving Barbie’s home through the back alley and sprinting the entire block to get back to the front of her home. Joshua was detained by Muskegon police after he initially claimed to have tried to stop Barbie from reportedly attempting suicide by slicing her throat but afterwards acknowledged to causing the four wounds. He was taken into custody and given a count of open murder.
Today, where is Joshua Salyers?
When Joshua Salyers was apprehended, the police claimed that he confessed to beating and cutting Barbie. Joshua, however, insisted he did not kill Barbie and that he was merely attempting to prevent her from reportedly taking her own life during his trial in September 2017. Joshua claims that during the subsequent battle, she accidently cut her neck after hitting her head on a stairway handrail. Additionally, he insisted he couldn’t recall making the confession and made contradictory claims about being questioned by Muskegon police.
But on September 22, 2017, following a four-day trial, the jury rejected his testimony and declared him guilty of first-degree murder. On November 1, 2017, Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hickson sentenced Joshua to life in prison without the possibility of release, calling the act one of the most “vicious” killings he had ever witnessed. Even after the verdict was read, Joshua continued to insist on his innocence, and his lawyer said he planned to appeal the decision.
Joshua was accused of the murder as well as two charges of willful destruction of police property for allegedly pulling off prison security cameras. Joshua is being detained at the Oaks Correctional Facility in a high-security cell, according to official prison records.