A Body in the Basement: Murder On Repeat on ID - Who is Will Purcell and where is he now?

The true crime show, A Body in the Basement, is set to air a brand new episode titled Murder On Repeat, exclusively on Investigation Discovery on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 9:00 pm Eastern Time (ET). The latest episode will provide the audience with insight into the chilling murder case of Barbara Purcell, which took place in 2001.

The official description for A Body in the Basement season 1 episode 3, titled, Murder On Repeat, released by ID, reads:

"In June 2001, just outside Rockford, Ill., a welfare check leads police to a woman brutally murdered in the basement of her once quiet suburban home; the hunt for her killer will lead detectives to a mystery that has been buried for over 14 years."

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A Body in the Basement's new episode to focus on the crimes of Will Purcell, who died in 2015

What did Will Purcell do?

A still of Will Purcell and Barbara Purcell (Image via IMDb)

Willard Henry Purcell, also known as Will Purcell was the husband of the victim in the 2001 Illinois murder case, Barbara Purcell. He worked as a traveling salesman, who fixed printing presses. Will met Barbara at an Oklahoma restaurant, where she used to work as a waitress. The two soon fell in love and went on to get married. The couple then moved to their Rockford residence after they tied the knot.

As per Cinemaholic, their marriage took a turn when Will began to suspect that his wife was having an affair. He then got violent and Barbara approached the police for protection. A protection order for Barbara's safety was generated by the authorities, which allowed her to keep the home and barred Will from contacting her.

On June 6, 2001, when Barbara Purcell's brutally injured dead body was recovered from their residence, Will became the prime suspect in the case. According to the autopsy reports, he hit his wife several times, before pushing her down the staircase of the basement. He was soon arrested and during the trial, a number of witnesses testified against him.

He was soon found guilty by the court on three counts of first-degree murder.

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He died in Menard Correctional Center after he was sentenced to life imprisonment

A Body in the Basement's new episode will focus on Barbara Purcell's death (Image via Find a Grave)

Apart from this particular case, the prosecution also presented the court with evidence that suggested that Will Purcell also violently abused his first wife, Crystal Purcell, who happened to have died in a similar way.

Although he claimed his innocence till the end of the trial in Barbara's case, he was found guilty and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the court. He was imprisoned at the Menard Correctional Center, Illinois. On September 12, 2015, the convicted murderer passed away while serving his sentence after suffering from pneumonia, respiratory failure, and metastatic lung cancer. He was 69 years of age at the time.

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Don't forget to catch episode 3 of A Body in the Basement, which premieres on ID on August 2, 2023, at 9 pm ET.