Kriti Mehrotra
Investigation Discovery’s ‘Evil Lives Here: What If He Was Innocent?’ examines one of the most fascinating tales in American true-crime history by putting the focus on Cameron Todd Willingham once again. The late Texas native was arrested, tried, convicted, and executed for the murders of his three daughters by arson in their family home on December 23, 1991. However, Cameron maintained his innocence till his dying breath, and later, evidence also suggested that he could have been wrongly executed. Stacy Kuykendall, his then-wife, played a significant role in the entire matter by changing her beliefs as well.
Stacy Kuykendall’s Views on Cameron Todd’s Guilt Shifted Drastically
In 1991, when a fire destroyed Cameron Todd Willingham’s home in Corsicana, Texas, and took the lives of 2-year-old Amber and 1-year-old twins Karmen and Kameron, he was the only one who managed to escape. Stacy was unharmed as she was out Christmas shopping at the time. Since the pair had been together for about four years and had tied the knot just months before, when Stacy told officers that Cameron would never hurt their children and that they hadn’t been fighting, she wasn’t challenged. After all, she also agreed to take to the stands to state the same during his trial.
For years, even after they divorced, Stacy Kuykendall advocated for Cameron and his innocence. But she shifted her outlook shortly before his execution in 2004, proclaiming that she now found him guilty of deliberately setting fire to their house. In 2009, Stacy even went as far as to claim that during one of her final visits to her ex-husband, while he was on death row, he confessed to the crime by stating that it was his response to her divorce threat from the night before. This statement contradicted Stacy’s several others, especially as she’d never mentioned such an argument earlier.
It seems like Cameron admitted to the couple’s tumultuous past first, acknowledging that their relationship was affected by their troubled backgrounds. According to an article by The New Yorker, he was unfaithful, a heavy drinker, and physically assaulted Stacy at times, even while she was pregnant. Although Stacy did tell investigators about the assault, she always said that her then-husband wasn’t capable of hurting their children because she knew him better than anyone else. Despite that, as time went by, her opinion got swayed by court documents and other evidence.
Stacy Kuykendall is Keeping the Memory of Her Daughters Alive
Currently residing in Texas, Stacy Kuykendall has dedicated herself to honoring the memory of her daughters. She does so by remembering them in her words, which she often posts on her social media accounts, and through her actions, as she supports other parents who have lost their children and works with non-profit organizations. A lot of her time is spent traveling, and she takes a picture of her daughters everywhere as a way of carrying them with her on all her adventures. From enjoying a cruise in the Bahamas, to hiking to Pike’s Peak in Colorado, to basking in the sun and ocean in Mexico, and soaking up the culture and food in New York, there is no place that Stacy goes without her daughters. And she never forgets to take a picture with them. Stacy has also been to Guatemala, where she worked with the House of Healing Foundation to help those less fortunate.
As for Cameron Todd’s guilt, Stacy has maintained her belief beyond doubt that he was guilty of murdering their three daughters. Apart from speaking about it in the Investigation Discovery episode, she has also appeared on the podcast, ‘I’m a Survivor,’ to talk about the difficult marriage she was stuck in at the time. Before the ID episode, she gave a public statement to The Huffington Post in 2012, when Cameron’s family was fighting to earn him an acquittal. She said that his guilt had been confirmed by the courts and the criminal justice system and that under no circumstances should he be pardoned now.
Stacy also uses her social media accounts to push back against the theories surrounding Cameron Todd’s innocence. Over the years, she has shared snippets of the letters that he wrote to her while he was in prison to prove her point. She disapproved of the way the events were portrayed in the 2018 film, ‘Trial by Fire.’ In 2022, she revealed she was working on a book titled ‘Rising from the Ashes,’ which tells the story from her perspective and focuses on her love for her daughters rather than focusing on the crime they became victims of.
Apart from this, Stacy also loves cats and often helps and rescues strays. She can’t help but befriend and take pictures of cute kittens during her travels. She is also a devout Christian and was baptized in 2022. She continues to use her platform to share the message of love, perseverance, truth, and justice.
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