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The Murder that Inspired the Movie “The Burning Bed”
After 13 years of horrific abuse, a housewife set her ex-husband on fire
The 1984 film “The Burning Bed” is considered one of the greatest American TV-movies of all time, not only for the two lead characters’ incredible performances but also for the film’s unflinchingly honest portrayal of domestic violence.
In the film, Farrah Fawcett portrays a battered woman who has endured years of her husband’s beatings. She tries desperately to get help, but everyone in her small town looks the other way. One night after her husband beats and rapes her, she snaps. She pours gasoline around her sleeping husband and sets the bed on fire. She then turns herself in and is charged with 1st-degree murder, only to be acquitted by reason of temporary insanity.
The harrowing plotline may sound like it belongs in a Hollywood movie, but it was actually based on a real-life event involving an American woman, Francine Hughes.
Background
Francine Moran was born on August 17, 1947, in Stockbridge, Michigan. Her father was an alcoholic who regularly beat his wife…
