Roadhouse Magazine Issue 27

S eal’s wife Debbie, 65, speaking to the ‘Daily Mail’ about the Tom Cruise movie that was released in 2017 says she is still haunted by her husband’s execution. ’There are many avenues to go down,’ said Debbie, who remains anguished and in search of answers decades later. ‘There are many people that Barry associated with who had means and motives to have him killed. ‘Although I know who pulled the trigger I’m not 100 percent sure I know who was behind it. ‘The movie has made no difference to me in terms of the questions I have over his death and about who was behind the assassination.’ Despite her ongoing torment, Seal’s widow had been eager for her chance to see the big budget crime thriller and went to watch it with the entire family on the first Friday of its US release. She told how the film itself became a blur, as her mind was forced to recall a lifetime of memories, ranging from deliriously happy to devastatingly sad. She said: ‘I went to watch it with my whole family and we all sat through it together. I had not seen the script so I knew I was going to be as surprised as anyone else. ‘Of course, the kids were asking me at different parts ‘Is that what happened mom?’ ‘But honestly, I was watching but my mind just was going back in time, to my life with my husband. ‘The tears were falling down my face and I was particularly anxious to see how they would handle the murder itself.’ Debbie continued: ‘I didn’t know if I would see his head explode, because he did take a lot of bullets to the head and I was dreading that scene, but it was downplayed which was a relief. ‘That would have been the most difficult thing to watch. That really would have been extremely hard. ‘Once I was out of the theater I actually didn’t remember anything about the movie, so I re-watched it later on to understand it a bit better.’ Debbie said: ‘He’d be happy that there’s a movie of his life. In fact about a year before his death we talked about having a movie made about him and he had chosen the lead - James Caan. So I guess that tells you how he saw himself!’ ‘I think Mr Cruise did a fine job of playing my husband,’ she added. ‘He was every bit as charming and charismatic. He had that same twinkle in his eyes, that same hundred-watt smile.’ To this day, she remains bitter over the US government’s treatment of her husband, who officials preciously described as the ‘most important’ witness in the DEA’s history. ‘He didn’t stand a chance,’ recalled Debbie. ‘He was a sitting duck – the hitmen knew exactly where and when to find him.’ She added: ‘It would have been more merciful to have killed us all that day. But I still want to know the truth.’ Life for Debbie and her three grown up children Aaron, 41, Dean, 40 and 39-year-old Christina, is firmly away from the spotlight these days, and that’s how she wants it to stay. 28 RHM Magazine - roadhouse.net.au