Lavinia May Sharp was born in 1785. She married Crawford Burnett on December 29, 1810, in Patrick County, Virginia. The couple had several children, including a son named John and a daughter named Minerva. After residing in Kentucky for some time, the Burnett family eventually settled near Fayetteville, Arkansas.​

On August 12, 1845, Jonathan Selby, a well-to-do bachelor residing near Fayetteville, Arkansas, was found brutally murdered in his home. Selby was known to keep large sums of money at his residence, which made him a target for robbery. Suspicion quickly fell upon the Burnett family—Lavinia, her husband Crawford, and their son John—due to their proximity and possible knowledge of Selby's habits.​

The investigation intensified when the Burnetts' daughter, Minerva, testified that her parents had orchestrated the murder plan, and her brother John had executed it. Another relative, Hardin Sharp, corroborated this account, stating that John Burnett had forced him to accompany him during the crime and that John had used a hand-axe to kill Selby.

Crawford and Lavinia Burnett were arrested and tried in a special session of the circuit court. Despite defense efforts, including representation by future Arkansas Governor Isaac Murphy, both were found guilty of murder in October 1845 and sentenced to death. On November 8, 1845, they were executed by hanging in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in front of a crowd estimated at 3,000 people. Lavinia's execution marked the first legal execution of a woman in the state of Arkansas.​

Their son John Burnett fled but was later captured in Missouri. He was tried, found guilty, and hanged on December 26, 1845, using the same gallows as his parents. This series of events led to the execution of three members of the Burnett family within a short span.