Season One: Black Widows Marathon, Part One

Join us as we walk back through Season One Black Widows in this Part One Marathon.

Episode Transcript

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Hello, and welcome back to Talesfrom the Dark True Crime. Did you
enjoy season one? If you did, be sure to leave us a five
star review on whatever podcast platform youprefer. And if you want to enjoy
ad free episodes, consider heading overto Tales from the Dark on Patreon.

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Five dollars enough we'll get you addfree episodes and so much more. Today
we will be marathoning the first halfof season one Black Widows, with Part
two coming out this Friday. Don'tforget stay tuned for the season one recap,
where we will announce our season twotopic starting October fifteenth. And thanks

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again for listening to our never endingbut are always growing Tales from the Dark.
Molded by a lengthy history violence.This woman grew to be one of
the most notorious murderers in Australian history, savagely killing her boyfriend and preparing a

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feast of his flesh for the entirefamily. This is the case of Black
Widow Katherine Knight. This is Talesfrom the Dark. Katherine Knight was born

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into chaos. Catherine's mother, BarbaraRunne, had already given birth to four
children with her husband, Jack Ruinne. Through a mutual acquaintance and a co
worker of Jack, Barbara met KinKnight. The two began an affair that
led to the birth of Katherine Knight. The affair became a major scandal in

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the town of Aberdeen and New SouthWales Hunter Valley. Both the Knight and
Rouenne family names were prominent in therural conservative town and caused such a mess
that Barbara and Ken left to continuethe relationship. Jack kept two of the
four children at his home, whilethe youngest two went to live with an
aunt in Sydney. Katherine Knight wasborn with an older twin sister Joy,

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on October twenty fourth, nineteen fiftyfive, in the town of tenor Field,
New South Wales. Jack Ruanne laterdied in nineteen fifty nine, and
Barbara would regain and custody of thetwo older children from her previous marriage,
making a total of four children inthe home of Barbara and Ken. Barbara

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would go on to have two morechildren with Ken, both boys named Charlie
and Shane. The childhood that Catherineexperienced was far from healthy. Ken,
Katherine's biological father, was a ragingalcoholic and frequently used violence and intimidation to

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sexually assault Katherine's mother, Barbara,up to ten times a day. Barbara
often detailed her sex life to herdaughters and said many times that she hated
sex and men. Catherine claimed lateron in life that she was frequently sexually
abused by family members, but notby her father. This abuse continued until

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Katherine was eleven years old. Tomake ends meet, Ken would work as
a slaughter man who traveled often andwe're at twelve plus hour shifts wherever he
could find work. As Catherine gotolder, she would develop an uncontrollable rage
at minor inconveniences. This rage wouldthrow her into fits of violence, harming

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anything that got in her way.When Catherine started to attend Mulswelk Brooke High
School, she would become a loner, but she was also known to bully
small children. It would be herethat her lengthy record of violence would start.
Katherine assaulted at least one boy witha weapon and was injured once by

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a teacher. When investigated, itwas found that the teacher acted in self
defense. Regardless of the violence,Katherine was also known as a model student
and would often receive awards for herbehavior. When she wasn't consumed by fits
of rage. Catherine left school atthe age of fifteen without learning how to

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read or write. She became employedas a cutter in the clothing factory.
One year later, at the ageof sixteen, Katherine obtained what she described
as her dream job. Following inthe footsteps of her father, she became
a butcher at a local abatoire alongwith her twin sister Joy and her brother

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Charlie. Katherine was quickly promoted toboning and was given her own set of
butcher knives. She became infatuated withthe knives and even went as far as
hanging them over her bed. Catherineclaimed that the knives would always be handy
if I needed them, and continuedto hang them everywhere she went throughout her

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life. In nineteen seventy three,Katherine fell in love with a man by
the name of David Kellett. Hewas twenty two years old and had a
career as a truck driver. Assoon as Katherine turned eighteen, she moved
in with David and they were marriedin nineteen seventy four. According to David,

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Katherine's mother Barbara warned David about marryingKatherine and said you better watch this
one, or she'll fucking kill you. Stir her up the wrong way or
do the wrong thing and you're fucked. Don't ever think of playing on her.
She'll fucking kill you. It wasalso said at the night of their

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wedding, after consummating the marriage threetimes, Katherine attempted to strangle David for
not wanting to go again. Davidwas able to wake up in time to
fight her offt and in the endstayed with Katherine off and on for ten
years. Katherine had her first childin May nineteen seventy six, Melissa Anne.

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It was during this time that Davidleft Katherine for another woman and moved
to Queensland. According to David,he can no longer handle Katherine's possessive violent
behavior. This would be the catalystfor the first of many mental breakdowns Katherine
would have throughout her life. Shortlyafter David left, Katherine, vengeful and

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depressed, was seen violently pushing thestroller of their newborn baby downtown. Katherine
was admitted to Saint Elmo's Hospital inTamworth, and it would be several weeks
before Katherine's release. Diagnosed with postnataldepression, Katherine would take their newborn baby
to a nearby train tracks and laybaby Melissa in the middle of the tracks

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waiting for the next train to comethrough. Katherine left Melissa they are helpless.
A local elderly man named Ted Abrahamswould find Melissa there later that day,
minutes before a train was due toarrive. After Katherine left the train
tracks, she proceeded to a nearby backyard and stolen axe. Katherine would

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then brandish the axe, threatening tokill anyone nearby at random. She was
apprehended by the police and again takento Saint Elmo's Hospital. There, Katherine
signed herself out the very next dayand would be released a few days later.

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Katherine was involved in a heated argumentwith a sixteen year old Margaret Macbeth.
Katherine demanded that Margaret take Katherine toDavid and slashed Margaret across the face
with a butcher's knife. When shecould not do what Katherine asked, Katherine
proceeded to chase young Margaret to anearby gas station, where the police were

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called. As the police arrived,Katherine was seen holding a young boy by
the scruff of his shirt, wildlyflailing the knife. Police officers again apprehended
Katherine after using nearby broom handles toKatherine into releasing the boy, but this
time at the recommendation of a localdoctor. They took her to more Set

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psychiatric hospital for assessment. While atthe hospital, Katherine told many stories of
abuse from her husband, David.Police contacted David to inform him of his
wife's condition and location. Their newbornMelissa, was placed in the care of
Barbara and Ken Knight for the timebeing. David, who was working as

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a truck driver in Queensland, gothis mother, Jeanne, and they both
drove hundreds of kilometers to be withKatherine. Catherine would be released on August
ninth, nineteen seventy six, tothe care of jean and David. The
family moved to Woodbridge, a suburbof Brisbane, picking up Katherine's daughter along

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the way, where Katherine would obtaina job at Dinmore Meat Works in a
neighboring town. On March sixth,nineteen eighty, Katherine and David would have
their second daughter, Natasha Marie.Even throughout the psychiatric care, Katherine would
continue to abuse David in their marriage. She was obsessed with the idea that

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David was unfaithful and often said hehad a girlfriend in every port because of
his occupation as a truck driver.This would often induce fits of rage.
To try and salvage their marriage,David suggested that they moved to Queensland and
leave their two daughters with Katherine's mother, Barbara. The two lived inbued Dessert

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for a short time period before theirmarriage ended completely and Katherine returned to her
parents' home in nineteen eighty four.It was not long before Katherine found another
job at the Aberdeen Abbattoir and movedinto her apartment nearby with her children.
A year later, Katherine's back gaveout from bending for the carcasses at the

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abattoir and she was no longer ableto work at all. Catherine received pension
for her disability and government funded housingthat placed her closer to her kids school.
After a few unsuccessful relationships, Katherinemet Dave Sanders at a local hotel
in nineteen eighty six. Dave Sanderswas a thirty eight year old miner from

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nearby Scone who was known as adecent man, but liked alcohol and women
a little too much. Dave fellhead over heels for Catherine's charming exterior and
high sex drive. After a fewmonths of Dave remaining in his apartment in

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Scone, he moved in with Catherineand her two daughters. This is where
things turned sour. Catherine again becameobsessed with the idea that her lover was
having an affair. Arguments ensued constantly, and the worst being the time when
Katherine slit the throat of Dave's twomonth old dingo puppy, her reasoning to

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make an example of what would happento Dave if he ever ran around on
Katherine. She then knocked Dave unconsciousby hitting him with a frying pan.
Dave still stayed with Katherine. Afterthis, Catherine and Dave had their first
child together, Catherine's third child,Sarah. In nineteen eighty eight, Sanders

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put a pause on a house fortheir growing family, and in nineteen eighty
nine Catherine paid off the house withher pension. Katherine decorated their new home
in her same fashion, animal skins, rusty traps, knives, and skulls.
After an argument where Katherine hit Davewith an iron and stabbed him in

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the stomach with scissors, Dave movedback to scone. When he tried to
return home, he found that allof his belongings had been cut up and
destroyed. Dave took a long serviceleave and went into hiding for several months.
When Catherine asked about his whereabouts,no one would give her information.

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When Dave returned to check on hisdaughter, he found that Catherine had gone
to the police, claiming stories ofabuse from her missing husband, and had
issued an apprehensive violence order against him, preventing Dave from seeing the family.
Katherine moved on very quickly and becamepregnant by a forty three year old named

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John Chillingworth. John was actually aprevious co worker from the abattoir, and
the couple would welcome Catherine's fourth child, Eric, into the world. The
relationship lasted three years before Catherine wouldleave John Chillingworth for a man she had
been having an affair with for quitesome time, John Price. John Price

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had three children of his own,two of his oldest lived with him after
his own marriage ended in nineteen eightyeight. John was aware of Catherine's violent
tendencies, but still went forward withjoining the households and moved her into his
home in nineteen ninety five, John'schildren liked her, and John made pretty

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good money working at the local mines. Life seemed pretty good for the couple,
regardless of the violent arguments. Innineteen ninety eight, Catherine started an
argument with John over his refusal tomarry her. In retaliation, Catherine videotaped
items that John stole from work andsent the evidence to his boss. The

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items in questions were things that Johnhad gotten from the trash, but his
boss fired him anyways. After losingthe job that John had retained for seventeen
years, he kicked Katherine out ofhis house and ended the relationship entirely.
After a few months, John rekindledtheir relationship, but at the cost of

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all of his friends. They refusedto be around John while he was with
Katherine. Even with John refusing tolet Katherine move back in. Fueled by
bitterness of losing his career, thearguments did not stop. In one of
the worst fights they had, Katherinestaffed John in the chest with a knife
in the kitchen. On Tuesday Februarytwenty ninth, two thousand, John took

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out an apprehended violence order against Katherine. John expressed to his co workers that
day that if he did not showup to work. It was Katherine.
His co workers begged him not togo home, but John knew that something
would happen to his children if hedidn't. Unfortunately, this would not stop
her. On March first, twothousand, Katherine sent all the children to

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sleepovers earlier in the day, butwas not in the house when John got
off work. John went to bedand Katherine pulled into the driveway around eleven
pm. Katherine proceeded inside the homeand watched TV for a few minutes before
showering and joining John in bed.They had sex and John went to sleep.
Afterwards, in the middle of thenight, John would wake up with

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Katherine stabbing him with a knife.John fought and tried to get away,
making it to the front door beforesuccumbing to the thirty seven stab wounds Katherine
had wielded. Afterwards, Katherine woulddrive to Aberdeen to withdraw one thousand dollars
out of John's account, but wouldreturn to his home. The scene would

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be discovered as follows. At sixam the following morning, the neighbor was
concerned that John's car remained in hisdriveway. The neighbor called John's employer,
who then sent out a co workerto check on John. When the coworker
arrived, the neighbor and the coworker went to tap on John's bedroom window,

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but after seeing blood on the frontdoor, promptly called the police.
The police arrived at eight am andbroken through the back door. The scene
that they witnessed is one that theywill not be able to forget. Catherine
would be found comatose with a largenumber of pills she had consumed. The

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house was covered in blood and human'sskin. John's skin would be found hanging
in a doorway that led to thelounge. In the lounge, a headless,
skinless corpse would be found, alongwith a large pool of blood.
In the kitchen, police would finda pot full of liquid vegetables and a

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skinned human head. Other baked disheswould be found beside the pot, alongside
two full plates. The third plateof food had been flung out to the
backyard, presumably when Katherine couldn't bringherself to eat it. Catherine would be
taken into custody in question intently.No matter what investigators asked, Katherine denied

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having any memory of what happened thatnight after she had sex with John,
Katherine would be taken to Maitland DistrictHospital Psychiatric Wing for her suicide attempt and
there on March sixth, two thousand, Katherine Knight would be charged with the
murder of John Price. At Catherine'strial in October two thousand and one,

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she pleaded guilty before evidence would bepresented. According to the court appointed psychiatrist,
Katherine was completely cognitive insane when shemurdered John. On November eighth,
Justice Barry O'Keefe sent It's Katherine MaryKnight to life in prison without the possibility
of parole. It was reportedly saidthat the judge would throw away the key

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for Katherine Knight's case. What areyour thoughts on this case? To this
day, Catherine insists that she wasinnocent and claims she had no idea what
happened that night. Be sure tolet us know, because for now,
for tonight, we're gonna have toadd the black Widow Katherine Knight to our

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never ending but are always growing talesfrom the dark. My time is running

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out, and the state of Texaswill pick up where my husband left off.
Knowing that the end of her lifedue to lethal injection was just around
the corner, married five times.This woman was referring to the abuse she
suffered from the hands of her formerhusband. She was convicted in nineteen eighty

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five of murdering the fifth and finalof her husband's named Jimmy Don Beats.
She was also suspected of killing herex husband, Doyle Wayne Barker, and
the remains of both men would bediscovered on her property, but that leaves
the question were her actions committed inself defense or were they of a colder,

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more nefarious nature. This is theBlack Widow. Benny Lou Beats,

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This is tails from the dark.Betty Lou Beats was born on March twelfth,
nineteen thirty seven, in Roxboro,North Carolina, and was second oldest
of four children born to tobacco sharecropperparents. Both of Betty's parents were heavy
drinkers who seemed to put everything intheir lives above parenting, forcing their children

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to live in a shack with nowindows, electricity, or running water.
Betty lost her hearing at three yearsold as a result of untreated measles,
and went on to claim that atthe age of five, after moving to
Danville, Virginia, she was sexuallyabused by her father and several people close
to her, both relatives and nonrelatives. At the age of twelve,

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her mother was institutionalized due to apsychotic break and Betty was forced to drop
out of school and move into therole of caretaker for her younger siblings.
While her mother did eventually return home, she suffered from another breakdown the next
year, and Betty knew that theonly way out of her miserable existence and
being forced to care of for hersiblings was to leave. Betty may not

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have been blessed with a perfect homelife, however, she was blessed with
looks. She had a large maneof dyed blonde hair, big blue eyes,
and a wide smile. At fiveto two and one hundred and fifteen
pounds, Betty had no problems findingmale attention, both wanted and unwanted.

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At the age of fifteen, Bettymet and married her first husband, Robert
Franklin Branson, whom she had saidmade her feel safe and loved for the
first time in her life. However, these feelings did not last. After
their first year of marriage, Bettyclaimed that Robert was abusive, while Robert

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claimed that Betty longed for the teenagefreedoms that her friends enjoyed, freedoms she
can no longer have due to Bettyrecently becoming a first time mother. The
couple would split up after only ayear of marriage, but would reconcile after
Betty attempted suicide during their separation,claiming she both missed and loved Robert.

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This is when the couple decided tomove to Mesquite, Texas for a fresh
star and new job opportunities. Itwas here that Betty would give birth to
the rest of her children. Bettyand Robert would go on to have six
children together, and Betty never stoppedchasing for those freedoms. She was constantly
staying out late, flirting with strangersat local bars, and according to Robert,

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having several affairs over the years.Due to Betty's behavior and the continued
stress on their seventeen year marriage,Robert eventually left Betty in nineteen sixty nine,
claiming that she had been both manipulativeand dangerous to be around, and
he no longer felt the love theyonce shared. At the age of thirty

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two, Betty found herself with sixchildren and very little options. Robert was
paying child support, but according toBetty, she was still living well below
the poverty line and barely scraping by. Armed with loneliness and very few options,
Betty knew that she couldn't get byon her own. That's when she

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met Billy Lane. The two seemedlike a match made in heaven, and
Betty finally felt like her life wason the upswing and that things would be
okay for her and her children.Early on in the relationship, Betty told
a close friend that she felt likeshe was finally safe and that she wouldn't
let this one get away. Butonly four months into the relationship, things

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got rocky. Betty claimed that Billywas a heavy drinker and would get violent
with her, often attacking her multipletimes in the same day. This resulted
in a restraining order against him.The two would divorce within the same year
they got married. Shortly after theirdivorce, a particularly nasty fight broke out.

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During the fight, Lane punched Bettyin the face, breaking her nose
and veerly blurring her vision. Bettyresponded to this attack by shooting Lane twice
in the sight of the abdomen,though other reports state that she shot him
in the back and in the neck. Betty would be arrested for the attempted

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murder of Billy Lane and claimed selfdefense. Immediately, to the shock of
everyone, Billy dropped the charges ofattempted murder and even signed an affidavid admitting
that he had threatened to kill herfirst, though he made a point to
say he would have never done it. Billy suffered major nerve damage, but
Betty stuck with him to help himrecuperate, and even taught him how to

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walk again. Betty still faced chargesof aggravated assault, but the fines are
paid and she found herself remarried toBilly. This time, the marriage only
lasted a month. After her thirddivorce, Betty found herself dealing with the
very familiar feelings of hopelessness. That'swhen she met Annie Threckled in a bar

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in Dallas, Texas in nineteen seventythree. Ronnie was a successful salesman and
the two hit it off immediately.Betty was quoted as saying, I feel
like I've finally met the right guy, one who can handle me. The
two dated for five years and marriedin nineteen seventy eight, but their relationship,
like the others, was plagued inviolence, and within a few months,

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Betty would yet again try to killher husband. Betty attempted to run
over Ronnie in a car in nineteenseventy nine, and surprisingly enough, he
claimed he still loved her and refusedto press charges against her when the police
arrived. It was around this timethat Betty had began working as a topless

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dancer, and this would result inher being charged with public lewdness, which
resulted in her spending thirty days injail. When asked about the charge,
all Betty would say is that shewas working at a topless bar, but
was not actually topless, regardless ofwhat had truly happened that night. Ronnie

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had enough of Betty's antics and divorcedher Over a year later. Betty,
now forty two years old, wenton to do what she did best.
She looked for another husband to helpraise her last son, who was nearing
middle school age. This is whenshe met Doyle Wayne Barker, who was
described as a tall, handsome rooferand typically went by the name Wayne.

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Wayne was a hard worker and whatBetty later described as the typical nice guy.
In October nineteen seventy two, Bettyand Wayne married. They settled into
Cedar Creek Lake near gun Barrel Cityin Texas, in a brand new trailer
that Wayne had purchased for them.The two had a lot in common and

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consistently enjoyed nights out at the localbar called Seven Points, where they would
often be seen drink and laughing intothe early hours of the morning. This
honeymoon phase only lasted seven short weeks, though, as that was all it
took for the couple to separate.Betty would tell her now grown daughter Surely

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that her husband was just as abusiveas the rest and that she made a
mistake. During this legal separation,the couple would reunite for what could only
be described as a destructive on again, off again relationship. This would continue
until nineteen eighty one, when seeminglyout of nowhere, Doyle Wayne Barker went

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missing. Betty told police and anyoneelse that would ask that he had stormed
out in a rage after their fight, but this left many very skeptical,
as Wayne had left his truck behindand the couple had no other means of
transportation. Betty would go on toinsist that Barker left his truck behind so

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she could sell it, and thatit was the best thing he could do
for her, given their relationship hadcome to an end. The truth eventually
came out, and it was agrizzly one. Betty shot her husband with
a thirty eight caliber handgun and killedhim before enlisting the help of her daughter

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Shirley to help bury the body ina storage shed in the yard. However,
none of this would come to lightuntil after Betty Lou Beats yet again
married her fifth and final husband,just eight months after Wayne had disappeared.
Out of all of her husbands,Jimmy Donn Beats was by far the most

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successful. By the time of theirmarriage, Jimmy had retired from a lifelong
career as a firefighter. Due tothis, he received a one thousand,
two hundred dollar monthly pension, whichis about equal to three thousand, nine
hundred and eleven dollars today, andhe lived very comfortably. He would often

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go fishing in his spare time orbe seen making renovations around his home.
Beats was well liked and had manyfriends in the community who all said he
was a joy to be around.Betty actually met Jimmy at a bar where
she was working as a waitress.She recalled. As soon as she saw
him, she was immediately attracted tohim, along with being very impressed that

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he was already retired despite being thesame age as her. The two hit
it off immediately and dated for sixmonths before marrying in August of nineteen eighty
two, and despite owning his ownhome, he moved into Betty's trailer after
they were married. He said thathe loved her property and that it was

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back up on the lake and itwas perfect for his fishing boat. Sadly,
he was unable to enjoy the lakethat often, and not long after
their wedding, Betty tasked her newhusband with building her a wishing well in
their front yard, something she saidthat she wanted since she was a little
girl. Being a handyman, Jimmyagreed to make the well and began digging

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for long hours into the soil.Unbeknownst to him, he was actually digging
his own grave. Betty's eldest son, who was nineteen at the time,
was house sitting with Jimmy. Bettyand Bobby, who was Betty's youngest son,
were on a road trip back east. Robbie had left the trailer an

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absolute mess and attempted to make upfor it by helping out with digging with
the well. What Jimmy didn't knowwas that his wife decided to kill him
and collect his life insurance and pension. Her plan was to bury his body
in the well that he had beendigging so she wouldn't be caught. Betty

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was not concerned about getting caught,as she had told several people, including
her own son, Robbie. Onthe night of August sixth, nineteen eighty
two, Betty told her son Robbieto get out of the house. He
did so, and upon returning twohours later, he found jim dead with

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two gunshots to the back of thehead. It was at this time that
Robbie helped his mom carry the bodyand bury it inside the well. Later
that night, Betty called the policeand reported her husband as missing. She

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attempted to convince the police by sayingthat he had been home earlier that day
and may have gone fishing. Lookingback, the police noted that her voice
did not seem at all upset atthe time of the call, but they
took her statement at face value withoutany investigation. Jimmy was labeled a missing

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person and no foul play was toexpected at first, but then a week
later. The first indication that somethingnefarious was going on happened. The day
after the calls to the police,Robbie helped his mother remove the propeller from
Jimmy's fishing boat. During this time, Betty was staging the rest of the

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scene. She began to scatter hisheart, medication glasses and fishing license inside
the boat. Robbie then powered theboat near a bridge, jumped out,
and left the boat to drift alongthe water. Fast forward six days later,
on August twelfth, two men wereout fishing on Cedar Lake when they

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noticed something odd. A boat wassitting by Redwood Beach Marina that was without
a driver and looked like it wasgoing to crash and smother dark boats.
The men were immediately concerned and rodeas fast as they could to get the
boat to get a better look.This is when they saw one of the
boat engines had been pulled out andone of the propellers was missing. They

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began investigating the boat and found thefishing license, the glasses, and then
the prescription bottle belonging to a manthey both knew after reading the prescription bottle.
They knew it was their missing friend. They both knew Jimmy very well

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and had gone fishing with him inthe past. They both noted that this
was very suspicious, as Jimmy wasa very scaled mechanic and fisherman, and
he surely would have been able tosteer the boat to shore with or without
a missing propeller. They also rememberthat Jimmy had told them both he was
a strong swimmer. It was atthis time they also noted that the life

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preserver was still on board untouched,so they didn't really think it was possible
they fell overboard and drowned. Atthis time, both men attracted the attention
of some onlookers at the marina andurged them to call the police. Upon
arrival, the police reeled in Jimmy'sboat and set out to find the seemingly

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lost fishermen. Cedar Lake is amassive three hundred and forty thousand square acre
lake along twenty miles of shoreline.A massive search ensued for Jimmy that included
several of his fireman friends that camedown from Dallas to aid in the search.
That day also happened to be theannual bass fishing contest, and there

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were over a hundred boats on thelake at that time. What was supposed
to be a contest for who couldcatch the biggest fish quickly turned into a
massive search party. After several hoursand nobody being found, aid was called
from small planes and helicopters. Thissearch would last for thirteen days until it

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was called off. During this time, Jimmy's father and son suspected foul play.
They told the cops the details ofhis boat just don't add up and
that there has to be more tothis story. As it would turn out,
Jimmy's family were not the only oneswho suspected that something was wrong.

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Privately, some of the other searcherswere recorded as saying they doubt he was
in the lake at all due tothe lake being so warm. With that
being said, his body would havefloated to the top by now if it
was in the lake. After theofficial search was called off, Jimmy's friends

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and family continued the search, hoping, begging, even for a miracle.
This was until they heard that Pettywanted to have a memorial service for a
husband just one week into the search. This was shocking to the entire community.
Given her husband was still considered missing. While the entire town was hoping

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Jimmy would be found alive, itseemed like his wife had already made the
decision that he wouldn't be She wasquoted as saying that she was just ready
to memorialize him, that he wasgone and she wanted to get on with
her life. It seemed as ifBetty had gotten away with what she described
to others as the perfect crime.That was until a confidential informant called the

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police to tell them that Jimmy Beat'sdeath was no accident, that he had
been murdered. This would launch aquiet investigation into the case. They would
eventually find enough evidence to move forwardwith it. On June eighth, nineteen
eighty five, only three days beforeBetty was set to her deceased husband's life

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insurance policies, she was placed underarrest and taken to Henderson County Jail shortly
after law enforcement secured warrants to searchboth her home and her property. The
search was described as easy and simple, as it did not take long to
prove everyone's greatest fears true. Jimmydidn't drown at all and was never in

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the lake to begin with, investigatorsdiscovered his corpse on the property the two
had shared, inside the well thathe had dug himself, covered with moss
and flowers. Once investigators discovered thefirst body, they moved on to the
end of her property. This iswhere they found the remains of Betty's fourth

(40:44):
husband, Doyle Wayne Barker, buriedunder a storage shed. It appeared to
investigators that both her fourth and fifthhusbands were killed in the exact same way
with a thirty eight caliber handgun.During the autopsy, investigators were able to
determine that both men had been killedin their sleep. After both bodies had

(41:08):
been discovered, two of Betty's ownchildren came forward with some very shocking news.
Their guilty conscience had got the bestof them, and they confessed that
their mother did not act alone.They explained that Betty had confided in them
ahead of time for both murders.Shirley admitted to helping her mom barry Barker's

(41:30):
body back in October of nineteen eightyone, while Robbie confessed to detectives that
his mother asked him to leave herproperty that night because she was going to
kill her husband. He also toldthem that his mother had staged the boat
to prove her innocence. On Julyeleventh, nineteen eighty five, Betty Lou

(41:51):
Beats was indicted from the murder ofJimmy Donn Beats, which in Texas is
a capital offense. Crosscuts wildly believedthat the sole reason for murdering her most
recent husband was for money, asalong with his twelve hundred dollar pension,
that he also held multiple insurance policiesvalued at one hundred and twenty five thousand

(42:13):
dollars or three hundred and forty fourthousand, two hundred and twenty seven dollars
today. Betty refuted these claims incourt by saying she didn't even know these
policies existed until eighteen months after hisdeath. That was until Denny Burris,
a chaplain from the Dallas Fire Department, would tell a different story. He

(42:35):
would go on to say that hehad met with Betty several times after Jimmy's
disappearance. He also stated that sheonly ever had one question, which was
if they don't find Jimmy, whatkind of benefits will I be eligible for.
Danny went on to say that Bettywas so busy partying with her friends

(42:55):
that when he tried to meet withher the first time, she had to
reschedule. Betty would respond by sayingshe had no involvement in her husband's death
and had no idea how the bodiesended up in her yard, but she
was innocent. A few days afterthe initial trial, at bail reduction hearing,

(43:15):
Betty again insisted that she did notshoot or hide the bodies. She
was denied bail in the Beats murdercase and would have to remain in jail
until the trial was held. Duringher time in jail, Betty held many
interviews with reporters. She explained tothem that she was actually relieved to be

(43:36):
arrested because, while she didn't killeither of them, she didn't know about
their deaths but never reported them.Betty would go on to plead not guilty.
She was convinced that the jury wouldbelieve her side of the story and
even sympathetic to the fact that sheblamed one of her sons for killing her
fifth husband and her daughter for thedeath of her fourth Betty, and that

(44:00):
she would never have hurt Beats.She even said that no one had ever
been as good to her as hewas and that she misses him every day.
This is when her boyfriend at thetime of arrest, ray Bone,
testified to Jers that he believed shewas innocent due to how nice she was
to him and how well she treatedhim during the time they lived together.

(44:23):
On October eleventh, nineteen eighty five, Betty was found guilty of capital murder,
and three days later she was sentencedto death, but the Court of
Criminal Appeals reversed the capital murder conviction, stating that committing murder for life insurance
does not count as murder for higherunder Texas law. With that being said,

(44:45):
Betty couldn't be guilty of capital murder. This resulted in a six to
three ruling and the court stated thatmurder for higher cases could only be prosecuted
for murder for remuneration. But theprosecution came back and requested a rehearing of
the case. In nineteen eighty nine, the Criminal Appeals Court reaffirmed the capital

(45:08):
murder conviction, meaning Betty was backon death row and she became the first
woman in Texas since nineteen sixty threeto get an execution date. The judge
gave Betty her execution date which wasNovember eighth, nineteen eighty nine. She
was then told that she would betaken to a room at some hour before

(45:30):
sunrise as provided by law, tobe injected with lethal substance or substances as
provided by law. Betty left thecourt that day without public comment, only
saying that she would communicate from herprison cell by letter. While in jail,
Betty started to make new claims,saying that if the jury had known

(45:52):
she was a battered wife, shewouldn't have been given the death penalty.
This would result in her finding supportfor members of the Texas Counsel on Family
Violence. A member of the groupbelieved that Betty was suffering from battered Women's
syndrome as well as PTSD. Thebiggest problem with Betty now claiming the batter

(46:14):
women's defense was that she never confessedto the murders, and if she had
no idea who committed the murders,how could she claimed self defense as her
motive. Two days before her execution, the chairman of Texas Board of Paroles
and Pardons made a public declaration statingBetty had never confessed or showed remorse for

(46:36):
her actions and did not show enoughevidence that domestic violence caused her to commit
the crime. Betty was executed bylethal injection on February fourth, two thousand.
She declined a final meal and statedthat she had no last words to
declare. She also refused to makeany eye contact with those who came to

(46:57):
witness her execution. Betty did,however, smile at her family members who
stood off at the side. Bettyleft behind five living children, nine grandchildren,
and six great grandchildren. So whatdo you guys think of this case?
Was Betty acting in response to herabuse of life or was there something

(47:19):
more sinister going on? Be sureto let me know, because for now,
for tonight, we're gonna have toadd the case of Betty lou Beats
to our never ending but are alwaysgrowing tails from the dark. Under the

(49:06):
guise of elderly care, this blackwidow used every opportunity to get rich from
the men and women who stayed inher home, nicknamed the murder Factory.
Many people who stayed at the ArcherHome for the Elderly met an untimely demise.
How many truly died by her hands. This is the case of black

(49:30):
widow Amy Archer, Gillian. Thisis tales from the dark. Amy Archer

(50:10):
was born in October eighteen sixty eightto James Dugan and Mary Kennedy in Milton,
Connecticut. Amy was the eighth childof ten in the Dugan household.
Amy went to Milton School and thenwent on to New Britain Normal School in
eighteen ninety. Amy Archer mary JamesArcher in eighteen ninety six and had a

(50:34):
daughter, Mary Jay Archer, inDecember eighteen ninety seven. The couple found
employment in Newington, Connecticut as inhome caretakers for elderly widower John Seymour.
The Archers lived in his home untilJohn passed away in nineteen o four.
Afterwards, John's heirs would turn theresidence into a boarding house for the elderly

(50:57):
and allowed the Archers to stay torun the home. The Archers would name
the facility Sister Amy's Nursing Home forthe Elderly. In nineteen o seven,
the heirs of John Seymour decided tosell the family home and the Archers decided
to move to Windsor, Connecticut.They used their savings to purchase a residence

(51:19):
of their own. Amy and Jamessoon got to work converting their new home
into a boarding house, the ArcherHome for the Elderly and Infirm. Unfortunately,
James Archer passed away in nineteen tenof natural causes. Official record states
that his cause of death would beBright's disease, a generic term used for

(51:42):
kidney diseases. With that being said, Amy Archer was able to collect a
life insurance policy that she put inplace only a few weeks prior to James's
death. In nineteen thirteen, Amywould marry her second husband, Michael W.
Gilligan. Michael was a widower himself, had four adult sons, and

(52:05):
was reported to be wealthy. Michaelwould be interested in both Amy herself and
investing into the Archer Home. Theirmarriage would be short lived, and Michael
would end up dying in February twentieth, nineteen fourteen. The official cause of
death was acute bilious attack or severeindigestion. Amy still continued her pattern and

(52:30):
received all of Michael's estate when hepassed, as she was able to convince
him to change his will during theirshort lived marriage. From nineteen o seven
to nineteen seventeen, there would besixty confirmed deaths in the Archer Home for
the Elderly and infirm. Many relativesof Amy's clients grew suspicious of the deaths

(52:53):
of the loved ones. From nineteeno seven to nineteen ten, there were
twelve confirmed deaths, whereas forty eightpeople died from nineteen eleven to nineteen sixteen.
One of the residents that met thistragedy was a man named Franklin R.
Andrews. On May twenty ninth,nineteen fourteen, Franklin was out front

(53:17):
of the Archer home gardening. Fromother accounts, they say that he was
cheerful. Franklin was found dead thatsame night. The official cause of death
was gastric ulcer. Franklin's sister,Nellie Pierce, found that missus Archer had
asked Franklin for a considerable amount ofmoney after reading some of Franklin's personal letters.

(53:43):
As the untimely deaths grew in numbers, Nellie reported her suspicions to the
local district attorney, but did notreceive much of a response. Nellie then
brought her story to The Heartfelt Current, a local newspaper. After a few
months, presumably from public pressure,the police started investigating the Archer Home,

(54:07):
an investigation that would take over ayear to complete, the bodies of Michael
Gilligan, Franklin Andrews, and threeother residents of the home were exhumed.
All five had died of poisoning,either by arsenic or stride nine. There
were also no signs of Franklin havinggastric ulcers as originally cited in his cause

(54:30):
of death, and there was enougharsenic in his system to kill several men.
Discussion with local merchants revealed that Amysaid that she had a rat infestation
and that's why she needed the arsenic. After further investigation, the police also
found that Amy's second husband, Michael, had his will redrawn the night before

(54:52):
his death. The handwriting analysis showedthat the will was written in Amy's handwriting.
Amy was arrested on May eighth,nineteen sixteen, for the murder of
the five residents and her husband.The day after her arrest, Harold Current

(55:12):
headlined the case, citing names suchas police believe Archer home for age a
murder factory. Amy's lawyer was ableto reduce her charges down to one count
of murder for Franklin Andrews. OnJune eighteenth, nineteen seventeen, a jury
found Amy Archer Gilligan guilty and sentencedher to hanging. However, Amy was

(55:37):
able to appeal the decision over atechnicality. Amy was granted a new trial
in June nineteen nineteen, and atthis time she claimed insanity, with Amy's
daughter, nineteen year old Mary E. Archer, insisting that her mother was
a morphine addict. The death sentencewas overturned. On July first, nineteen

(56:01):
nineteen, Amy pleaded guilty of murderin the second degree and received a life
sentence. Amy remained in prison invery good standing until nineteen twenty four,
and that year Amy would be declaredhopelessly insane and would be transferred to a
mental hospital, Connecticut Hospital for theInsane. She remained in the institute until

(56:25):
her death on April twenty third,nineteen sixty two, at the age of
eighty nine. What do you thinkof this case? How many people do
you think died at the hands ofAmy Archer Gilligan. Be sure to let
us know, because for now,for tonight, we are going to have
to add the case of black widowAmy Archer Gilligan to our never ending but

(56:51):
are always growing tales from the dark. Every year, medical school graduates are

(58:27):
required to take some form of theHippocratic oath, one of the oldest binding
documents in history. The oath boilsdown to do no harm. However,
this black widow took the phrase Imust not play at God as a challenge.
Suspected of murdering up to sixty infantsin her care, she took it

(58:50):
upon herself to decide who lived andwho died. How could such crimes go
unnoticed? This is the case ablack widow. Janine Jones. This is

(59:37):
tales from the Dark. Janine Joneswas a licensed vocational nurse in the late
nineteen seventies and early nineteen eighties.Before this, though, she was the
wife of a navy sailor, JamesHarvey Delaney. When James would leave to
serve the country, Janine would oftenhave multiple affairs, and even act to

(01:00:00):
friends and family about them. Hermother urged her to consider finding stability in
a career, so Janine trained tobe a putician and settled down after having
two children with her husband. However, the simple lifestyle proved to be far
too quiet for Janine. She divorcedher husband and left her children under the

(01:00:24):
care of her mother and began workingas a putician in a local hospital in
San Antonio, Texas. This iswhen Janine became mesmerized by the controlled doctors
carried in the hospital. Wanting thatcontrol, Janine underwent a year's training to
qualify as a vocational nurse. Herfirst job was short lived, as she

(01:00:50):
was fired from making unauthorized decisions andministering incorrect drugs and having a terrible bedside
manner. However, she found steadyemployment in the pediatric intensive care unit of
Bexar County Medical Center. But justbecause this job was stable, she was
no disciplined worker. She'd spend morehours than required on duty, disobeyed orders,

(01:01:15):
skipped mandatory classes, and again administeredwrong medicine and doses to patients.
In just a few months of workingat Bexar, her colleagues began noticing something
much more sinister. An unusual amountof babies that entered the pediatric ICU seemed

(01:01:36):
to die under mysterious circumstances. Previouslystable kids suddenly were unable to breathe.
Many had unexpected seizures, their heartswould stop, or they'd strangely bleed uncontrollably
when injected with needles, indicating thattheir blood was unable to clot properly.

(01:01:57):
More unnerving, though children in theICU were ten times more likely to abruptly
die during the three pm to elevenPM shift than any other shift, the
majority of children who died in thistime frame were directly under Nurse Janine's care.
This epidemic attracted rumors and attention throughoutthe hospital, leading her colleagues to

(01:02:21):
call this shift the death shift.The odd deaths forced the hospital administration to
look into Janine, and all signspointed to her being the lurking angel of
death. In the evening shift,however, the hospital refused to alert authorities.
They wouldn't even fire her. Instead, in an attempt to avoid flack,

(01:02:45):
they found another way to remove Janine. The administrators simply chose to discharge
all of their licensed vocational nurses underthe pretense of upgrading the ICU to better
trained register nurses. They offered jobsto all the elviens, and each one
received stellar recommendation letters to keep theirprofessional reputations intact, including Janine's. Miraculously,

(01:03:14):
the deaths of the babies at BexarMedical Center stopped, but they followed
Janine sixty miles northwest of Saint Antonio. Janine declined the job she was offered.
However, with her list of strongreferences, she secured a position in
a new pediatric clinic in Curville,Texas. And just a few months of

(01:03:36):
Janine working with doctor Kathleen Holland,as many as seven children suffered unexplained seizures,
but all survived after receiving treatment froma nearby hospital. It would be
the death of Chelsea mcclinnan that sparkeda criminal investigation into Janine. When fifteen
month old Chelsea arrived at the clinicin nineteen eighty two for routine immunition shots,

(01:04:00):
Jean checked at the baby with aparalytic drug that stopped her heart.
Doctor Holland discovered two puncture marks inthe bottle of suction and coline in drug
storage. This medicine as a powerfulparalytic that causes temporary paralysis of all skeletal
muscles and is used in moderation asa general anesthetic. If high dosis of

(01:04:26):
this medicine are used in small children, it paralyzes the respiratory muscles and ultimately
causes cardiac arrest. Authorities began theirinvestigation and after collecting dozens of damning testimonies
regarding the string of strange infant deathsin Janine's care, she was arrested.

(01:04:47):
Janine was announced to ninety nine yearsin prison for the murder of Chelsea mcclennan.
Shortly after this, she was chargedwith the attempted murder of four week
cold were Long Dos Santos with alethal dose of heparin. Although the child
thankfully survived, Janine was found guiltyand sentenced to serve another sixty years.

(01:05:13):
However, due to overcrowding and Texas'smandatory release law, she was expected to
be released in twenty eighteen at fiftyyears old for good behavior. Prosecutors were
determined to keep her imprisoned, though, they worked hard to find evidence of
the dozens of other suspected killings,and they found it. In May of

(01:05:36):
twenty seventeen, Janine was indicted fora nineteen eighty one murder of eleven month
old Joshua Sawyer. The following month, she was charged again for the killing
of two year old Rosemary Vega.Since then, Janine has been charged with
the murder of three more babies,Richard Nelson, Paul Valorel Paul Villarial and

(01:06:01):
Patrick Zavala. She was sentenced tolife in prison and will likely take her
final breath behind bars. Although JanineJones was only formally convicted of a handful
of murders, she is suspected tobeing responsible for the deaths of up to
sixty infants under her care. It'sunclear exactly what motivated Janine to be so

(01:06:25):
cold and heartless, but it wastheorized that she was attempting to appear as
a miracle worker by jumping in torescue some of the same children she poisoned,
completely disregarding the hippocratic oath she sworeby as a nurse for the helpless.
What do you think of this case? How many died at the hands
of Janine Jones? Why did sheget away with her crimes for so long?

(01:06:50):
Be sure to let us know,because for now, for tonight,
I think we're going to have toadd the case of black Widow Janine Junes
to our never ending but are alwaysgrowing tails from the dark. Olga is

(01:08:36):
pretty predictable, Detective Kilcoin says.She's ranting and raving, and she's quite
the talker. We know this bynow. She just never shuts up.
She's not crazy, but she's verycaustic with anybody that she comes across on
the street. Helen, meanwhile,is quite the opposite. She comes out

(01:08:58):
and she's a little in a woman, saying things like, oh my,
what's going on. You've got thewrong house. It can't be me.
I haven't done anything. From aglance, these Black Widows seem to be
the most innocent women in the world. But as usual, things are not
always as they seem, and thiscase is no different. Continuing on with

(01:09:24):
our season of Black Widows, shenot only fits the bill, but due
to their crimes. Continuing on withour season of Black Widows, they not
only fit the bill, but dueto their crimes, they would be the
last women to be sentenced to lifein prison. On April eighteenth, two
thousand and eight. This is theCase of Black Widows Helen Golay and Olga

(01:09:49):
Rudderschmidt. This is tales from theDark. Helen Galay and Olga Rudderschmidt were

(01:10:30):
two sweet old ladies living in Californiawho were both well into their seventies.
They were also brutal killers in nineteenthirty one. Galley was born in Texas.
She moved to various family members homesafter her father passed away in a

(01:10:53):
vehicle accident, before eventually ending upin foster care. She had three kids
from her two marriages. In thenineteen eighties, she relocated to Santa Monica,
California, and began dabbling in realestate, but it was more difficult
to profit from rental houses back thendue to greater tenant rights. She then

(01:11:16):
started spying on her renters and demandingmoney from them. She also generated a
lot of money for herself by filinga number of lawsuits against anyone who had
the misfortune to stand in her way. Olga Ruddersmitt was born in Hungry in
nineteen thirty three, where she remainedthroughout World War Two before relocating to the

(01:11:40):
US in nineteen fifty seven with herhusband. She was a widow who lived
in Section eight housing and declared amental handicap. She had a reputation for
being a nut, too talkative,and prone to losing her cool in her
Hollywood neighborhood. At their first encounter, the two women and realized they shared

(01:12:00):
a desire to make quick money.Together, they filed a number of fictitious
slip and fall claims against different businesses. Additionally, they would hang around at
pricy hotels while pretending to be guestand make out with rich guys. They
would then bully the men into givingthem extravagant dinners and presents, while occasionally

(01:12:25):
robbing them outright. In their firstscam, Helen and Olga sought out a
desperate man, providing him with lodgingand an allowance. They also took out
several life insurance policies on him.Once enough time had gone by, they
poisoned him and ran them over tomake it appear as if it was a

(01:12:46):
hit and run. On November eighth, nineteen ninety nine, nine one one
call came into the LAPD about anapparent hit and run in a dark alley.
When the police arrived, they foundan elderly white man laying awkwardly on
the pavement, obviously deceased. Hisinjuries indicated that the man had been laying

(01:13:10):
down when he was run over.The police assumed he must have been passed
out on the road when a cardrove over him, killing him. Police
identified the man as Paul Vados,a seventy three year old immigrant from Hungary.
His cousin Olga and his fiance Helen, had just reported him missing.

(01:13:31):
Helen quickly got control of Vados's remainsfrom the mortuary once he was located,
but not before the police conducted toxologytests. These tests disproved the idea that
Vados was drunk or high when hewas hit by a car. Days later,
Olga requests a copy of Vados's deathcertificate at the police station. She

(01:13:55):
didn't appear at all distressed in contrastto the majority of those who relatives have
just died. Because of this,she stuck out to the police, particularly
to Detective Lee Willman, who wasin charge of Vadas's case. Willman had
doubts about the circumstances of Vados's passing, but he had no evidence, and

(01:14:18):
since there were no witnesses or securitytapes, it appeared that Vadis's case would
end up being just another unsolved homicide. It took almost six years, and
on June twenty second, two thousandand five, the LAPD received yet another
nine one one call about a hitand run victim in a shadowy alley.

(01:14:39):
This time, the man was identifiedas fifty year old Kenneth McDavid by two
laminated ID cards in his pocket.The detectives noted that it was quite unusual
for the victim of a hit andrun to have both their chess caved in
and their skull smashed. Additionally,McDavid had what seemed to be oil from

(01:15:01):
an automobile's undercarriage splattered on his clothing, which led detective Dennis Kilcoin to suspect
McDavid was also lying down and possiblyunconscious when he was ran over, But
nearby was a bicycle. Its fronttire was removed, as though McDavid had
been repairing it. This was inconsistentwith him being passed out. Kilcoin then

(01:15:27):
wondered why would anyone stop here ina dark alley to repair their bicycle when
they could walk only a few feetaway into a better lit street. When
Kilcoin examined the bike's tire, hesaw that McDavid's helmet was sitting on top
of it, but the tire isotherwise unharmed and filled with air. This

(01:15:49):
is a starting to appear less likean accident and more like a prepared crime
scene, which further raised Kilcoin's suspicions. Thankfully, a store adjacent had CCTV
pointed at the alley. Despite neitherthe victim nor the offender being captured on

(01:16:10):
camera, it did offer crucial hints. It demonstrated that a car, maybe
a Ford Taurus or a Mercury Sablestation wagon, drove into the alley and
passed the camera right around the timeMcDavid was killed. Soon after the brake
lights turned on, all of thecar lights went out and it was pitch

(01:16:30):
black for nearly five minutes. Thensuddenly the car's lights turned on once again
and it sped off. When theresults of the toxicology reports were revealed,
McDavid had high concentrations of alcohol,zolpidem, and hydrocodem in a system which

(01:16:51):
were more than sufficient to knock himout. There was no way he was
riding or repairing a bicycle at thetime of his passing. Kilcohn was now
certain that this was no accident.McDavid's last known address as the only information
that police have, so they starttheir inquiry there. Police were informed by

(01:17:14):
the apartment's manager that McDavid was nolonger residing there. He became homeless because
he was unable to pay his rent. However, the manager kept in touch
with McDavid and was aware that HelenGolet, an elderly woman, had offered
to house him. But before thedetective could track Helen down, she had

(01:17:35):
already claimed McDavid's remains and requested tohave him cremated. Then his cousin Olga
came into the police station to pickup his death certificate. Meanwhile, the
insurance company Mutual of New York orMoney, had opened an investigation into the

(01:17:56):
claims made on two policies taken outon McDavid. Since the policies were just
shy of two years old, theyopened a routine investigation basically to confirm that
all the information on the policies werecorrect ed. Webster, a money investigator,
started looking into the policies, whichwere worth one million, and found

(01:18:17):
contradictions right away. The recipients,Helen Golay and Olga Ruddersment refer to themselves
as business partners with McDavid. However, they identified themselves as his fiancee and
cousin at the police station. Infact, almost every detail of the policies

(01:18:39):
was untrue, including McDavid's residence andemployment details. Insurance fraud was no longer
the only issue in the case.Helen and Olga were now suspects of murder
and the matter is referred to theFBI and the California State Department of Insurance.

(01:19:00):
A little research found that the two, both in their seventies, had
purchased over twenty policies totaling more thanfive million on Vados and McDavid, despite
the fact that both men were joblessand homeless when this occurred. According to
the investigation, the Hollywood Presbyterian Church, which serves meals to the homeless,

(01:19:23):
is where Helen and Olga first metVados. They stated that they wanted to
provide the men with housing and financialsupport until they could support themselves. They
were described as older women who appearedto be trustworthy by pastor Reverend Charles Sahada.
Police kept an eye on the twowhile conducting their inquiry. They witnessed

(01:19:46):
the women already enticing another victim,which forced them to act before they commit
another murder. They realized that theymust remove the ladies from the streets.
Although there wasn't enough to convict themof murder just yet, they had a
strong case against them for numerous countsof mail fraud, one for each time

(01:20:06):
they delivered Forge insurance paperwork or money. Helen and Olga were therefore arrested on
May eighteenth, two thousand and six, for mail fraud. Once the two
were in custody, the police searchedtheir homes. Helen's house particularly is a
gold mine of evidence. Apparently Helenwas a meticulous record keeper. Police found

(01:20:30):
documents pertaining to three men, Vadas, Downey, and McDavid, as well
as rubber stamps of Vadas and McDavid'ssignatures. They also found large quantities of
zulpieden and hydrocodone. But most importantly, they found a stolen driver's license and
a sticky note with a partial VINand license plate number. When they trace

(01:20:56):
the vehicle information, they found itbelonged to a nineteen ninety nine Mercury Sable
station wagon I had been purchased inthe name of the stolen ID. On
the night of McDavid's death, Helenhad called Triple A to come tow the
vehicle where it had broken down,not a block away from where McDavid was

(01:21:17):
found. She told the tow truckdriver that she had run over something and
had broken the fuel line. TheSable was in towed to Helen's house.
Police discovered that it had just beenabandoned around the corner from Helen's house.
It was impounded and later sold atauction. Nearly a year had passed since

(01:21:41):
McDavid's murder, but the police wantedto at least try to find any remaining
evidence. They searched the undercarriage,and to everyone's surprise, they found human
blood. DNA tasks later proved thatit was McDavid's blood. Then a man
came forward with some interesting information.Jimmy Cummington saw a story in the paper

(01:22:06):
about the woman's arrest and recognize themright away. Jimmy went to the police
and told them about his experience withthem. He told them that back in
two thousand and one, he hadbeen homeless. He was approached by Olga
with an offer of a place tostay in exchange for filling out a few

(01:22:27):
forms. However, when she andHelen began pressuring him for more and more
personal details, Kevington got spooked.He handed them back the keys and left.
Investigators discovered that the two had alreadytaken out a life insurance policy on
him. Under questioning, Helen andOlga exercise their rights to remain silent.

(01:22:53):
The police put the two in aninterrogation room together and left them alone,
apparently unaware that they were being recorded. Olga immediately started conspiring with Helen.
She blamed the situation on Helen bybeing greedy and making too many insurances.

(01:23:14):
At one point, Helen tried toshush her and redirect the conversation towards what
their stories should be, but Olgacould not keep her mouth shut. On
March eighteenth, two thousand and eight, Helen now seventy seven and Olga now
seventy five were tried together on thefirst degree murders of Vados and McDavid,

(01:23:34):
as well as conspiracy to commit firstdegree murder. They both pleaded not guilty,
but their defense strategies were inconsistent,and the tape of them in the
interrogation room convinced the jury of theirguilt. On April eighteenth, two thousand
and eight, they were both foundguilty of conspiracy to murder Vados and McDavid

(01:23:57):
and of first degree murder of Vados. Only Helen was convicted of first degree
murder of McDavid. They were sentencedto consecutive life terms without the possibility of
parole. What are your thoughts onthis? Strange case. Was Helen and
Olga simply too greedy or were theytoo sweet and old to commit these crimes?

(01:24:19):
Be sure to let us know,because for now, for tonight,
I think we're going to have toadd the story of Helen Golet and Olga
Ruddersmith to our never ending but arealways growing tales from the dark alone.

(01:26:08):
I gave them nothing but kindness,she sighed, Men like me and I
like men. I've got nothing tohide. I know in my heart I
am completely innocent. From a glance, this black Widow seems to be the
most unlucky woman in the world,with having to bury four husbands within a

(01:26:28):
very short time span of four years. But as usual, things are not
always as they seem, and thiscase is no different. It takes a
lot to earn a title like themerry Widow of Wendy Nook, but for
her, this title was not onlyfitting, but maybe tame in comparison to

(01:26:49):
the crime she actually committed. Continuingon with our season of Black Widows,
she not only fits the bill,but due to her crime, she would
be the last woman to be sentencedto death in Durham in nineteen fifty eight.
This is the case of black widowMary Elizabeth Wilson. This is tales

(01:27:47):
from the Dark. Mary Elizabeth Cassidywas born in Cathgate, Durham in eighteen
eighty nine and was described by thosewho knew her at a young age as
extremely bright, quick witted and hada very rare work ethic. Mary would
go on to work for the Knowlesfamily and during this time struck up a

(01:28:10):
friendship eventually and then a relationship withthe son of the family, John Knowles.
The two were happy and settled intoa quaint home in Windy Nook,
Gateshead. The first few years oftheir marriage went as expected. The two
seemed happy and very much in love, according to their neighbors, with no

(01:28:32):
reason to suspect any nefarious activities goingon. The couple would even go on
to have three sons and three daughters, even though two of the girls would
die in infancy. This behavior continuedon until something strange happened. A man

(01:28:53):
named John Russell, who was thelodger of the home and a local painter,
moved in with Mary and John Knowles. This was the first time that
Mary would be surrounded in gossip,as it had long been suspected that John
Russell and her were secret lovers,but nobody in town seemed to give it

(01:29:13):
a second look due to her seeminglyhappy marriage with John Knowles. Shortly after
John Russell moved in, the unthinkablehappened. Mary's husband, John Knowles,
passed away. According to the autopsydone by the local coroner, it was
determined that mister Knowles passed away fromnatural causes. Mary was grief stricken by

(01:29:40):
the loss of her husband, orso the public thought. It was claimed
that shortly after the death of misterKnowles, Mary and John Russell were seen
dancing in the living room of thehome she had shared with her late husband.
Only a few months after her husband'sdeath, she married John Russell.

(01:30:02):
It appeared that the two could nothave been happier. According to their neighbors,
they would often be seen dancing andsinging and behaving exactly as newlywed should.
This honeyman period only lasted around ayear, as very suddenly, the
seemingly healthy and happy John Russell wouldalso die of what the local coroner would

(01:30:25):
claim as natural causes. Unlike afterthe death of her first husband, John
Knowles, who she was married tofor forty three years. It would appear
that Mary was simply going through themotions, and several neighbors told authorities that
they believed she was mourning her husbandout of courtesy and that she was clearly

(01:30:46):
only acting the way she thought sheshould be acting. After the death of
both her husbands, Mary would collecttheir life savings of forty two pounds,
which today would be worth about onetwenty five pounds. After the death of
her second husband, Mary was thetalk of the town. Several jokes were

(01:31:06):
consistently being made at her expense,and the merry widow of Wendy Nook was
beginning to earn her nickname. Fastforward, a few months after the death
of both her husbands, sixty fouryear old Mary would go on to wed
Oliver Leonard's, a wealthy retired realestate agent. Like the other two husbands

(01:31:30):
before him, it would appear thatMary and Oliver could not be happier,
but unlike the husband's before him,this happiness would only last twelve days.
Within twelve days, Oliver was takenill and Mary called a neighbor to come
and check on him. The neighborverified that he was not well and should

(01:31:51):
see a doctor. By the nextmorning, Oliver was dead. The local
corner examined the body and confirmed thathe had died from what he could only
describe as heart failure. With thedeath of husband number three, Mary would
inherit fifty pounds from her late husbandor one thousand, three hundred and thirty

(01:32:15):
nine pounds today. Shortly after Oliver'sdeath, Mary moved into the home of
Ernest Wilson. They would quickly marryafter Mary discovered the art and had not
only a hundred pounds in the coop, but had a fully paid up
life insurance policy. Ernest Wilson,who was described by many as a giving,

(01:32:38):
friendly and loving man, was astatic thinking that he had finally found
the love of his life and wouldnot have to die alone. He was
also described as a well educated man, but even with his education, he
had no idea he would be Mary'snext victim. Shortly after the two were

(01:32:58):
married, Erna also died of amysterious circumstance, but this time the coroner
called it cardiac muscular failure. Thecall to the doctor on November twelfth,
nineteen fifty seven was described by thedoctor as odd. When Mary called,
she told the doctor that her husband, Ernest was very ill. However,

(01:33:21):
at this time, her husband waspast his illness and had been dead for
several hours. At this point,all eyes in the town were on Mary
Elizabeth Wilson, and not only werethe town beginning to suspect that she was
a murderer, she was also overheardat the reception of her marriage to Wilson

(01:33:45):
making jokes such as, better keepsome cakes, we can use them at
the funeral. She was also overheardmaking jokes with the undertaker at Ernest's funeral,
saying, you really should give mea true discount due to the fact
that I keep sending so much businessto your way. It was after these

(01:34:05):
jokes were overheard and now four deadhusbands, that the police became suspicious of
Mary and exhumed the bodies of Oliverand Leonard and Ernest Wilson to have a
second opinion made at the cause oftheir death. After exhumation, it was
determined that neither husband had died ofnatural causes, but rather both had died

(01:34:29):
from phosphorus poisoning. During this investigation, Mary's name was brought to public light.
The Chronicle reported that two of herfour husbands had been dug up and
he burm and Heworth. The mediafrenzy began. The Chronicle was banned from
opening inquiries of the two men,but was quickly able to piece together the

(01:34:51):
story of an unlikely killer. Initially, Mary came across to the reporters as
a sweet, little old lady,and some even described her as a small,
homely woman who could not be thisevil. Just a day after the
exhumations, Mary told the Sunday Sunreporter that she had been planning a celebration

(01:35:13):
for when things got back to normal. The celebration, however, never took
place, and the same day afterthe bodies had been exhumed, Mary spoke
to the Chronicle and explained that peoplehad been going around town tittle tattling about
her, and went on to say, I'm not worried about what they are
saying. It's all jealousy. I'mnot worried about what is going on or

(01:35:39):
what they think is going on.But she should have been. It was
at this time Mary was arrested formurder and questioned for six hours, after
which she returned home. After returninghome, Mary told a reporter for the
Daily Mirror, I have nothing tohide I've prayed to God for my name

(01:36:00):
to be restored, and I amconfident my prayers would be answered. She
also asked for no sympathy and wasquoted as saying, I will not give
in to self penny. Another reporterasked her what happened during her police interrogation
and was told the police were politeand courteous to me, and I have
helped them all that I can,and that I have tasted the cup of

(01:36:25):
bitterness. But I don't blame thepolice for suspecting me. As she eventually
arrived in the courtroom in nineteen fiftyeight, she looked at the jury and
said, all I want is formy name to be cleared and then to
live out my life in peace.During the trial, Mary decided to give

(01:36:45):
no evidence to her innocence, butrather use the fact that there was very
little known at the time about phosphoruspoisoning, and went on to claim that
both men had been taking sexual stimulationpills due to their age hills containing phosphorus.
The jury, while initially very confusedby Mary's tactics, did not believe

(01:37:11):
her and found her guilty in themurder of two of her husbands. After
only ninety minutes, but due toher age, she was given clemency and
sent to Holloway Women's Prison, whereshe served a four and a half year
sentence before dying at the age ofseventy. The Clerk of court, Hugh
Radcliffe, said, you have beenconvicted of murder. What have you of

(01:37:34):
yourself to say? Why sentence ofdeath should not be passed upon you according
to the law. Mary did notreply, instead staring stone faced at the
jury. The judge then put onhis black cap and sentenced Hered to death.
During her time in prison, Marywrote a letter to one of her

(01:37:55):
relatives explaining, I may have saidthat at the wedding reception that there would
have been plenty of cakes and sandwichesthat may come in handy at the funeral,
but this was in no way intendedto be taken seriously. She also
claimed that in this letter that sheshould be removed from jail and that there
was a miscarriage of justice. Shedid appeal her conviction, but was denied

(01:38:20):
by the Court of Criminals Appeals.After this appeal, her son, John
Knowles told her a porter, thankGod she won't be hanged, and she
maintains that she is completely innocent crimeshe is alleged to have committed. Members
of her family who visited her inprison say that she is back to her

(01:38:44):
old self now, laughing and jokingwith them as if she had no troubles.
Mary Elizabeth Wilson would die in nineteensixty three and Holloway Prison. After
her death, the bodies of GeorgeRussell and Knolls were also exhumed and it
was found that they too were foundcontaining fatal levels of phosphorus. What are

(01:39:09):
your thoughts on this case? WasMary simply after the money of her wealthy
husbands or was there more to hergillings? Be sure to let us know,
because for now, for tonight,I think we're going to have to
add the story of Mary Elizabeth Wilson, the merry widow of Wendy Nook,

(01:39:30):
to our never ending but are alwaysgrowing tales from the dark. Imagine you're

(01:41:08):
a kid again, playing in thenearby woods, out in the middle of
nowhere. As your friends tumble throughthe weeds of a small stretch of land
off the escarpment, you find whatyou believe to be a decapitated corpse of
a pig. This would be thedark and terrifying reality of five children on

(01:41:28):
the day of March sixteenth, nineteenforty six, on the outskirts of Hamilton,
Ontario. Shocked and with no explanation, this corpse turned out to be
the torso of a man named JohnDick. With much more to uncover,
this would be a crime that wouldripple the town of Hamilton throughout the ages.

(01:41:49):
This is the case of the BlackWidow Evelyn Dick. This is tales

(01:42:30):
from the Dark. Evelyn Dick,or Evelyn McLean by her maiden name,
was born on October thirteenth, nineteentwenty in the town of Beansville, Ontario.
One year after her birth, Evelynand her family moved to two fourteen
Rosslyn Avenue in Hamilton, Ontario.Evelyn's father, Donald McLean, started work

(01:42:55):
as a streetcar conductor for the HamiltonStreet Railway and would eventually go on to
work an office job for the company. Donald would also have access to the
company reserves, which called the family'slavish lifestyle into question. This would be
the first of many rumors to circulatearound the family throughout the years. While

(01:43:18):
money never really seemed to be anissue for the mcleans, they still had
much turbulence behind closed doors. Donaldwas no stranger to alcohol, and it
is said that things turned violent whenhe drank. However, this could not
be confirmed. Evelyn's mother, onthe other hand, had a nasty temper

(01:43:39):
that flared regardless of the influence.The couple rarely spent time together and did
not get along. Evelyn was rarelyseen with the other children of the neighborhood.
Her parents considered Evelyn too fragile togo outside and play. She instead
grew up as a homebody until herearly teens. It was at this time

(01:44:00):
that her mother, Alexandra McLane,along with her father, Donald, would
encourage Evelyn to entice the finer socialcircles of Hamilton and make a name for
herself. Along with the family,Evelyn hosted lavish parties at the Royal Connaught
Hotel, the most expensive Hamilton hadto offer. Evelyn also wasted no opportunity

(01:44:25):
to spend money on any of herso called friends. Even with all the
efforts she put in. However muchEvelyn tried, she still could not reach
the social status she thought she deserved. And Evelyn's mid teens, growing more

(01:44:45):
attractive by the day, she foundherself in the middle of most rumors of
Hamilton, Evelyn donned herself with extravagantfurs and jewelry that would be well beyond
social standards of that time. Evelynwould also be seen entertaining men much older
than her at places out of townand at the racetracks. Though innocent enough,

(01:45:10):
Evelyn found herself surrounded in scandal.A few years later. In nineteen
forty two, Evelyn gave birth toher daughter, Heather, with much gossips
surrounding the location of the father.Evelyn claimed to have been married to a
man with the last name White.She claimed that mister White was currently stationed

(01:45:32):
overseas and that everything was perfectly acceptable. After a later examination, no such
military record could be found on misterWhite, and his existence is unlikely at
best. Heather White we grew upwith a mental disability that would require extensive
care from both her mother and hergrandparents. The following summer of nineteen forty

(01:45:58):
three, Evelyn would then give birthto a stillborn baby, and again on
September fifth, nineteen forty four,she would give birth to a baby boy
named Peter David White. In Juneof nineteen forty five, Evelyn's mother,
Alexandra, would leave Donald and moveinto the apartment with Evelyn and her children

(01:46:21):
in downtown Hamilton. After only amonth of living together, to Alexandra's surprise,
Evelyn announced her engagement to a mannamed John Dick. Alexandra had not
only never met this man, shehad also never heard of John at all.

(01:46:43):
Evelyn further bewildered her mother by explainingthat Evelyn and John were to be
wed in two weeks time. Theceremony came and went, and Evelyn remained
in the apartment with her mother forover a month. When asked, Evelyn
claimed that there was not enough roomfor in John's home for both Evelyn and

(01:47:06):
Heather. It would turn out tobe Evelyn who bought and presumably gave the
down payment for John and Evelyn's homeon thirty two Carrock Avenue, Hamilton,
Ontario. Evelyn's mother, Alexandra,grew more weary of her daughter's intentions as
she began to wonder about a mannamed Bill Bojozick. Alexandra had known that

(01:47:30):
Evelyn and Bill were enthralled in anintimate relationship exactly around the time Evelyn announced
her engagement to John. Nonetheless,Evelyn moved into her new home with her
now husband, John Dick, alongwith her daughter Heather White. A few
months came and went, and turmoilexuded from the Dick home. John,

(01:47:56):
after many fights over money and sexualpartners, left their newly wed home and
went to stay with his cousins Alexand Anne Cremier at two fifteen Gertrude Street,
Hamilton, Ontario. On March sixth, nineteen forty six, John Dick
would last be seen at the WindsorHotel at King William and John Streets,

(01:48:19):
where he ordered soup, pie anda coffee. It would be March sixteenth,
nineteen forty six that five children wouldfind a human torso on the outskirts
of Hamilton, Ontario and an areareferred to as the Mountain and It's about
half a mile north of Albion Falls. Upon further investigation, police were not

(01:48:45):
able to find any evidence of themissing head, legs, or arms,
but found two bullet wounds to thetorso from a thirty two caliber five shot
handgun. This would later be describedas unable to be the cause of death.
When the torso was brought in foridentification, both doctors and John's brother

(01:49:08):
in law identified the partial remains asJohn Dick. After John did not return
to the residence of his cousins,Alex would contact the police and fill out
a missing person's report. Alex wasafraid of what might have come of John,
especially after hearing reports of the foundTorso, and insisted that he had

(01:49:31):
returned to the home of Evelyn Dick. Alex also gave details of the rocky
now ruined marriage between the two.News coverage of the gruesome discovery followed in
swarms as the reporters scrambled to getthe story. What shocked investigators in the
case is not what was said bythe reporters. Instead, they were shocked

(01:49:55):
by Evelyn's response to the news ofher now late husband. Evelyn responded by
saying, don't look at me.I don't know anything about it. She
then went on to detail an elaboratestory about a neatly dressed Italian man who
came to her door and looked likea hit man. When she answered her

(01:50:17):
door, the man told her thathe was looking to fix up John from
messing around with a man's wife.After Evelyn said that John was not there,
the man left without Evelyn getting hisname or information. A few days
later, police found out that Evelynhad borrowed a nineteen thirty eight Packard car

(01:50:40):
from a man named Bill Langed.Bill reported to the police that the car
had been returned with blood covering thefront seat, sea covers removed, and
bloody clothing in the back. Evelynalso left a note in the car claiming
that Heather had cut herself made amess. After further testing and the blood

(01:51:02):
found, investigators concluded the blood typematched the blood of John Dick type OH.
When prodded by police, Evelyn changedher story to further include the hitman.
She claimed that the hitman called herand told Evelyn that John had impregnated

(01:51:24):
his wife and that John would getwhat's coming to him. The man then
asked Evelyn to meet him so hecould borrow her car. When Evelyn met
the man, he had a largesack with him, and the man explained
that it was part of John.She then went on to say that she

(01:51:44):
drove the man and the sack ofdismembered John Dick to the spot where John's
torso had been found. The policehad Evelyn drive the route that they allegedly
took, and on the way,the police asked her if she was at
all alarmed by the fate of herhusband, and at that time she responded,
it was a pretty mean trick tobreak up a home, evidently referring

(01:52:08):
to the woman John had impregnated.Evelyn denied conspiring to kill John, though
her statements were red flags to investigators. Later on, Evelyn changed her story
and said that the hitman had beenhired by her lover, Bill Behosick,
and signed a second statement. Afterpsychiatric analysis, it was determined that Evelyn

(01:52:34):
had the mental capacity of a thirteenyear old girl with doll to moro unlike
intelligence. During this time, investigatorsbegan searching Evelyn's home for clues. Not
only did they find remains of bonesand teeth belonging to John in the furnace,

(01:52:55):
they were appalled to discover a beigesuitcase in the attic filled with concrete.
Within the concrete lay the remains ofbaby boy Peter David White. Alexandra
McLean told the police that she hadseen her previous husband, Donald McLean,
messing with that same suitcase the daybefore. With new light being shed on

(01:53:17):
the case, Evelyn was told ofthe new finds and that Bill Bohosk was
being brought in for questioning. Evelyncame up with a new story that Bill
had not only killed her husband,but her son as well. Investigators began
the search of Donald McLean's home andfound bullet holes in a pipe, a

(01:53:38):
thirty two five shot revolver, saws, and bloodstained shoes presumably John Dicks in
the basement. Evelyn Dick, BillBohosick, and Donald McLean were all charged
with the murder of John Dick.After nine days of testimony, jurors within
two hours declared Evelyn Dick guilty byparticipation in planning execution of the murder of

(01:54:02):
John Dick. Evelyn was sentenced todeath by hanging. This decision would later
be appealed by lawyer J. J. Robinett and it would be overturned due
to Evelyn's statements being admitted into evidenceimproperly and the trial judge had not properly

(01:54:23):
instructed the jury. Both Bill andDonald were held for an unknown length of
time before their joint trials. BillBohosec would be released without any charges,
as the only witness the prosecutors hadwould be Evelyn herself. Evelyn refused to

(01:54:44):
testify as for Donald, he wouldbe found guilty as an accessory to the
murder of John Dick and would servefive years in prison. Doctors theorized that
the only reason why they could notincinerate the torso of John is because it
was too tough to cut through andit would not fit into the furnace hole.

(01:55:05):
They would also go on to saythey believe the cause of death was
a gunshot wound to the head.However, this could not be confirmed as
the majority of the remains were inashes. Evelyn, now aged twenty six,
would then go to trial for themurder of her baby boy Peter in

(01:55:26):
nineteen forty seven. Evelyn would befound guilty of manslaughter and sentenced for life.
Evelyn would eventually be paroled from KingstonPenitentiary for Women in nineteen fifty eight
after serving eleven years. Her reasonfor killing never came out in testimony,
and Evelyn would later be granted royalprerogative of mercy that sealed all records of

(01:55:53):
her parole and the case. Evelynwent completely into hiding with a different name,
and nothing has been found of hersince. If she were alive today,
she would be one hundred and oneyears old. No one knows of
her fate, and it is highlyunlikely that she would still be alive to
this day. What do you thinkof this case? Do you think we'll

(01:56:17):
ever find out the fate of EvelynDick? Be sure to let us know,
because for now, for tonight,we are going to have to add
the murders of John Dick and PeterDavid White to our never ending, but
are always growing tales from the Dark. May first, nineteen ninety began as

(01:58:10):
any other day would for this woman. She arrived at winnikon At High School,
where she worked as a media coordinator, and proceeded to a meeting there.
When she left work and returned home, she discovered her husband dead in
a pool of blood. But whatinitially appeared to be a random attack ended
up being something completely else. Policediscovered during their investigation that four neighborhood youngsters

(01:58:39):
had visited the residence in Dairy,New Hampshire that evening. Two stories with
ferociously opposing viewpoints came to light ina trial that riveted the nation. According
to the teenagers, this black widowencouraged them to kill her husband, all
the while she vehemently disputed it.This is the case of black widow Pamela

(01:59:03):
Smart. This is Tales from theDark television was Pamela Anne Woja's ultimate goal

(01:59:45):
in life. She was born onAugust sixteenth, nineteen sixty seven, grew
up in Miami, Florida, andstudied communications at Florida State University. During
a college break in New Hampshire innineteen eighty six, Pamela, who also
had her own college radio program andworked as an intern at a local television

(02:00:05):
news station, happened to run intoGregory Smart. Gregory moved to Florida to
be with Pamela as she finished herstudies. After they rapidly fell in love.
Pamela and her husband moved to Dairy, New Hampshire after she had her
degree, where Greg got a jobas an insurance agent. Pamela was hired

(02:00:29):
to serve as a media services directorfor eleven schools in New Hampshire. However,
their marriage started to fall apart lessthan one year after they tied the
knot in nineteen eighty nine. Accordingto Pamela, greg came home one night

(02:00:50):
and confessed that he had had aone night stand. I thought there was
something wrong with me and I wasn'tgood enough hurt, Pamela put herself into
her job as a Winniconet High School'smedia director in the Seabrook town. She
started interacting with Billy Flynn, afifteen year old student who shared her love

(02:01:13):
of heavy metal bands. That's whenPamela allegedly said to Flynn in February nineteen
ninety, do you think about me? Because I am constantly thinking of you.
After that, Pamela Smart and BillyFlynn started dating, albeit they had

(02:01:35):
a different version of what transpired inprivate. After Pamela alleged that Gregg had
struck her and threatened to take herpuppy if they got a divorce, Flynn
said that pam began talking to himabout killing her husband. Pamela, though,
claims she felt guilty the whole time. Every day, she claimed she

(02:01:57):
would vow to stop doing something,just to start it back up again the
following day. She asserts that sheeventually ended her relationship with Flynn and revealed
the affair to her husband. Priorto May first, nineteen ninety, everything
appeared to be back to normal whengreg reportedly forgave her. On May first,

(02:02:21):
nineteen ninety, Gregory Smart was shotwhen Pamela Smart, aged twenty two,
allegedly returned from work she discovered herhusband lying in a pool of blood.
Pam's twenty four year old husband hadbeen shot in the back of the

(02:02:42):
head during a break in at theirresidence. Following the incident, Pamela openly
conjectured that his killer had been somejerk, some drug addict person seeking for
a fast ten dollar bill. Policequickly understood, though, that Gregory Smart's
murder wasn't that straightforward. Investigators reportedlygot a tip saying that Pamela Smart was

(02:03:08):
responsible for her husband's death. Inthe meantime, Pete Randall and Vanced late
Time Junior, two of Flynn's buddies, confessed to a classmate that they had
assisted in the murder of greg Theboys were arrested by the authorities and promptly
consented to cooperate in the exchange forlighter penalties. The boys reportedly informed investigators

(02:03:33):
that Pamelas Smart had planned the entiremurder. She recommended that they make Greg's
death appear to be a burglary,asserted that she left the condo door unlocked
and demanded payment for ammunition. Policealso persuaded Cecil Pierre, another one of

(02:04:00):
Pamela's students, to wear a wireso they could speak with Pamela about the
crime. According to her comments toPierce on the tape, she said,
you'd be better off just lying tothe police. We'd spend the rest of
our lives in prison. Sadly,She also admitted to Pierce that if Flynn's

(02:04:25):
young accomplices hadn't informed their peers ofanything, Greg's untimely demise would have been
the perfect murder. Three months aftera husband's passing, on August first,
nineteen ninety, police detained Pamela's Smart. The ensuing trial gained national and worldwide
media attention, with journalists traveling asfar as Israel to chronicle every development.

(02:04:54):
Hamela Smart was quickly called an iceprincess by the media. The fact that
and openly sobbed on the witness standas he described shooting Gregory Smart while his
companion had a knife to his throat, on the other hand, made him
seem like a more sympathetic character.He said that Pamela Smart had instructed him

(02:05:14):
to kill greg if he wanted tobe with her. Even today, Pamless
Smart maintains that she never said anythinglike that, I can't do this because
I have a husband, Pamela remarked, And if Flynn took that to mean
he couldn't have her as long asGreg was alive, then nuts in his
head. Knowing Bill, he wouldnever be able to have me for himself

(02:05:39):
as long as Greg was present.The jury convicted Pamela Smart guilty of witness
tampering, conspiring to murder, andaiding in a betting first degree murder on
March twenty second, nineteen ninety one. The twenty three year old was subsequently
sentenced to spend the rest of herlife behind bars by the judge. Pamela

(02:06:04):
Smart is still imprisoned as of twentytwenty two at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility
for Women in the state of NewYork. After completing lengthy sentences, Billy
Flynn, Pete Randall, Vance LetTime Junior, and a fourth juvenile who
waited in the car were granted release. Pamela Smart thinks it's finally her time

(02:06:28):
to set foot free as well.Although Pamela Smart has consistently insisted that she
was unaware of Flynn's plans to murderher husband, she recently started to accept
responsibility for his passing by admitting thathe wouldn't have died if she hadn't had
an affair. Pamela stated, Imake no excuses for my acts and behavior

(02:06:50):
in a December twenty twenty one petitionfor a sentence reduction. I'm at fault,
she said. I regret that hastaken me this long to apologize to
the Smart family, my own family, and everyone else. She continued,
However, I believe that I wasn'tin a position where I was ready to

(02:07:11):
accept or face it. I wasyoung and self centered, and I didn't
consider the effects of what I wasdoing. Pamela Smart is now requesting that
a New Hampshire court schedule a hearingshe wants to be heard, as her
appeal for a reduced sentence was turneddown. In March twenty twenty two,

(02:07:31):
Pamela underlined her acknowledgement of her partin Greg's death in a letter to the
Governor of New Hampshire. She wrote, I've now spent more than thirty one
years in prison, more than halfmy life. I sinceriously apologize to everyone
who is harmed by my actions andpoor judgment, including the entire Smart family,

(02:07:54):
my own family and everyone else.The New Hampshire Executive Counsel hasn't made
any decisions on Pamela Smart's case publicas of yet. However, Smart and
her supporters are optimistic that they willshow mercy and let Pamela go. I
would rather be put to death thandie in hearing of old age. She

(02:08:16):
has accused the press, media,the witnesses, trial judge, and the
prosecution for plotting against her rights.Associate Attorney at General Jeffrey Strellson. Her
attempts to blame others for her incarcerationare a reflection of not just her wrongdoing,
but her inability to be rehabilitated.Even though Pamela claims that she would

(02:08:39):
be lying if she admitted to plainingher husband's murder, some of Strellson's claims
seem to be plausible to her.She claims, for many years it was
the fault of the entire world,not mine. I believe that deep down
I didn't want it to be myfault. Now, she confesses, I

(02:09:01):
do feel accountable for my husband's passing. I claim it's all my fault when
I give any thought to it.Nothing would have happened if I hadn't taken
that initial terrible decision to have anaffair. What do you think of this
case? Was there more to Pamelaand Gregory's failed marriage? Does Pamela really
regret her actions? Be sure tolet us know, because for now,

(02:09:26):
for tonight, we're going to haveto add the case of black Widow Pamela
Smart to our never ending but arealways growing Tales from the Dark alone.

(02:11:09):
Before we start this episode, pleasenote that sensitive topics and language will be
present throughout, including sexual assault,violence, and profanity. Listener discretion as
advised. I robbed them, andI killed them as cold as ice,
and I would do it again,and I know I would kill another person

(02:11:33):
because I've hated humans for a longtime. From late nineteen eighty nine through
late nineteen ninety, the bodies ofseven middle aged white men were discovered in
central Florida. The assailant had robbedall the victims before shooting them and stealing
their cars. This is the casea black widow, Eileen warnos, This

(02:12:31):
is Tales from the Dark. EileenMornos was born Eileen Carol Pittman on February
twenty ninth, nineteen fifty six,and Rochester, Michigan, and from a
young age lived a very troubled life. Her mother, Diane Pratt, married
Leo Dale Pittman when Eileen was fifteenyears old. Leo was a convicted child

(02:12:56):
molester who had spent the majority ofhis life in and out of prison before
being murdered in jail in nineteen sixtynine. When her mother filed for divorce
less than two years into the marriage, she was given custody of Eileen and
her one year old brother, Keith, but she wouldn't keep them for long.
In nineteen sixty her mother realized shedid not want the responsibility of raising

(02:13:20):
two children and abandoned them, leavingthem in the care of their maternal grandparents.
Shortly after moving in with her grandparents, Eileen would recall the horrors of
her childhood as they started all overagain. Her grandfather sexually abused her and
allowed her to be raped by oneof his friends. This resulted in a

(02:13:43):
pregnancy and the child would be givenup for adoption. During her troubled youth,
Aileen had a reputation for trading sexualfavors for anything she thought she needed
to survive, like money, beer, cigarette and food. She was also

(02:14:03):
known to have multiple partners at thesame time, including her younger brother.
By the early nineteen eighties, afterlosing her brother to cancer, Warnos would
hitchhike to Florida to live out therest of her life, working as a
prostitute. Once there, she wasfrequently in trouble with the law for being
a prostitute and other crimes, andby nineteen ninety seven, her record included

(02:14:28):
arrest for a legal possession of afirearm, forgery, assault, and armed
robbery. She also had a reputationfor being a ratic and easily angered.
Her arrest records frequently cited her personalityas poor and dangerous. In nineteen eighty

(02:14:50):
six, Eileen met Terria Moore ata gay bar in Daytona Beach, Florida,
and shortly after the two began inan a tense romantic relationship that did
not end until right before her finalarrest in nineteen ninety one. The two
bonded together instantly, and Eileen movedin with Tyria in her apartment and supported

(02:15:11):
both of them with the money sheearned from prostitution and theft. By nineteen
ninety, Tyria became suspicious of Eileen'sactivities and decided to move back in with
her family in Pennsylvania, where shebelieved she was free from Eileen forever.
This was until Eileen was arrested onan outstanding warrant at a biker bar in

(02:15:37):
hyber Oaks, Florida, and everythingcame crashing down. During their relationship,
Eileen was hiding a dark side that, according to Tyria, she had no
idea existed. From nineteen eighty nineto nineteen ninety she murdered seven men,
and according to some this list isnot compleat The first victim's name was Richard

(02:16:03):
Mallory, who was a shop owner. He was fifty one years old and
he picked up a prostitute along Iseventy five in Florida of Elucia County.
Sheriff's deputy discovered his body several milesaway from his abandoned car. He had
been shot multiple times in the chest. The second victim was David Spears.

(02:16:26):
He was a forty three year oldconstruction worker and was known to many to
be kind and a caring individual.His body was discovered on June first,
nineteen ninety and Citrus County, Florida. He was discovered nude and had been
shot six times in the torso.Only a few days after the discovery of

(02:16:46):
David Spears, the body of CharlesCarscadin was discovered. He was forty years
old and marked a part time asa rodeo worker. His body was found
in Pascoe County and had been shotnine times in the chest and the stomach.
One month later, the body ofTroy Burris was discovered by Marion County

(02:17:07):
law enforcement. Troy was a fiftyyear old salesman who had been reported missing
less than a week before he wasdiscovered. Though his body was fairly decomposed,
it was determined that his cause ofdeath was two gunshots to the torso.
Eileen's next victim was Charles Humphries,who was a retired Air Force major

(02:17:31):
police chief and child abuse investigator.He was found dead in Marion County on
September twelfth, nineteen ninety. Thecause of death was multiple gunshots to the
head and torso. His car wouldbe discovered later in Swannee County. Peter
Simes was the only one of Eileen'svictims to never be found. He was

(02:17:54):
a sixty five year old man whohad left Central Florida and was heading to
New j in nineteen ninety. Hiscar was later found in Orange Sprints on
July fourth, nineteen ninety. Thefinal victim was that of partially disrobed Walter
Antonio, a sixty two year oldman. His body was found on November

(02:18:18):
nineteenth, nineteen ninety and a veryremote part of Dixie County. He had
been shot four times in the backof the head, and his car was
discovered five days later in Brevard County, Florida. Eileen would be arrested on
January ninth, nineteen ninety one,as a result of her being seen with

(02:18:39):
Tyria inside Peter Sime's car. Herpalm print would later be lifted from the
interior as well. The investigators alsofound several of the victim's possessions in a
local pawn shop with Eileen's fingerprints onthem. Tyria, at this time,
was tracked down in Pennsylvania, whereshe was living with her sister. She

(02:19:03):
agreed to give a full confession inexchange for full immunity from any crimes she
may have been linked to. Eileen'scase was tried in Lusia County, Florida,
and Tricia Jenkins, the Chief AssistantPublic Defender, represented her at her
trial. She only stood trial once, as she pled no contest or guilty

(02:19:28):
to the subsequent murder charges. Prosecutionwould base their case primarily around the videotaped
confessions that they had received from Eileenduring interrogation. The prosecution was able to
introduce evidence related to her murder chargesbased on a Florida law known as the
William's Rule, which allows evidence relatedto collateral crimes to be admitted if it

(02:19:52):
helped show motive. Prosecutors also dismissedher initial claims that all seven murders were
in self defense by pointing out thather story seemed to change with each retelling,
but Eileen was adamant that the firstman did rape her and the others
tried before she pulled the trigger.In her earliest confession to the officers,

(02:20:16):
she said that Mallory picked her upwhile hitchhiking, and later they went into
a secluded wooded area to engage inprostitution. She claimed that her and Mallory
began arguing and she felt like hewas going to rob her. At this
point, she grabbed her back whereshe kept her gun, and the two
began fighting. When Eileen pulled outthe gun from the back. She was

(02:20:39):
quoted as saying, you son ofa bitch and knew you were going to
rape me, to which he responded, no, I wasn't. I wasn't.
At this point, she shot himat least once while he was sitting
behind the steering wheel. She thencrawled out of the driver's side and shut
the car door, and then ranto the front of the car and shot

(02:21:00):
him again, causing him to fallto the ground. Before shooting him twice
more, she robbed him and coveredhis body with a piece of rug before
stealing his car and driving off.Aileen also admitted to telling Tyria more inconsistent
versions with what happened that night,and one telling she told her that she

(02:21:22):
had found a dead body hidden undera rug in the woods, and in
another she confessed to the killing.In her taped confession, she never mentioned
the alleged assault by Mallory, andduring the confession it appeared that she was
not focused on clearing herself so muchas clearing her lover. It was noted

(02:21:45):
that she made very easy and casualconversation with investigators and repeatedly told her public
defender to shut up. She wasquoted as saying I took a life.
I'm willing to give up my lifebecause I killed people. I deserved to
die. Eileen Mornos was found guiltyon all accounts, including first degree murder

(02:22:07):
and armed robbery, after less thantwo hours of jury deliberation. At this
time, she was quoted as yelling, sons of bitches, I was raped.
I hope you all get raped,scumbags of America. She was executed
for her crimes on October ninth,two thousand and two, by means of

(02:22:28):
lethal injection, her last words beingyes, I would just like to say
I'm sailing with the rock and I'llbe back, like Independence Day with Jesus
June sixth, like the movie BigMothership and all, I'll be back.
I'll be back. What do youguys think of this case? Was Eileen

(02:22:52):
simply acting in self defense or wasit her way of surviving? Be sure
to let us know, because fornow, for tonight, I think we're
going to have to add the caseof Black Widow. I lean warnos to
our never ending but are always growingtails from the dark. Driven by greed,

(02:24:46):
this queen of poisoners allegedly killed upto twelve of her friends family and
husbands. With the promise of inheritancefrom almost all around her, she narrowly
escaped punish from the law. Alsoknown as the Good Lady of Luden,
This is the case a black widow. Marie Bernard This is Tales from the

(02:25:45):
Dark. Marie Bernard was born onAugust fifteenth, eighteen ninety six and Luden,
France. Marie was an only childof frugal parents and attended a convent
school. Marie was known as usand immoral throughout her schooling. She was
also known to be wild with theboys and often took other people's things than

(02:26:07):
lied to cover it up. However, not much else is known of Marie's
early life. Marie married her cousinAugust Antony in nineteen twenty at twenty three
years old. August himself was knownas a frail man who often suffered from
tuberculosis. They remained married until Julytwenty first, nineteen twenty seven, when

(02:26:31):
August died from pleurisy. Marie quicklyremarried in nineteen twenty eight to a man
named Leon Bonnard. Leon was knownto be a con man, which was
very similar to Marie's school days.It is speculated that the newly wegged couple
hatched the scheme to obtain inheritance fromtheir friends, family, and anyone they

(02:26:54):
could wrap into it. Until nineteenforty, and Marie spent most of their
time cementing their relationships and getting intothe good graces of their family's wills,
while also living humbly. In nineteenthirty eight and in nineteen forty, two
of Leon's aunts died. Some sayit was after receiving gifts obtained wine from

(02:27:18):
the couple, and they left asizable fortune to Leon's parents. The couple
promptly invited his parents to reside withthem. A few weeks into their new
home, Leon's father died from eatingpoisoned mushrooms. Leon's mother then passed away
three months later from pneumonia. Theestate was split between Leon and his sister

(02:27:43):
Lucy. Lucy then committed suicide afew months later after their mother's death,
and the entire estate went to Leon. Marie's father would also pass away on
May fourteenth, nineteen forty, fromcerebral hemorrhage and left significant moneies for the
now very well off couple. Thecouple did not stop with their close relatives,

(02:28:09):
the Bonards invited a wealthy, childlesscouple into their residence, to Saint
and Blanc Rivet on July fourteenth,nineteen forty to Saint would die of pneumonia
and Blanc would die on December twentyseventh, nineteen forty one. Of oidis,
before the couple's untimely deaths, theywould name Leon and Marie as sole

(02:28:31):
beneficiaries of their inheritance. Grateful forthe couple quote taking care of them even
surrounded by death, Very few peoplesuspected that the Banard couple were capable of
murder. Most chalked it up toa string of bad luck. That is
until one of Marie's elderly cousins,Pauline Bodineaux, died in the Bannard home

(02:28:58):
one first, nineteen forty five.Marie claimed that Pauline had mistaken a dish
of life for a dessert and hadeaten it. Coincidentally enough, on July
ninth, nineteen forty five, Marie'sother cousin, Virginia Laurent, died the
same way. Marie was the onlybeneficiary for both cousins. Neighbors and friends

(02:29:24):
of the couple grew quite suspicious,but no investigation was started. On January
sixteenth, nineteen forty six, Marie'smother, Mary Louis, died of old
age, and Marie again collected inheritance. The road would end for the con

(02:29:45):
couple when Marie found out that Leonwas having an affair with a neighbor,
Louise Pintaut. Leon died on Octobertwenty fifth, nineteen forty seven, but
not before he told Louise that ifhe died, it would be at the
hands of Marie. There were alsorumors around Louden that Marie herself had found

(02:30:05):
a German prisoner of war thirty yearsyounger than her, that she became infatuated
with. In the meantime, afterthe death of Leon Bonard, Louise sent
a letter to a public prosecutor relayingthe information that Leon had given her that
he believed he would die by poison. Initially, the authorities dismissed the claims,

(02:30:30):
the pressure from Louise and other publicconcerns forced their hands into an investigation.
Leon's body would be exhumed on Mayeleventh, nineteen forty nine, with
Maurice sobbing by the graveside, andan autopsy found large amounts of arsenic ingested.
Over a period of time, furtherbodies of the trail of family members

(02:30:54):
were exhoomed and all had arsenic intheir bodies, including marie first husband,
August. Marie was arrested and chargedwith eleven counts of murder on July twenty
first, nineteen forty nine. Marie'sfirst trial happened in February nineteen fifty two.

(02:31:15):
During this time, Marie's lawyers arguedthat the scientific evidence behind testing the
arsenic and the alleged murders. Thedefense also had claims of losing and mishandling
of evidence in the lab, andalso said that the soil in the cemetery
could contaminate the evidence at hand.The court ruled that they needed more time

(02:31:37):
to process the evidence and reconvened inOctober. The trial would again be inconclusive.
Marie would remain in jail until Marchnineteen fifty four. The third trial
would be held at this time,and yet again the results would be inconclusive.
However, this time the judge Graneand Marie bail at twelve hundred frank

(02:32:00):
bond to await her next trial.The fourth and final trial would be held
on November twentieth, nineteen sixty one. Both sides presented very different evidence for
the murders, but this time averdict was made. Marie Binard was found
not guilty on all counts on Decembertwelfth, nineteen sixty one. She would

(02:32:22):
live her life as a free woman, and Marie died on February fourteenth,
nineteen eighty at eighty three years old. What do you think of this case?
Was it fair that Marie avoided allcharges? Was she the mastermind behind
the schemes of inheritance? Be sureto let us know, because for now,

(02:32:46):
for tonight, we are going tohave to add the case of black
widow Marie Binard to our never endingbut are always growing tales from the dark?

(02:33:13):
Wants my Thelwe do you believe inprophecies? What about those who claim

(02:34:31):
to see the future? Still ensure? Well? What if I told you
that today's case involved a woman whoclaimed to have the gift of foreseeing the
death of those around her? Whatif I told you that these prophecies included
the passing of her first, second, third, and fourth husbands along with

(02:34:54):
three children. It's up to youto decide what you believe. This is
the case a black widow Tilly Clemmock. This is Tales from the Dark.

(02:35:41):
Tilly Climock was born on October twentysecond, eighteen seventy seven, in Poland
to her parents, Michelina and MichaelBurwick. The family had seven children,
and Tillie was the first born.At the age of seven, Tilly and
her family immigrated to the United Statesand settled down in an area known as

(02:36:05):
Little Poland in Chicago, Illinois.We don't know much about Tilly's childhood,
but we do know that by eighteenninety five she married Joe Mitchevich, and
according to her friend's family and neighbors, the marriage was a very happy one.
They were well liked in the community, and Tilly had earned the reputation

(02:36:26):
of being one of the best cooksin Little Poland. But she also had
another reputation. It was said thatshe had the uncanny ability to predict the
impending deaths of those around her.According to Tilly, these predictions came to

(02:36:48):
her in her dreams, and shehad many of them. Typically, these
dreams would be of stray dogs thatannoyed her, or of a neighbor who
had troubled her. But one thingis for certain When Tilly had these dreams
or these premonitions, they were almostalways correct. In early nineteen fourteen,

(02:37:11):
Tilly told her friends and neighbors thatshe had a new vision. That she
had dreamed that her husband Joe wassick and that he would die within the
coming weeks. This dream, likethe others, came true on January thirteenth,
nineteen fourteen, when her husband passedaway from what the coroner deduced was
heart trouble. Tilly would go onto collect a round one thousand dollars in

(02:37:35):
life insurance, which would be worthabout twenty nine thousand, six hundred and
twenty seven dollars today. With hernewfound money and freedom, Tilly decided it
was best to move on and forgetabout her first husband as soon as possible.
That's when she met and married JosephRoskowski on February twenty seventh, nineteen

(02:37:58):
fourteen. Just like her first husband, people thought that Joseph and Tilly were
happy until Tilly had another dream.In this dream, she saw that her
second husband would also become ill,and like clockwork, her husband, who
was in perfect health, became deathlyill by the beginning of May. It

(02:38:22):
was obvious to all involved that hewould not make it, and on May
twentieth, he passed away, leavingTilly with one thousand, two hundred dollars
in cash and a seven and twentytwo life insurance policy that would be worth
about fifty six thousand, nine hundredand forty four dollars today. At this
point, friends and neighbors wanted tocomfort Tilly, as they all thought she

(02:38:46):
had to be the most unlucky girlin Chicago. Tilly, however, did
not want their comfort. Instead,she sought after another man, Joseph Gaskowski.
Joseph's sister took an immediate interest inthe new relationship and decided to take
both Tilly and her brother out forcandy. Shortly after this date, they

(02:39:07):
would both become violently ill and die, and just like that, Tillie found
herself with that familiar feeling of loneliness. This feeling would subside when she married
her next husband in March of nineteennineteen, a man by the name of
Frank Joseph Cupsick. The two livedtogether at nine twenty four North Winchester Avenue

(02:39:31):
in Chicago, Illinois. Strangely enough, Tillie had lived here once before with
a man named Myers, who happenedto my seriously go missing not long after
they moved in. When the newlyweds moved in, Tilly had another vision
and assured her neighbors that he wouldn'tlive for long. She even went as

(02:39:52):
far as to taunt Frank with thisprediction, screaming things like it'll be any
day now as he began to fallill. Tilly was also quoted as telling
her neighbors that he has two inchesto live, as if it had already
been decided that her husband would notpull through. As Frank grew weaker and

(02:40:15):
weaker with each passing day, Tillieasked him to take out a life insurance
policy so she wouldn't be left withnothing when he died. Frank reluctantly agreed
and took out the policy like sheasked. It was at this time that
Tilly purchased a thirty dollar coffin froman advertisement for her still living husband.

(02:40:39):
Tilly would ask her Landlady Martha wasSolick to store the casket in her basement,
and Martha told her that she thoughtthe idea of purchasing a casket for
a living man was morbid, alongwith telling Tilly that she would chase her
and the coffin out. Shortly after, Frank was slipping in and out of
consciousness as Tillie sat by his sidequietly knitting. She was knitting a hat

(02:41:05):
with a black lace trim that shetold her husband she intended to wear at
his funeral. Frank passed away onApril twentieth, nineteen twenty one, and
when he did, Tilly reacted ina very erratic way. She played festive
music on her victrola and was heardscreaming, you devil, you won't get

(02:41:28):
up again as she grabbed him bythe ears. Tilly then buried Frank in
the coffin she stored in the basement, while wearing the hat he had watched
her sow. The corner listed hiscause of death as bronchial pneumonia, and
yet again Tilly would collect life insurance, this time in the sum of six

(02:41:48):
hundred and senty five dollars or nineteenthousand, one hundred and ninety eight dollars
today. By this point, itappeared that Tilly had just bad luck with
were men had terrible luck with her, depending on how you look at it.
She had amassed a legendary persona duringher time in Little Poland, known

(02:42:13):
as an amazing cook, fortune teller, and subsequent widow, so naturally everyone
was surprised when she met a fourthman willing to risk his life to be
with her. Tilly would marry forthe fourth time on July thirtieth, nineteen
twenty one, to a wealthy mannamed Joseph Clemoc, and although he was

(02:42:37):
a man of means, Tilly toldeveryone that he enjoyed his moonshine far too
much and too often for her personaltaste. In addition to his drinking,
Tilly claimed that Joseph was unfaithful andshe would often catch him looking at other
women, and that is something shewould not tolerate. When she complained about

(02:42:58):
this to her cousin Nellie, shesuggested that the two should get a divorce,
but Tilly just replied, I willget rid of him some other way.
So, just like her other husbands, Tilly insisted that Joseph take out
a life insurance policy should anything happen, and just like her other husband's,
something quickly started to After a fewweeks, Joseph realized that he was getting

(02:43:26):
sick. He was experiencing shooting painsin his arms, which dismissed until they
began to numb, and after sixweeks his legs were paralyzed, prompting him
to call his doctor. Doctor PeterBurns came to the family home to examine
Joseph and quickly realized he was gravelyill. He called for an ambulance to

(02:43:48):
bring him to Cook County Hospital Immediately. The doctors noted something odd with Joseph.
His symptoms were consistent with our snakepoisoning, and after a few tests,
it was discovered that he was sufferingfrom the effects of long term arsenic
toxicity. It was at this timethat Joseph remembered that their dog had died

(02:44:16):
from eating a scrap of food fromhis wife, and the soup that she
had been feeding him did taste strange. This prompted hospital officials to call the
police on October twenty seventh, nineteentwenty two, who then arrested Tilly on
the spot. During the arrest,Tilly screamed at an officer, the next

(02:44:39):
one I want to cook is foryou. You made all of my troubles,
and after an eighteen hour interrogation,she confessed to everything. During the
trial, she was asked where shegot the poison, which she admitted that
her cousin Nellie gave her a compoundof soot and arsenic which was called rough

(02:45:01):
on rats and was useful for gettingrid of all manner of vermin as well
as cumbersome husbands. Investigators at thispoint obtained permission to exhume the bodies of
all of Tillie's previous husbands, aswell as cousin Nellie's first husband. All
of the men were found to havelethal quantities of arsenic in their bodies.

(02:45:26):
Along with the husbands, it wasdiscovered that Nellie's twin children, Sophie and
Ben Strumer, along with her granddaughterDorith, had all died of poisoning.
In nineteen seventeen, Tillie and Nelliestood trial before Judge Marcus Covenaugh, who
had a reputation for being a bigfan of the death penalty, but even

(02:45:48):
this did not seem to scare Tillie. Throughout the trial, she wore the
same black hat that she had knittedfor a husband Frank's funeral. Prosecuted would
go on to list over twenty namesto Tilly, pausing between each one,
asking did you kill this person,and to each Tillie shrugged her shoulders and

(02:46:09):
answered yeah. Nellie would spend ayear behind bars with her cousin and was
relentlessly tortured by Tilly, always sayingthings like, Oh, they're gonna hang
you today, Nellie. Nellie wouldreceive an acquittal by a hung jury.
Tilly, however, would not beso lucky, and though evidence existed to

(02:46:31):
convict her of twenty murders by arsenic, only one would result in her conviction.
In March of nineteen twenty three,Tilly was found guilty of murder in
the first degree for her husband,Frank Kupsick. She showed no emotion when
the verdict was read and simply respondedit was hot in there as the guards

(02:46:52):
led her back to prison. Shewould be sentenced to life without the possibility
of parole, which at the timewas the harshest sentence ever given to a
woman in Chicago. Tilly would livethe rest of her life in Illinois State
Penitentiary until she died on November third, nineteen thirty six, at the age

(02:47:13):
of sixty. What do you guysthink of this case? Do you think
Tilly had any mystical powers or wasshe simply confessing to crumbs before she committed
them. Be sure to let usknow, because for now, for tonight,
I think we're going to have toadd the case a Black Widow,
Tilly Clemock to our never ending butare always growing Tales from the Dark More.

(02:49:11):
In nineteen ninety, a fifty sevenyear old preacher's wife, mother and
grandmother went on trial for murdering herfirst husband. It didn't stop there,
though, She would be caught tryingto poison her current husband and clearly had
more skeletons in her closet than sheled on. After a very public and

(02:49:33):
shocking investigation, more would be revealed, and this good, God fearing grandmother
was found to have a bad habit. What was that habit, you ask,
poisoning people in her life that didher wrong. This is the case
a Black Widow, lance More.This is Tales from the Dark. Born

(02:50:31):
in nineteen thirty three, she wasone of seven children to her parents,
Flown and Parker, and was raisedin Alamance County, North Carolina. Her
father was a self appointed evangelical preacherwho, despite not having any paperwork,
took every opportunity to preach to whoeverwould listen to him. But apart from

(02:50:56):
being a god fearing man, healso had a dark side. Her father
was also an alcoholic in a gamblingattic, who would often force his daughter
into prostitution to pay off his debts. Being surrounded by religion and the volatile
home life, it had its effectson Blanche, as it was said that

(02:51:18):
she began acting out at a veryyoung age and was accused of saying sexual
things to men at her father's church. She was known to go from quoting
scripture to sexually explicit topics in theblink of an eye. Despite his outward
appearance, her father would end upleaving her mother for a much younger woman,

(02:51:41):
and it was then that Blanche snappedand left home. At the age
of nineteen, Blanche met and marriedher first husband, James Napoleon Taylor,
who was a respected Korean War veteranthat restored furniture for a living. It
was at this time that she gota job working at the Kroger supermarket and

(02:52:03):
even found herself promoted to head cashier, which was the highest position a woman
could hold at that time. Accordingto all The two were happily married for
twenty one years and had two daughters, But then one morning in nineteen seventy
three, according to Blanche, shefound her husband unresponsive in bed. He

(02:52:28):
had died at the age of fortyfive from what was believed at that time
to be a heart attack. Beingan attractive and ambitious woman, Blanche wouldn't
stay single for long. She quicklybegan dating Raymond c. Reid, who
was a divorced assistant manager for theKroger store where she worked. The couple

(02:52:50):
would stay together for several years butnever married. But according to Raymond's son
Stephen Reid, his father's girlfriend wasvery polite, but she was also very
good at manipulating people to get herway. Blanche always ensured that she appeared
to everyone as a sweet Christian ladywho spent her free time with her church

(02:53:11):
community, volunteering to bring food tothe sick and the needy. On Easter
Sunday in nineteen eighty five, sheattended service at the Carolina United Church of
Christ and immediately hit it off withReverend Dwight W. Moore, who was
also divorced. Blanche's daughter, Cindy, was on record as saying Mom would

(02:53:35):
have been one of those women whowould have made a great pastor's wife.
She was very knowledgeable of scripture,so the fact that the two hit it
off was not a surprise to anyone. Shortly after Blanche met the reverend,
her boyfriend Raymond, was admitted tothe hospital for severe nausea and vomiting.
Doctors were at a loss for whatthe cause was due to his conditions

(02:53:58):
seemingly improved and declining at random duringhis time in the hospital. Blanche was
a frequent visitor who would do nicethings for him, to just bring him
his favorite dinner or milkshake. Nurseseven observed her spoon feeding Raymond her homemade
banana pudding on October first, nineteeneighty six. Sadly, not even a

(02:54:24):
week later, he was declared dead. According to the hospital, the death
was attributed to complications from Gillion bardisease, which is a rare autoimmune disorder
where the body's immune system attacks yournerves. Several questions remained after Raymond's death,
but Blanche was adamant that no autopsyneeded done. She was even quoted

(02:54:48):
as saying, your dad's been cutup enough. He wouldn't want this.
After his death, she was taskedwith executing his will, and that is
when she presented the document to histwo sons, stating that he wanted his
assets split three ways between them andher. This document had been signed one

(02:55:09):
month before his death. Shortly afterthe will was read and carried out,
Reverend Dwight asked Blanche to marry him, and the two did so on April
nineteenth, nineteen eighty nine, ina small private ceremony. The two honeymooned
in New Jersey, and barely aweek into their vacation, Dwight was also

(02:55:33):
hospitalized due to intense abdominal pain,nausea, and flu like symptoms. The
last thing he had eaten before gettingsick was a chicken sandwich that Blanche had
given him, allegedly from a fastfood restaurant. The symptoms that he had
were numbness and neuropathy and his handsand in his feet, nausea, vomiting,

(02:55:56):
shortness of breath, and excruciating painall over his body. Said former
Burlington Police First Sergeant Dexter Lowe.The ailment came on strong and for seemingly
no reason, but on a hunch, a medical student at the hospital suggested
testing him for heavy metals. Hisdoctor obliged and when his blood levels came

(02:56:20):
back, they revealed the presence ofarsenic there are more than a hundred times
the normal amount present in his bloodstream. With a test in hand, the
hospital notified the police, who thenmonitored and restricted his visitors, including his
new wife. Shortly after the restrictions, his health began to stabilize. Blanche

(02:56:45):
was questioned at the time and deniedhaving anything to do with their husband's poisoning.
She was quoted as saying Dwight washaving a very hard time. It's
possible that he is depressed and probablypoisoned himself, But when interviewed by the
police, Dwight was adamant that hehadn't tried to kill himself, but could

(02:57:07):
not think of a single person whowould want to murder him. Next,
the police asked if anyone close tohim or his wife had died mysteriously,
and that is when Dwight told themabout Raymond read This prompted the Burlington Police
to exhume Raymond's body and test himfor heavy metals as well. After the

(02:57:31):
exclamation, it was found that notonly did he test positive for elevated arsenic,
but it was in a concentration thathas often associated with fatalities, and
it was thirty times higher than normal. After this, the authorities began looking
into Blanche's first husband, Taylor,who also died from a seemingly random heart

(02:57:52):
failure. When his body was exhumed, it was found that arsenic levels in
his body came back at more thansixty times the normal rate. After this,
authorities began to wonder how many peoplenear Blanche had died of unusual circumstances
throughout the years, and the numberwas staggering. According to police, they

(02:58:18):
had a list of twenty two peoplethey had obtained court records on, and
eventually two other bodies, Blanche's fatherand her mother in law, were exhumed
and had autopsies performed. In bothcases, a high level of arsenic was
found, but it was not believedat the time that it was enough to
cause death on its own. Afterthis, Blaunch was arrested at her home

(02:58:43):
on July eighteenth, nineteen eighty nine, and was held without bond. She
was charged in all three of thosecases, two charges for murder and one
for attempted murder, said reporter JustinCatanozzo while being held before her trial.
Launche's attorney presented a handwritten confession froma man named Gavin Thomas, claiming that

(02:59:07):
he had poisoned all the men inher life because he was in love with
her. This prompted police to launchanother investigation, which included obtaining several pieces
of Blanche's handwriting, which, whenshown to an expert, proved that she
had written the note herself. Prosecutorstried Blanche for the murder of Raymond in

(02:59:31):
October of nineteen ninety. The statehad lined up fifty four prosecution witnesses,
one of which being Dwight, whowas still recovering from being poisoned. The
fifty seven year old woman was foundguilty of Raymond's murder on November fourteenth,
nineteen ninety, and was sentenced todeath. After this, authorities dropped the

(02:59:56):
additional charges and she never stood trialfor the death Taylor or the poisoning of
Dwight. Just weeks after the deathsentence was handed out, Dwight filed for
divorce, later remarrying and moving toVirginia. At eighty nine years old,
Launch is North Carolina's oldest death rowinmate and one of only two women currently

(03:00:18):
condemned to death in the State.She maintains her innocence to this day and
says God will come through for mewhen the justice system refused to. So
what do you guys think of thiscase? Is it possible that Blanche was
innocent? Or do you think thatbehind her religious happy persona was a killer

(03:00:39):
waiting to strike? Be sure tolet us know, because for now,
for tonight, I think we're goingto have to add the case a black
widow, Blanche Taylor Moore to ournever ending but are always growing Tales from
the Dark want Mylone. This blackwidow wanted everyone to believe that her life

(03:02:33):
was destroyed by tragedy, that herfirst husband tragically died of a heart attack
and the second died by poisoning himself. She wanted everyone to know that she
was the victim and that life wasunfair and unjust or wasn't. This is
the case of Black Widow Stacy Castor. This is Tales from the Dark.

(03:03:33):
Stacy Castor was born on July twentyfourth, nineteen sixty seven and Clay,
New York and had a normal childhood, growing up in a fairly nice area
of the state. Unlike others thatwe will cover this season, it is
not believe that she suffered any sortof assault or abuse as a child,
and most surprising of all, thereseemed to be no inciting incident to explain

(03:03:58):
both her behavior and lack of remorse. In an interview, her mother,
Judy Eaton, said that she onceenvisioned great things for her daughter, and
that she always wanted to be aparalegal or a lawyer and had the brains
to do it. She was ontrack to accomplish these aspirations, taking all

(03:04:20):
the necessary classes in high school andeven going as far as taking prep courses
for her next level of education,but all that went away when she had
her seventeenth birthday. It was shortlyafter then that she would meet Michael Wallace,
and according to everyone who knew her, it was love at first sight.

(03:04:43):
The two were inseparable. Stacy quotedlater as saying, Michael's the love
of my life, and I knewfive minutes after I met him that I
was going to marry him, andshe did just that on April seventeenth,
nineteen. From the outside looking in, everyone believed they had a strong marriage,

(03:05:07):
that the two seem like their honeymoonphase would never end. Her mother
was on record as stating that mydaughter is as happy as she has ever
been. The couple would go onto have two daughters together, Ashley and
Brie. Again, everyone believed thatshe was well suited for motherhood and as
happy as a person could be.She would later tell reporters, I knew

(03:05:31):
from the minute Ashley was born thatmy whole reason for being here was to
take care of her. But behindclosed doors laid a much darker truth.
According to Stacy, her husband wasconsistently drinking and rarely sober, and the
two had no money despite both workingfull time jobs. Fast forward to nineteen

(03:05:54):
ninety nine and things got even worse. Her husband, Michael Walls, got
sick. She was quoted as sayinghe was having a hard time walking and
an even harder time talking. Onetime, he sat up and just vomited
across the coffee table and laid backdown and went to sleep like nothing had

(03:06:15):
ever happened. Michael would go onto tell doctors that he constantly felt like
he was drunk, despite not havinga single drop to drink. This had
his doctor stumped, and after multipletests and procedures, he died on January
eleventh, two thousand, at thirtyeight years old. After his death,

(03:06:37):
his doctors claimed that he had aheart attack, but his family didn't believe
it and demanded an autopsy'd be done. Stacy Castor refused. She was quoted
as saying, the doctors told meit was a heart attack, and that's
good enough for me. After hisdeath, a mutual friend told a reporter

(03:06:58):
that Stacy was contemplating to vorce beforeMichael got sick, but she wanted to
wait it out. Stacy didn't takelong to grieve, and after collecting her
late husband's five hundred and fifty thousanddollars life insurance, she found herself in
the arms of a new man andher next husband, David Castor. The

(03:07:20):
two would meet in two thousand andone through her boss, and, according
to Stacy, fell in love instantly. The two would go on to be
married in two thousand and three,and according to all who knew the couple,
the two seemed to be destined forone another. When asked how she
felt about David, Stacy was quotedas saying, David was very diligent,

(03:07:43):
very work driven. He was asupport, strength and security to me.
I loved him. Each party hadchildren from a previous marriage, and according
to Stacy, neither of their childrenwere happy about the marriage. Stacy's daughters
didn't their dad to be replaced.She would also tell reporters David was difficult

(03:08:05):
with the kids. He expected themto do everything that he said without question,
every little thing, and being mychildren, they questioned everything. Apart
from the obvious difficulties that the couplefaced, everyone thought they were happy.
The two were always seen holding handsand smiling with one another. It had

(03:08:26):
seemed that Stacy had found her happilyever after once more, but like her
last marriage, this did not lastlong. Stacy was once again about to
find herself in the middle of tragedy. On August twenty second, two thousand
and five, she called nine oneone in a panic, telling the operator

(03:08:50):
that her husband hadn't showed up forwork that day and that she last heard
from him at five am the daybefore, when he locked her out of
the bedroom and refused to answer.Sergeant Michael Norton of the Onondaga Sheriff's Office,
who spoke with Stacy directly, saidthat according to her, David got
upset and took a bottle of SouthernComfort into their bedroom and locked himself in,

(03:09:13):
getting drunk and refusing to answer heror come out. Stacy went on
to tell detective Diane Leshinsky that sheassumed his reason for not answering the door
was that he was drunk and sleepingit off. She claimed that when she
put her ear up to the door, she could hear him snoring and didn't
want to wake him up, onlyhe wasn't sleeping. When the police arrived,

(03:09:35):
they broke down the bedroom door tofind David Castor dead of an apparent
suicide. Investigators noted a green liquidin a glass next to the bed,
along with a bottle of opened Annafreeze underneath the bed. Sergeant Norton initially
announced to the public that this appearsto be a simple suicide by anna freeze

(03:09:56):
poisoning, but after the investigation continued, a few things stood out to the
detective team as odd. According toStacy, David had been depressed because he
had recently lost his father, andshe believed his drinking and suicide was a
result of him being depressed about hisfather's death, but those who knew him,

(03:10:18):
including his ex wife, were adamantthat he would never kill himself.
Also very odd. David Castor hadrecently updated his will, leaving his entire
three hundred thousand estate and all ofhis belongings to his wife and her two
daughters, cutting out his son entirely. Investigators would also find a very unsettling

(03:10:41):
clue in the home, a turkeybaster. It was found in a trash
can in the kitchen, and afterlaboratory analysis, it was found to contain
anna freeze. Along with David Castor'sDNA, investigators also found that the class
on their bedside table contained anna freeze. Stacy's fingerprints were on the bottom of

(03:11:01):
that same glass. Investigators would latersay that the orientation of the prints suggested
that the glass had been held fromthe bottom when you're pouring out a drink.
At this point, certain investigators beganto suspect foul play, and Detective
Dominic Spanelli launched an investigation that wouldgo on for the next two years.

(03:11:24):
Three months after Castor's death, thedetective reached out to nearby investigators regarding the
death of Michael Wallace to learn more. He wasn't shocked to discover that there
were certain similarities with the two husband'sdebts. Like her most recent husband,
Stacy claimed that Michael had suffered fromseveral medical issues, including depression, yet

(03:11:45):
when investigators pulled his medical records,it was discovered that the worst thing that
ever happened to him was a hernia. At this point, police began to
suspect that both husbands had been poisonedwith Anna freeze, which causes the formation
of crystals in the victim's organs,leading to a very painful death. It
was then that investigators decided to exhumeMichael's body and examine him to see if

(03:12:09):
he had in fact been poisoned withAnna freeze. Spinelli was quoted as saying,
the last thing I want to dois disturb someone that's at peace,
especially if nothing shows up in asystem. But thankfully his hunch paid off.
After the examination in two thousand andseven, it was discovered that Wallace's

(03:12:31):
body showed traces of Anna freeze poisoning, and suddenly the strange scent of feeling
drunk didn't seem so strange anymore.At this point, police had enough to
question Stacy and decided to ask hersome very pointed questions. The detective said
she seemed nervous, she was pacing, and she was just surprised we were

(03:12:54):
there. The police then went througha number of questions, with Stacy starting
off very aggressive, before Spinelli tossedout a seemingly harmless one by asking of
the two glasses on David Castor's bedsidetable, which glass did you pour cranberry

(03:13:15):
juice in? Castor responded, well, when I poured the anna, I
mean the cranberry juice. She suddenlystopped and began accusing the detectives of trying
to frame her. The police thenthanked her for her time and left the
house. A few days after theinquiry, detectives went to speak with her

(03:13:39):
daughter, Ashley, and explained toher that her father, Michael, had
been poisoned. This resulted in Ashleybecoming distraught and calling her mother for comfort
while police listened over a wire tap. Stacy invited her daughter over for a
drink because they both had such ahard day. Ashley later recalled things cool.

(03:14:01):
You know what kind of teenager wouldn'tthink this was awesome? Your parents
just gave me permission to drink sweetbut it was anything but. After her
mother made her a drink, Ashleyrecalls feeling very tired and she went to
sleep only to wake up to hermother suggesting that they do it all over
again. Ashley agreed and drank whather mother had prepared, but this time

(03:14:26):
remembered that it didn't taste good,so her mother responded by giving her a
straw and telling her to put thestraw in the back of the throat so
she didn't taste it. Just likethe night before, the drink her mother
prepared made Ashley feel exhausted. Sheremembered going to her room to lay down,
but this time she didn't get up. When her sister Bree attempted to

(03:14:48):
wake her up, she was unresponsive. She rushed and told her mother,
who then called nine one one.Stacy would tell the nine one one operator
that her daughter had consumed alcohol andquite a few doses of medication and was
sad to have heard of her father. The next thing she could remember was
being in the hospital, a detectivestanding next to her, explaining that the

(03:15:11):
ants had found her in her roomwith a typed out suicide note, confessing
to the murders of both her father, Michael Wallace and her stepfather, David
Castor. She went on to telldetectives, what are you talking about?
I didn't do any of those thingsthat you're saying I did. She was
adamant that she did not try tokill herself, nor did she leave a

(03:15:33):
suicide note. Now the note wasof particular interest to the investigators. It
was roughly seven hundred and fifty wordswith punctuation that rambled with lines like no
one was ever supposed to know,but now they do, and they think
you did it, but you didn't. It was me. The note,

(03:15:54):
which was riddled with grammar and punctuationerrors, had one that stood out above
the arrest, the spelling of theword Anna freeze. The author had spelled
it anna free which was the sameway that Stacy had pronounced the word during
her interrogation with the police earlier.The same day Ashley woke, her mother
was arrested and charged with two countsof second degree murder, second degree attempted

(03:16:18):
murder, and a plot to presenta forged will. Prosecutors had plenty of
evidence. They had Stacy's fingerprints onthe glass, a turkey baster in the
trash can, and the proof thatshe had written various trafts of her daughter's
alleged suicide note on her home computer. Castor was convicted of second degree murder

(03:16:39):
of David Castor, attempted murder ofher daughter, and forging David Castor's will.
She was sentenced to fifty one yearsin prison. Her daughter, Ashley
was quoted as saying, I hatemy mother for ruining so many people's lives.
What gave her the right to playwith people? I never knew what

(03:17:00):
hate was until now, even thoughI still love her. At the same
time, Stacy's mother, Judy Eaton, on the other hand, believed that
Ashley was the murderer and that herdaughter was innocent. She was quoted as
saying, Ashley had ample time andhad ample opportunity. I know my daughter
is innocent. Stacy would die withoutever admitting to killing either of her husbands.

(03:17:24):
In twenty sixteen, she suffered aheart attack in jail and died at
the age of forty eight, neverseeing either of her daughters again. After
her death, Ashley Wallace told themedia she was my best friend too.
She was and then she took allof that away. I would have done
anything for her, but she decidedshe wanted to kill me instead. What

(03:17:45):
do you think of this case?Who killed Michael Wallace and David Castor was
it Stacy or her daughter Ashley,be sure to let us know because for
now, for tonight, we aregoing to have to add the case of
Black Window Stacey Castor to our neverending but are always growing tails from the

(03:18:09):
dark. In a case filled withmystery and years to cover up the truth,

(03:19:39):
this woman went through two homicides,two suicides, and one of alleged
natural causes. All five were herhusbands. With her death in twenty eleven,
the court case will remain unsolved.This is the case of the alleged
black widow Betty Newmar. This istales from the Dark. Born in November

(03:20:41):
nineteen thirty one in Irontown, Ohio, Betty was no stranger to hard times.
Her father, Otis was a coalminer who would eventually move his family
to Florida to work for the railroad. While not much is known of Betty's
early life, it is known thatshe married her first husband, Clarence Malone,

(03:21:01):
in nineteen fifty at eighteen years old, after graduating from Southpoint High School
in nineteen forty nine. The marriageitself did not last long, less than
two years. In fact, Bettydid, however, have a child with
Clarence, a healthy baby boy namedGary Malone born March thirteenth, nineteen fifty

(03:21:26):
two. Betty also claimed in courtpapers that Clarence was abusive during their short
marriage. Continuing with the mystery,Betty married her second husband, James Flynn,
but no one really knows how orwhen they met. What is known
is that James Flynn died in nineteenfifty five. Reportedly, Betty told the

(03:21:50):
investigators that James had froze to deathin his truck overnight, but other witnesses
reported that Betty told a tale ofJames dying on a pierce where in New
York after being shot. Betty wasnot seen as a suspect, although her
response seemed very out of place.James's untimely death did not happen before they

(03:22:11):
had their second child, Peggy.Betty moved on and lived with her two
children in Jacksonville, Florida, makingends meet by working as a beautytician.
Betty met her third husband, RichardSeals, in the mid nineteen sixties.
Richard worked as a Navy officer andhad a son, Michael Seals. That

(03:22:35):
is until he also met his untimelydeath in nineteen sixty seven. According to
Betty, Richard and her were arguingin their trailer home in Big coppet Key,
Florida, when Richard reportedly pulled outa handgun and fatally shot himself in
the side. Betty's eleven year olddaughter, Peggy, was in the other

(03:22:56):
room at the time and reported hearingarguing between the two, then a single
gunshot. When Peggy went into theroom, she saw Richard laying on the
bed, snorting and then falling offbefore the paramedics rushed Peggy out of the
room. The death of Richard Sealswould be ruled as a suicide. In

(03:23:18):
nineteen sixty eight, Betty married herfourth husband, Harold Gentry. Harold was
in the US Army for the eighteenyears of their marriage. Harold and Betty
would move their family to Norwood,North Carolina. Before the end of Harold's
life, betty Is still continued tobe riddled with tragedy. In nineteen seventy,

(03:23:41):
Betty's first husband, Clarence Malone,would be shot and killed outside of
his car repair shop. Later on, in investigations, people would accuse Betty
of being involved in Clarence's demise.However, it had been eighteen years since
Betty had been married to Clarence andremarried twice since then, so most claims
were discredited. It was also rumoredthat Clarence had angered a local motorcycle gang

(03:24:07):
in the months leading up to hisdeath. This was ruled a homicide and
remains unsolved to this day. InNovember nineteen eighty five, Betty's firstborn son,
Gary Flynn, was found shot todeath in his apartment in Perry,
Ohio. Gary's death would be ruleda suicide. Betty reportedly received at least

(03:24:28):
a ten thousand dollar life insurance payout from the death of her son.
Throughout Betty and Harold's marriage, turmoilensued, with very frequent arguments reported by
Harold's brother Al leading up to thedeath of Harold. Al would go on
to say that Betty told Harold toleave their home after finding out that he
had been with other women. InJuly nineteen eighty six, Harold would be

(03:24:52):
found in their home in North Carolina, shot six times. Investigators would go
on to say that this was arobbery gone wrong, but later evidence examinations
would say that the level of ransackingdid not match the items found missing.
Investigators would also later say that sixshots are excessive for a surprise robber without

(03:25:15):
intent. When Betty arrived at thescene, the first thing noticed was her
calm undisturbed demeanor, no tears,no sobbing. Betty would then try to
establish an alibi by saying she wasout of town thirty minutes away getting her
car fixed. This did not sitright with al Gentry. Throughout the years,

(03:25:37):
al would beg local investigators to reopenthe case and swore that Betty had
something to do with the death ofhis brother. Betty would receive fifty thousand
dollars for the death of her fourthhusband, and Harold's death would be ruled
a homicide. Betty moved to Augusta, Georgia, and did not remarry again
until nineteen ninety one, when shemarried her fifth and final husband, John

(03:26:01):
Neumar. Not much is known abouttheir marriage other than the couple had filed
bankruptcy a few years before John diedafter racking up depths of more than two
hundred thousand dollars on forty three creditcards. John would die in two thousand
and seven of seemingly natural causes,but John Numar Junior, John's senior's son,

(03:26:22):
wouldcalled the validity of this into question. John Junior would not know of
his father's death until after seeing theobituary in a newspaper. When he contacted
Betty, she told him that herlate husband had been already cremated. John
found this quite wrong, as JohnSenior's burial site had already been paid for

(03:26:48):
After almost twenty two years, alwas able to convince North Carolina investigators to
reopen the case of his brother,Harold Gentry. After re examination of evidence,
Betty was arrested in May two thousandand eight, with a search warrant
being served for a few items,including the ashes of her fifth husband.
As words spread of Betty's fate,other states started looking at the other four

(03:27:11):
husbands of her past. Georgia investigatorslooked at John's case and realized that the
symptoms John experienced before his death sepsis, is, septic bows, and elias,
were consistent with arsenic poisoning. Whentesting of John's ashes were conducted,

(03:27:31):
heavy metals were detected, but onlyin trace amounts, not enough to charge
Betty. In July two thousand andeight, Betty was extradited to Albemarle,
North Carolina, for three counts ofsolicitation for murder for her fourth husband.
Investigators received a tip that Betty hadtried to bribe a former police officer and

(03:27:52):
a neighbor to kill her husband inthe months leading up to Harold's death.
Motive Harold's fifth two thousand dollars lifeinsurance policy. In October two thousand and
eight, Betty would post her threehundred thousand dollars bond and would be released
pending her trial date. To theoutside world, Betty seemed like a friendly,

(03:28:13):
generous woman, always going to churchand always raising money for charity.
When Betty was asked about her pastand what skeptics said about her, she
was quoted saying later on, it'sgoing to make them eat their heart out.
The hate and discontent that they areliving in now will make them miserable.

(03:28:33):
If you're going to heaven, youhave to forgive. You don't have
to forget, but you do haveto forgive. I cannot control when someone
dies. That's God's work. Unfortunately, we will never have answers. Betty
passed away on June thirteenth, twoeleven, from cancer. Most open cases

(03:28:56):
have been shut in. Any closurethat al wanted to receive from her conviction
has vanished. Betty took all answersto the n timely deaths of her five
husbands to the grave. What doyou think of this case? Did Betty
kill Harold? What about her longlist of other husbands? Be sure to

(03:29:18):
let us know, because for now, for tonight, we're going to have
to add the case of black widowBetty Neumar to our never ending, but
are always growing tales from the Dark