Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome, Welcome to Inside the Criminal Mind podcast, where we
analyze some of the most notorious criminal cases with psychology
and criminology combined. Here's your host, doctor Carlos.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Today we're going to be talking about the Internet's Black widow,
seventy seven.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Year old Melissa Shepherd.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
So we'll get into this story in a minute.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
If you want to support our podcast, please head that
I like and share button, leave us a review.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
So let's go Inside the Criminal Mind.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Here's what we know about Militia's Shepherd's background, which has
been extracted from various media sources and publications, including the
Fifth Estate episode Timeline The Life of Melissa Friedrich, the
Internet Black Widow in Leu Miller's Cold North Killers.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Melissa Shepherd was born Melissa.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Anne Russell and Burnt Church, New Brunswick in nineteen thirty five.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Burnt Church is a small community.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Population less than two thousand, located on Miramichi Bay in
the northeastern corner of New Brunswick. Its name derives from
my seventeen fifty eight burning by the British of the
first Strong Church in New Brunswick. Reports indicate that Shepherd
moved to Ontario in nineteen fifty three, when she was eighteen,
when she lived with an Anne completed high school. Via
(01:32):
evening correspondents, she met Mary Russell Shepherd, a factory worker,
and the two relocated to his hometown of Montague. They
had two children together, a daughter who still resides in
Montague and a son who lives in Nova Scotia. Melissa
Shepherd's documented criminal history, though it dates back to nineteen
seventy when she was thirty five years old, she incurred
(01:52):
four charges of false pretenses false statements in Toronto, although
the specific detail of these charges are not known. She
received a suspended sentence plus six months probation and was
ordered to make restitution. Seven years later, she was convicted
of eleven charges of forgery and sentenced to eleven months
in jail. I got to remember at this point she's
(02:13):
forty two years of age.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
She was convicted and sentenced.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
In Toronto the six months plus two years probation in
nineteen seventy nine for uttering, false pretensses and fraud.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
She received the twenty four month sentence plus.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Probation for three years. She was paroled the same month.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
In nineteen eighty four, Shepherd and Curty had another conviction
for fraud over two hundred dollars in Toronto, for which
she received a sentence for of two years less a day.
She was paroled in about eight months, reinfended two months
later again for fraud, served another six months, and was
paroled again in six in September nineteen eighty five. So
(02:58):
now she's three off defending every six months. Every time
she gets out, she reoffends. Reports indicate that Miss Shepherd
returned to Pei in December nineteen eighty five and nineteen
eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
She met Gordon Stewart, at widower who was selling some property.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
According to the letter written by mister Seorg shortly before
his death in nineteen ninety one, Shepherd approaching about buying
the property, and the two began a romantic relationship the
same day. According to the letter, which has no specific address, see,
Shepherd told Stuart that she was separated from her husband Russell.
Shortly thereafter, Shepherd and Stuart began cohabiting in Charleston. Mister
Stewart was employed as a commissionaire and was the receipt
(03:33):
of a military pension and received funds from his late
wife's pension as well. According to his letter, he and
Shepherd were doing well and they should a joint bank account.
One night, he arrived home from work to discover that
she had vacated the premises with all her clothes and
all his money. She subsequently called him from Toronto, claiming
that she was unable to get back, so he flew
(03:54):
up to get her. Shortly thereafter, it seems her daughter
got married and Shepherd took off again with more of
his money. She subsequently contacted him, told him she had
a drug problem, and he took her back. In his letter,
Missus Stewart explained that he still loved her and kept
hoping she would change. He claimed that she would go
to work and repay the money owed, but that never happened.
(04:16):
The couple relocated to Moncton, New Brunswick, and then took
a trip to Las Vegas, where they got married. The
marriage was not legal, however, because Sheppard wasn't divorced. You see, reportedly,
Sheppard defrauded Stewart of about four thousand dollars during the
trip to Las Vegas. Once again, however, he took her back,
now thinking he had nothing to lose. Eventually, mister Stewart
(04:37):
ended up selling his land of Wood Islands, and the
couple moved to Vancouver, where his optimism persisted. Another wedding
ceremony followed in January, although it's still not clear if
she was legally divorced from Wessell Russell Sheppard, as Stewart's
reporting the Kate, their divorce was not finalized unto May
of ninety one.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Early the couple.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Reconnected back in Montague, where it.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Seems Shepherd have resumed her old ways, including defrauding her
father in law of money. After she exhausted his White
Late wives credit cards, Gordon Stewart was forced to declare bankruptcy.
In his letter, he wrote, I don't know how she
gets away with so much.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Around the same time.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
It seems as Shepherd started making claims.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
That Stewart was going to knife or shoot her.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
In his letter, Stuart seems confused by these allegations that
contends as Shepherd was angry because he established his own
bank account.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
He also seems.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Frustrated by the fact that she doesn't seem to want
him around the apartment, but yet won't ask for a divorce.
Reports suggested mister Teuart became delusional at the cupboard couple's
apartment in December of nineteen ninety Apparently two years later,
he was discovered frothing at the mouth on the floor,
taken to a hospital when benzo diazepine was found.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
In his system.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
In nineteen ninety one, Stewart was convicted and sentenced to
jail time for assaulting Shepherd. Apparently she visited him in
He was released in March of ninety one in court
ordered to have no contact with his wife. Nonetheless, it
seems she initiated contact. In nineteen and April of nineteen
ninety one, the couple relocated to Nova Scotia, and within
(06:13):
a month, Shepherd killed Stuart by running over him with
a car on a deserted road near the Halifax Airport.
Reports indicated that she didn't report his death until three
hours later, after she changed her clothes. Toxicology reports revealed
the presence of alcohol and benzodiazepines and his system. The
mixture was judged to be sufficient to kill him. Although
(06:37):
Sheppard claimed that Stuart sexually assaulted her, medical tests failed
to support her claim. Undeterred, Shepherd applied for his pension
benefits at her trial. A nineteen ninety two two eyewitnesses
testified that they saw Shepherd hit her husband with the car,
then put the car in reverse. Sheppard claimed that the Stewart,
but Stewart was an abusive alcoholic. Shepherd was eventually convicted
(06:58):
of manslaughter and sentenced to sixty years prison. While incocerated,
she formed a support group for women. In nineteen ninety four,
the National Film Board aired a documentary on batter women
syndrome When Women Kill, which included Shepherd and the documentary,
Shepherd maintains her claim as stupid Raper raped her and
then in her effort to escape, she accidentally put the
(07:18):
car reverse and ran her rover. In nineteen ninety seven,
actually before that. The following year, in nineteen ninety five,
there was a startup funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Based on the documentary, Shepard established his telephone support service
in Kingston called Project Another Chance. The service was designed
(07:40):
for federally sentenced women in prison and parole. In nineteen
ninety seven, Melissa Stewart now had an opera article publishing
the Journal of Prisoners on Prison Prison for Women's Invisible Minority.
She describes her relationship with Gordon Stewart, which she maintained
start when she was selling real estate and was looking
(08:02):
to buy a piece of land. She goes on to
describe her life became centered around making Stewart happy.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Until while he devolved into a violent alcoholic.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Shepherd was soon released by from jail, but in April
two thousand, now at sixty six years of age, she
made an eighty three year old Robert Friederick at a
Christian retreat in Ontario. He was a retired engineer who
recently lost White lost his wife Shepherd and sent Friedrich
a letter, including her picture in the statement God wants
us to be married. And in May two thousand, Freedwick
(08:32):
responded to a letter and within days.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
He traveled to Florida to meet him.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Within three days of her arrival, the two were engaged.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
It seems Friederic's son Dennis, was not so easily enamored
and cautioned his father to proceed slowly in his relationship
with Sheppard. Nevertheless, the following month, in June.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Shepherd and Friederick were married in Nova Scotia.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Shepherd relocated to Florida and assumed her new husband's last name.
By March two thousand and one, Robert Freedwick his family
was growing increasingly concerned about his hell due to repeated
incidences of slurred speech and hospitalization. Reports indicate that in
May of two thousand and one, Shepherd obtained two prescriptions
for larisapam. Police for reculds show that on different occasions,
(09:15):
six different occasions, Shepard apparently procured prescriptions from one physician
and within thirty days with a prescription, received another from
a different doctor. In two thousand and two, one of
Friedrich's children called the Elder Abuse Line and lodged a
complain against her. At some point in two thousand and two,
Robert Freedwick rewrote his will, making Sheppard his whole soul
beneficiary by death. By December two thousand and two, just
(09:40):
a few months later, Robert Friederick was dead of a
parent cardiac arrest, having given one hundred thousand over anand
thousand dollars over to his new wife. His death certificate
was confirmed by a medical practitioner over the telephone without
any examination of the body. The cremation certificate was issued
no op tops her toxicology reports were done. Friederich's sons
(10:04):
alleged that Shepherd poisoned their father with the prescription medications
and the absence of an autopsy. However, they had no
way of confirming their allegations and no charges were laid.
Although not charged with his murder, Shepherd apparently lost all
but fifteen thousand dollars of the inheritance and an ensuing
court battle with his sons. In two thousand and three,
(10:26):
though Melissa Sheppard returned to Prince Edward Island. Over the
next year, she traveled back and forth between Canada and
the US. Later in two thousand and four, she ended
up meeting another gentleman.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
She drove to Florida in a new white Cadillac to
meet Alexander Stradagos.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Stratagos was a divorced seventy three year old former tax
collector in Pittsburgh who she met online.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Shepherd had initiated Internet contact with as many as.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Twenty men from across Canada in the United States.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Apparently, mister strad was crippled with diabetes and was looking
for a carrying woman to procure groceries and prepare meals.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Given his history of strokes.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Family members were not immediately alarmed to find out that
Stratagos had miss Melissa Shepherd or whatever her name was
of the pie move in. Within three months of being
cared for Shephard, though including bedtime feedings of ice cream,
Stratagos was placed in a nursing home, remember he was diabetic.
(11:33):
On December twenty eight, two thousand and four, he signed over.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
A power of attorney to Shephard.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
She probably took over his card had emptied his bank accounts.
In two thousand and five, Stratago's son Dean, became aware
of unprescribed drugs identified his father's medical report in blood tests.
He also discovered that eighteen thousand dollars was missing from
his father's bank account. Just a month later, in two
thousand and five, Panela Parker police arrested Shepherd in Charger
with exploitation of the l literly in forgery and theft.
(12:02):
Police are dead alleged that she corused Stratages to give
her power of attorney and then sliphoned off his money
into her bank. She was granted bailists seventy five hundred,
but subsequently placed on hould by the Department of Homeland
Security when it was revealed that she had lied about
her criminal record upon entering the country. In two thousand
and four, a search of Alex Stradag's condominium revealed the
(12:24):
suitcase full of pills mo over. His Internet page had
been converted to a Christian single site. Never one to
be deterred by a looming criminal charges, Shepherd was already
trawling for.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Her next victim.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
In March, two months later, Sheppard pleaded guilty to seven
charges related to the Alex Stratago's case. These charges included
three counts of grand theft, two counts of forgery. She
was never charged with attempted murder, and as part of
a plea agreement, Shepherd was sentenced to five.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Years in a four lea at jail.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
She was released after four and deported to Canada. Upon
her return to Canada.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Shepherd faced more charges.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
On February two thousand and five, the Nova Scotia issued
awarded for her arrest, charging that she defired the government
of thirty thousand dollars over a four year period of time.
She had employed two different social insurance numbers under the
names and two hundred two various names. In twenty twelve,
sometime thereafter, she met seventy five year olds.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Fred Weeks, a father of six.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
The two struck up a friendship and within a matter
of Weeks got married. After being together for a few weeks,
Shepard informed the innkeeper that her husband had fallen ill
and needed to be taken to a hospital. Once she
ate breakfast, she called nine to one. One weeks was
admitted to the Northern Sydney General Hospital, at which time
(13:43):
benzodiazepines not prescribed were found in a system. Reportedly, Corps
documents indicate the police seized two persons containing several bags
and bottles of prescription drugs, as well as a handwritten
note about the immediate need to get power of attorney.
She was arrested again in October first, twenty twelve. One
person who was not surprised by Shepherd's recent arrest was
(14:03):
Kate Reeves Gordon Stewart's sister. Remember him the one who
she said she went looking to buy homes and they
met and got married and had.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
A very volatile relationship. Well.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
It seems that Fred Weeks knew about the history of
Melissa Shepherd, but said he liked to have lived dangerously.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Well.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
She was eventually really arrested again and waved her right
to a preliminary hearing, elected to be tried by a
Supreme Court judge. The defense attorney Nicolson suspects that the
Crown is leading towards similar fact evidence permits a similar
fact evidence permits the introduction of evidence demonstrating uncharged misconduct
on the part of the accused, and there you have it.
(14:46):
Melissa Shepherd again on the hunt.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
In twenty twelve, she was attempted.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
She was charged with attempted murder her fourth husband, Fred Weeks,
and after pleading guilty to lesser charges, she was sending
to three and a half year Police found substantial substantial
drug stock pile as we mentioned earlier, together with prescriptions
from five different doctors and several sets of identity documents
in different names.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
The judge said people who have contact with this lady.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Should be careful and on March twenty sixteen, Melissa was
released again from jail in Doriva, Scotia and a number
of strict conditions. Halifax police released so she would be
residing in the Halifax area and that she had been
assessed and found to be a higher risk to re offend.
Shepherd in twenty sixteen was seen at the Halifax Central
(15:35):
Library accessing the Internet by a Community Response officer and
was also found with the device capable of accessing the Internet,
which were breaches of the release conditions. She was charged
with breaching the terms. In August fourth, her lawyer entered
not guilty police with recounts of breaching. Her trial was
set to begin in February twenty seventeen. And there you go,
(16:01):
the story of the Internet black widow. But if we
were to diagnose her, what will we say on the
basis of the available information. The shepherd appears to meet
the criteria for several diagnoses, and it's hard because we
don't really get to me and talk to her. But
(16:21):
here's some of the criteria again, Anti social personality disorder,
which you'll see a lot in these serial killers. The
DSM five defines a personality disorder as an enduring pattern
of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the
expectations of the individual culture, as pervasive and inflexible. As
we noticed over and over again that we don't know
(16:43):
her patterns in her life when she was growing up,
in her youth, so we don't know the typical The
typical pattern of an anti socialist usually having conduct disorder,
committing some kind of petty crimes when they're young. Maybe
oppositional definan maybe having some issues in school behavioral problem impulsivity,
but we don't know that from Melissa Shepherd. Individuals with
(17:04):
anti social personally think and act in ways of violate
social norms and fringe on the rights of others and
bring them into conflict with the law. I got to remember,
they also have very low empathy. They have a very
intenuated front frontal prefrontal cortex where you make your moral decisions, where.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
You plan, where you anticipate consequences.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
You can see here Shepherd either a thought she was
smarter than the law, which I don't know how because
she constantly got arrested, or b she just did not
anticipate consequences, which is a common feature for people of
anti social personality disorder, or a reduced activity in the
prefontal cortex. Other symptoms of antisocial or chronic deceitfulness, impulsivity, recklessness, aggressiveness, irresponsibility.
(17:47):
These are all things that we saw in her behavior. Now,
mind you, As we've mentioned before, it has estimated that
approximately seventy five to eight eight percent of the incarcerated
male population would meet the criteria for anti social personality
disorder by comparison, though a substantially smaller proportion fifteen to
(18:09):
thirty would meet the criteria for psychopathy. An estimated rate
for anti social female inmates tend to be lower than
for men fifty six percent for anti social and fifteen
percent for psychopathy, but it doesn't mean they're not. There
still are some individual women who have those diagnoses, and
(18:30):
the general population prevalence rates for anti social estimated to
be three to five percent for men and one to
two for women. Rates of psychopathy among women in the
general pop are not known, So again here we see
clearly that she definitely has a lot of these symptomologies
of anti social personality disorder.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
We don't know exactly.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
For sure because we don't have a chance to diagnose
her to look at anything, but from the symptoms that
she portrayed, at least from the things we do know,
it's very likely as she did, and that ends our
story of the Internet Black widow Melissa Shepherd
Welcome, Welcome to Inside the Criminal Mind podcast, where we
analyze some of the most notorious criminal cases with psychology
and criminology combined. Here's your host, doctor Carlos.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Welcome everybody.
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Today we're going to be talking about the Internet's Black widow,
seventy seven.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
Year old Melissa Shepherd.
Speaker 4 (00:33):
So we'll get into this story in a minute.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
If you want to support our podcast, please head that
I like and share button, leave us a review.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
So let's go Inside the Criminal Mind.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Here's what we know about Militia's Shepherd's background, which has
been extracted from various media sources and publications, including the
Fifth Estate episode Timeline The Life of Melissa Friedrich, the
Internet Black Widow in Leu Miller's Cold North Killers.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
Melissa Shepherd was born Melissa.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
Anne Russell and Burnt Church, New Brunswick in nineteen thirty five.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
Burnt Church is a small community.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
Population less than two thousand, located on Miramichi Bay in
the northeastern corner of New Brunswick. Its name derives from
my seventeen fifty eight burning by the British of the
first Strong Church in New Brunswick. Reports indicate that Shepherd
moved to Ontario in nineteen fifty three, when she was eighteen,
when she lived with an Anne completed high school. Via
(01:32):
evening correspondents, she met Mary Russell Shepherd, a factory worker,
and the two relocated to his hometown of Montague. They
had two children together, a daughter who still resides in
Montague and a son who lives in Nova Scotia. Melissa
Shepherd's documented criminal history, though it dates back to nineteen
seventy when she was thirty five years old, she incurred
(01:52):
four charges of false pretenses false statements in Toronto, although
the specific detail of these charges are not known. She
received a suspended sentence plus six months probation and was
ordered to make restitution. Seven years later, she was convicted
of eleven charges of forgery and sentenced to eleven months
in jail. I got to remember at this point she's
(02:13):
forty two years of age.
Speaker 2 (02:15):
She was convicted and sentenced.
Speaker 3 (02:17):
In Toronto the six months plus two years probation in
nineteen seventy nine for uttering, false pretensses and fraud.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
She received the twenty four month sentence plus.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
Probation for three years. She was paroled the same month.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
In nineteen eighty four, Shepherd and Curty had another conviction
for fraud over two hundred dollars in Toronto, for which
she received a sentence for of two years less a day.
She was paroled in about eight months, reinfended two months
later again for fraud, served another six months, and was
paroled again in six in September nineteen eighty five. So
(02:58):
now she's three off defending every six months. Every time
she gets out, she reoffends. Reports indicate that Miss Shepherd
returned to Pei in December nineteen eighty five and nineteen
eighty eight.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
She met Gordon Stewart, at widower who was selling some property.
Speaker 3 (03:11):
According to the letter written by mister Seorg shortly before
his death in nineteen ninety one, Shepherd approaching about buying
the property, and the two began a romantic relationship the
same day. According to the letter, which has no specific address, see,
Shepherd told Stuart that she was separated from her husband Russell.
Shortly thereafter, Shepherd and Stuart began cohabiting in Charleston. Mister
Stewart was employed as a commissionaire and was the receipt
(03:33):
of a military pension and received funds from his late
wife's pension as well. According to his letter, he and
Shepherd were doing well and they should a joint bank account.
One night, he arrived home from work to discover that
she had vacated the premises with all her clothes and
all his money. She subsequently called him from Toronto, claiming
that she was unable to get back, so he flew
(03:54):
up to get her. Shortly thereafter, it seems her daughter
got married and Shepherd took off again with more of
his money. She subsequently contacted him, told him she had
a drug problem, and he took her back. In his letter,
Missus Stewart explained that he still loved her and kept
hoping she would change. He claimed that she would go
to work and repay the money owed, but that never happened.
(04:16):
The couple relocated to Moncton, New Brunswick, and then took
a trip to Las Vegas, where they got married. The
marriage was not legal, however, because Sheppard wasn't divorced. You see, reportedly,
Sheppard defrauded Stewart of about four thousand dollars during the
trip to Las Vegas. Once again, however, he took her back,
now thinking he had nothing to lose. Eventually, mister Stewart
(04:37):
ended up selling his land of Wood Islands, and the
couple moved to Vancouver, where his optimism persisted. Another wedding
ceremony followed in January, although it's still not clear if
she was legally divorced from Wessell Russell Sheppard, as Stewart's
reporting the Kate, their divorce was not finalized unto May
of ninety one.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
Early the couple.
Speaker 4 (05:00):
Reconnected back in Montague, where it.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
Seems Shepherd have resumed her old ways, including defrauding her
father in law of money. After she exhausted his White
Late wives credit cards, Gordon Stewart was forced to declare bankruptcy.
In his letter, he wrote, I don't know how she
gets away with so much.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Around the same time.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
It seems as Shepherd started making claims.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
That Stewart was going to knife or shoot her.
Speaker 3 (05:24):
In his letter, Stuart seems confused by these allegations that
contends as Shepherd was angry because he established his own
bank account.
Speaker 2 (05:30):
He also seems.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Frustrated by the fact that she doesn't seem to want
him around the apartment, but yet won't ask for a divorce.
Reports suggested mister Teuart became delusional at the cupboard couple's
apartment in December of nineteen ninety Apparently two years later,
he was discovered frothing at the mouth on the floor,
taken to a hospital when benzo diazepine was found.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
In his system.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
In nineteen ninety one, Stewart was convicted and sentenced to
jail time for assaulting Shepherd. Apparently she visited him in
He was released in March of ninety one in court
ordered to have no contact with his wife. Nonetheless, it
seems she initiated contact. In nineteen and April of nineteen
ninety one, the couple relocated to Nova Scotia, and within
(06:13):
a month, Shepherd killed Stuart by running over him with
a car on a deserted road near the Halifax Airport.
Reports indicated that she didn't report his death until three
hours later, after she changed her clothes. Toxicology reports revealed
the presence of alcohol and benzodiazepines and his system. The
mixture was judged to be sufficient to kill him. Although
(06:37):
Sheppard claimed that Stuart sexually assaulted her, medical tests failed
to support her claim. Undeterred, Shepherd applied for his pension
benefits at her trial. A nineteen ninety two two eyewitnesses
testified that they saw Shepherd hit her husband with the car,
then put the car in reverse. Sheppard claimed that the Stewart,
but Stewart was an abusive alcoholic. Shepherd was eventually convicted
(06:58):
of manslaughter and sentenced to sixty years prison. While incocerated,
she formed a support group for women. In nineteen ninety four,
the National Film Board aired a documentary on batter women
syndrome When Women Kill, which included Shepherd and the documentary,
Shepherd maintains her claim as stupid Raper raped her and
then in her effort to escape, she accidentally put the
(07:18):
car reverse and ran her rover. In nineteen ninety seven,
actually before that. The following year, in nineteen ninety five,
there was a startup funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Based on the documentary, Shepard established his telephone support service
in Kingston called Project Another Chance. The service was designed
(07:40):
for federally sentenced women in prison and parole. In nineteen
ninety seven, Melissa Stewart now had an opera article publishing
the Journal of Prisoners on Prison Prison for Women's Invisible Minority.
She describes her relationship with Gordon Stewart, which she maintained
start when she was selling real estate and was looking
(08:02):
to buy a piece of land. She goes on to
describe her life became centered around making Stewart happy.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Until while he devolved into a violent alcoholic.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
Shepherd was soon released by from jail, but in April
two thousand, now at sixty six years of age, she
made an eighty three year old Robert Friederick at a
Christian retreat in Ontario. He was a retired engineer who
recently lost White lost his wife Shepherd and sent Friedrich
a letter, including her picture in the statement God wants
us to be married. And in May two thousand, Freedwick
(08:32):
responded to a letter and within days.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
He traveled to Florida to meet him.
Speaker 4 (08:35):
Within three days of her arrival, the two were engaged.
Speaker 3 (08:38):
It seems Friederic's son Dennis, was not so easily enamored
and cautioned his father to proceed slowly in his relationship
with Sheppard. Nevertheless, the following month, in June.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Shepherd and Friederick were married in Nova Scotia.
Speaker 3 (08:51):
Shepherd relocated to Florida and assumed her new husband's last name.
By March two thousand and one, Robert Freedwick his family
was growing increasingly concerned about his hell due to repeated
incidences of slurred speech and hospitalization. Reports indicate that in
May of two thousand and one, Shepherd obtained two prescriptions
for larisapam. Police for reculds show that on different occasions,
(09:15):
six different occasions, Shepard apparently procured prescriptions from one physician
and within thirty days with a prescription, received another from
a different doctor. In two thousand and two, one of
Friedrich's children called the Elder Abuse Line and lodged a
complain against her. At some point in two thousand and two,
Robert Freedwick rewrote his will, making Sheppard his whole soul
beneficiary by death. By December two thousand and two, just
(09:40):
a few months later, Robert Friederick was dead of a
parent cardiac arrest, having given one hundred thousand over anand
thousand dollars over to his new wife. His death certificate
was confirmed by a medical practitioner over the telephone without
any examination of the body. The cremation certificate was issued
no op tops her toxicology reports were done. Friederich's sons
(10:04):
alleged that Shepherd poisoned their father with the prescription medications
and the absence of an autopsy. However, they had no
way of confirming their allegations and no charges were laid.
Although not charged with his murder, Shepherd apparently lost all
but fifteen thousand dollars of the inheritance and an ensuing
court battle with his sons. In two thousand and three,
(10:26):
though Melissa Sheppard returned to Prince Edward Island. Over the
next year, she traveled back and forth between Canada and
the US. Later in two thousand and four, she ended
up meeting another gentleman.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
She drove to Florida in a new white Cadillac to
meet Alexander Stradagos.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
Stratagos was a divorced seventy three year old former tax
collector in Pittsburgh who she met online.
Speaker 4 (10:54):
Shepherd had initiated Internet contact with as many as.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
Twenty men from across Canada in the United States.
Speaker 3 (10:59):
Apparently, mister strad was crippled with diabetes and was looking
for a carrying woman to procure groceries and prepare meals.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Given his history of strokes.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
Family members were not immediately alarmed to find out that
Stratagos had miss Melissa Shepherd or whatever her name was
of the pie move in. Within three months of being
cared for Shephard, though including bedtime feedings of ice cream,
Stratagos was placed in a nursing home, remember he was diabetic.
(11:33):
On December twenty eight, two thousand and four, he signed over.
Speaker 2 (11:35):
A power of attorney to Shephard.
Speaker 3 (11:38):
She probably took over his card had emptied his bank accounts.
In two thousand and five, Stratago's son Dean, became aware
of unprescribed drugs identified his father's medical report in blood tests.
He also discovered that eighteen thousand dollars was missing from
his father's bank account. Just a month later, in two
thousand and five, Panela Parker police arrested Shepherd in Charger
with exploitation of the l literly in forgery and theft.
(12:02):
Police are dead alleged that she corused Stratages to give
her power of attorney and then sliphoned off his money
into her bank. She was granted bailists seventy five hundred,
but subsequently placed on hould by the Department of Homeland
Security when it was revealed that she had lied about
her criminal record upon entering the country. In two thousand
and four, a search of Alex Stradag's condominium revealed the
(12:24):
suitcase full of pills mo over. His Internet page had
been converted to a Christian single site. Never one to
be deterred by a looming criminal charges, Shepherd was already
trawling for.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
Her next victim.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
In March, two months later, Sheppard pleaded guilty to seven
charges related to the Alex Stratago's case. These charges included
three counts of grand theft, two counts of forgery. She
was never charged with attempted murder, and as part of
a plea agreement, Shepherd was sentenced to five.
Speaker 2 (12:49):
Years in a four lea at jail.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
She was released after four and deported to Canada. Upon
her return to Canada.
Speaker 2 (12:56):
Shepherd faced more charges.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
On February two thousand and five, the Nova Scotia issued
awarded for her arrest, charging that she defired the government
of thirty thousand dollars over a four year period of time.
She had employed two different social insurance numbers under the
names and two hundred two various names. In twenty twelve,
sometime thereafter, she met seventy five year olds.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Fred Weeks, a father of six.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
The two struck up a friendship and within a matter
of Weeks got married. After being together for a few weeks,
Shepard informed the innkeeper that her husband had fallen ill
and needed to be taken to a hospital. Once she
ate breakfast, she called nine to one. One weeks was
admitted to the Northern Sydney General Hospital, at which time
(13:43):
benzodiazepines not prescribed were found in a system. Reportedly, Corps
documents indicate the police seized two persons containing several bags
and bottles of prescription drugs, as well as a handwritten
note about the immediate need to get power of attorney.
She was arrested again in October first, twenty twelve. One
person who was not surprised by Shepherd's recent arrest was
(14:03):
Kate Reeves Gordon Stewart's sister. Remember him the one who
she said she went looking to buy homes and they
met and got married and had.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
A very volatile relationship. Well.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
It seems that Fred Weeks knew about the history of
Melissa Shepherd, but said he liked to have lived dangerously.
Speaker 2 (14:24):
Well.
Speaker 3 (14:24):
She was eventually really arrested again and waved her right
to a preliminary hearing, elected to be tried by a
Supreme Court judge. The defense attorney Nicolson suspects that the
Crown is leading towards similar fact evidence permits a similar
fact evidence permits the introduction of evidence demonstrating uncharged misconduct
on the part of the accused, and there you have it.
(14:46):
Melissa Shepherd again on the hunt.
Speaker 2 (14:49):
In twenty twelve, she was attempted.
Speaker 3 (14:53):
She was charged with attempted murder her fourth husband, Fred Weeks,
and after pleading guilty to lesser charges, she was sending
to three and a half year Police found substantial substantial
drug stock pile as we mentioned earlier, together with prescriptions
from five different doctors and several sets of identity documents
in different names.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
The judge said people who have contact with this lady.
Speaker 3 (15:14):
Should be careful and on March twenty sixteen, Melissa was
released again from jail in Doriva, Scotia and a number
of strict conditions. Halifax police released so she would be
residing in the Halifax area and that she had been
assessed and found to be a higher risk to re offend.
Shepherd in twenty sixteen was seen at the Halifax Central
(15:35):
Library accessing the Internet by a Community Response officer and
was also found with the device capable of accessing the Internet,
which were breaches of the release conditions. She was charged
with breaching the terms. In August fourth, her lawyer entered
not guilty police with recounts of breaching. Her trial was
set to begin in February twenty seventeen. And there you go,
(16:01):
the story of the Internet black widow. But if we
were to diagnose her, what will we say on the
basis of the available information. The shepherd appears to meet
the criteria for several diagnoses, and it's hard because we
don't really get to me and talk to her. But
(16:21):
here's some of the criteria again, Anti social personality disorder,
which you'll see a lot in these serial killers. The
DSM five defines a personality disorder as an enduring pattern
of inner experience and behavior that deviates markedly from the
expectations of the individual culture, as pervasive and inflexible. As
we noticed over and over again that we don't know
(16:43):
her patterns in her life when she was growing up,
in her youth, so we don't know the typical The
typical pattern of an anti socialist usually having conduct disorder,
committing some kind of petty crimes when they're young. Maybe
oppositional definan maybe having some issues in school behavioral problem impulsivity,
but we don't know that from Melissa Shepherd. Individuals with
(17:04):
anti social personally think and act in ways of violate
social norms and fringe on the rights of others and
bring them into conflict with the law. I got to remember,
they also have very low empathy. They have a very
intenuated front frontal prefrontal cortex where you make your moral decisions, where.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
You plan, where you anticipate consequences.
Speaker 3 (17:22):
You can see here Shepherd either a thought she was
smarter than the law, which I don't know how because
she constantly got arrested, or b she just did not
anticipate consequences, which is a common feature for people of
anti social personality disorder, or a reduced activity in the
prefontal cortex. Other symptoms of antisocial or chronic deceitfulness, impulsivity, recklessness, aggressiveness, irresponsibility.
(17:47):
These are all things that we saw in her behavior. Now,
mind you, As we've mentioned before, it has estimated that
approximately seventy five to eight eight percent of the incarcerated
male population would meet the criteria for anti social personality
disorder by comparison, though a substantially smaller proportion fifteen to
(18:09):
thirty would meet the criteria for psychopathy. An estimated rate
for anti social female inmates tend to be lower than
for men fifty six percent for anti social and fifteen
percent for psychopathy, but it doesn't mean they're not. There
still are some individual women who have those diagnoses, and
(18:30):
the general population prevalence rates for anti social estimated to
be three to five percent for men and one to
two for women. Rates of psychopathy among women in the
general pop are not known, So again here we see
clearly that she definitely has a lot of these symptomologies
of anti social personality disorder.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
We don't know exactly.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
For sure because we don't have a chance to diagnose
her to look at anything, but from the symptoms that
she portrayed, at least from the things we do know,
it's very likely as she did, and that ends our
story of the Internet Black widow Melissa Shepherd
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