Tales From The Dark True Crime

Join us as we walk back through Season One Black Widows in this part two marathon.

What shocked you the most from our Black Widows? Join us as Brittani and host of the Tales From The Dark podcast, Bob Hicks, dive through the atrocities we discovered from Season One.

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

As we close the book on our first season of Black Widows, I want to thank everyone for following along and supporting Tales From The Dark True Crime. If you've enjoyed this journey so far, please feel free to leave a 5 star review on whatever platform you prefer and be sure to join us again on October 15th for our second season. In the meantime, we will have marathons and season recaps for you to relive this first season. In our final episode of Black Widows, we set eyes on what I believe is the worst one yet. This black widow created an entire empire off of luring wealthy men into her home, into their death. She killed everyone around her and her fate is still uncertain to this day. This is the case of Black Widow Belle Gunness.

Known as the Soap Maker of Correggio, this black widow killed three women and turned their remains into soap and tea cakes. Why? She believed human sacrifice would protect her son while he was enlisted in the Italian army for World War II.This is the case of Black Widow, Leonarda Cianciulli.

Described as the Giggling Grandma, Arsenic Annie and Lady Blue Bird, this black widow carried many titles but one thing was for certain, she was cunning, smart, beautiful and deadly. Killing eleven people from 1920 to 1954 this is one of the more lethal cases we will cover this season and one this is for certain, those who doubted her did not live long enough to regret it.This is the case of Black Widow Nannie Doss.

This black widow narrowly escaped the Soviet Union with her husband, and suffered immense trauma throughout the years. After authorities caught her cousin throwing bags of her dismembered husband into a river, the ugly truth came out. This is the case of black widow, Rita Gluzman.

She had a reputation for being a poisoner and an adulteress, along with claims of an incestuous relationship with bother her father and her brother. Surrounded by gossip and rumor mongering, this black widow would be married off to any wealthy and powerful family her father could find. After all, being a pope surrounded by controversy, her father needed all the allies he could find. This is the case of Black Widow Lucrezia Borgia.

From mobster wife to armed robber, this black widow led a life of carelessness. What ultimately got her caught was the murder of her second husband in her home on his day of leave. But, this black widow swears it was not her, but her lover instead. With two possible endings, who will you believe? This is the case of Black Widow, Linda Calvey.

She wanted everyone to believe that she regretted what she did, that she really did take responsibility for the two innocent lives she took.She wanted everyone to see that even if she couldn't bring them back, she can still save lives if she was given another chance.After a long life of drug and alcohol abuse, it all caught up to this black widow. Desperate to get off death row, she converted to Christianity and pleaded to be put on a life sentence instead. This is the case of Black Widow Karla Faye Tucker

Cold hearted and consumed by greed, this black widow killed hundreds of children born through illegitimacy. Horrified by the true nature of her adoption agency, local police were desperate for answers. To this day, no one truly knows the number of children she killed as she took her secret to the grave. This is the case of Black Widow Amelia Dyer.

Continuing on with our season of Black Widows, this woman killed her husband, her son and her boyfriend with no remorse ever displayed. With claims of abuse from her childhood, can she hide her atrocious crimes behind the trauma?This is the case of Black Widow, Judy Buenoano.

Have you ever seen a murder mystery that has it all? From something interesting, intriguing to something horrible and terrifying?Still unsure? Well, what If I told you that today's case involved a woman who was a savage criminal and a beautiful showgirl.It was the start of a murder mystery that had it all: sex, lies, greed.It is up for you to decide what you believe but this is the case of Black Widow Marjorie Orbin.

For nearly a decade in the mid-Victorian era, this black widow poisoned a string of her husbands for their insurance money as well as anyone else who got in her way — including 11 of her own children. Dubbed Britain's first serial killer, she was suspected of poisoning as many as 21 people but was only ever convicted of one murder.This is the case of Black Widow Mary Ann Cotton.

Caught in the lure of money, this black widow brought her crimes public for the chance of a wrongful death lawsuit as well as life insurance money on her late husband. After two victims of her cyanide poisoning disguised as Excedrin medicine, she landed over 200 years of sentenced jail time. This is the case of Black Widow, Stella Nickell.

At the age of 75 Isao Kakehi was in good health, happy and in love. It was 2013 and he was in a new relationship with this black widow, who at the time was 67 year old widow he had met through a Japanese matchmaking agency. The two fell in love instantly and within two months they were married, living together and beginning a seemingly blissful life in Kyoto's Muko cityThe two were making plans for the future while making rice cakes for their new years celebrations. But sadly, Isao didn't live to see the near year and on December 28th he became the fourth and final victim of Japan's Black Widow killer. This is the case of Black Widow Chisako Kakehi.

Colombian drug lord Black Widow, often known as "La Madrina," began dealing cocaine in the early 1970s, when a teenage Pablo Escobar was still boosting vehicles. Escobar would later rise to prominence as the 1980s' greatest "kingpin," but she was possibly the biggest "queenpin."Escobar is supposed to have been made possible by her, however it is unknown how intimately they were connected. Escobar was allegedly her ward, according to some. Others, meanwhile, have contested this and asserted that the two were savage rivals.There is no doubt that she began her career as a human trafficker in the 1970s. She later rose to prominence in the Miami drug warfare in the 1980s. She created a great number of enemies in both Colombia and the United States during her reign of terror.And she would do whatever it took to get rid of them.This is the case of Black Widow, Griselda Blanco

On a romantic getaway to save their marriage, this black widow struck after the couple watched a murder mystery theatrical reenactment. Her husband's body was found burned in their cottage only hours later. Despite her claims that her husband had consumed alcohol before passing away from smoke inhalation, the ensuing autopsy revealed no evidence of either.This is the case of black widow, Kimberly Hricko

A Burnet County woman who sent text messages to her friends about how she wanted to kill her husband hours before she fatally shot him, was sentenced to life in prison.In her texts, she told friends that she wanted to “kill Brian,” “feed him to hogs” and “laugh all the way to the bank.” She texted Brian that she hoped he would crash and die before he got home.She indeed tried to make everything look like a self defense, she claimed she was in an abusive marriage, but the truth is why did she continue to stay? Was it love or money? You'd actually feel pity for her but honestly things are not always what they seem.This is the case of the alleged Black Widow, Karra Trichele Allen.

In a case filled with mystery and years to cover up the truth, this woman went through 2 homicides, 2 suicides, and 1 of alleged natural causes. All 5 were her husbands. With her death in 2011, the court case will remain unsolved.This is the case of the alleged Black Widow, Betty Neumar.

She wanted everyone to believe that her life was destroyed by tragedy, that her first 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 was unfair and unjust. Or was it?This is the Case of Black Widow Stacey Castor

In 1990, a 57-year-old preachers wife, mother and grandmother went on trial for murdering her first husband.It didn't stop there though; she would also be caught trying to poison her current husband and clearly had more skeletons in her closet than she led on. After a very public and 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 did her wrong. This is the case of Black Widow Blanche Moore.

Do you believe in prophecies? What about those who claim to see the future? Still unsure? Well, what If I told you that today's case involved a woman who claimed to have the gift of foreseeing the deaths of those around her?What If I told you that these prophecies included the passing of her first, second third and fourth husbands along with three children?It is up for you to decide what you believe but this is the case of Black Widow Tillie Klimek.

Driven by greed, this “Queen of Poisoners” allegedly killed up to 12 of her friends, family, and husbands. With the promise of inheritance from almost all around her, she narrowly escaped punishment from the law. Also known as “The Good Lady of Loudun”, this is the case of Black Widow Marie Besnard

I robbed them, and I killed them as cold as ice. And I would do it again, and I know I would kill another person because I've hated humans for a long time. From late 1989 through late 1990, the bodies of seven middle aged white men were discovered in central Florida. The assailant had robbed all of the victims before shooting them and stealing their cars.This is the case of Black Widow Aileen Wuornos

May 1, 1990, began as any other day would for this woman. She arrived at Winnacunnet High School, where she worked as the media coordinator, and proceeded to a meeting there. When she returned home, she discovered her husband, dead in a pool of blood.But what initially appeared to be a random attack ended up being something completely else. Police discovered during their investigation that four neighborhood youngsters had visited the residence in Derry, New Hampshire, that evening. Two stories with ferociously opposing viewpoints came to light in a trial that riveted the nation. According to the teenagers, this black widow encouraged them to kill her husband all the while, she vehemently disputed it.This is the case of "black widow" Pamela Smart

Imagine: You're a kid again, playing in the nearby woods out in the middle of nowhere. As your friends tumble through the weeds of a small stretch of land off the escarpment, you find what you believe to be a decapitated corpse of a pig. This would be the dark and terrifying reality of 5 children the day of March 16th, 1946 on the outskirts of Hamilton Ontario. Shocked, and with no explanation, this corpse turns out to be the torso of a man named John Dick. With much more to uncover, this would be a crime that would ripple the town of Hamilton through the ages.This is the case of the Black Widow, Evelyn Dick.

It takes a lot to earn a title like the Merry Widow of Windy Nook but for her, this title was not only fitting but maybe tame in comparison to the crimes she actually committed.Continuing on with our season of Black Widows, she not only fits the bill, but due to her crimes she would be the last woman to be sentenced to death in Durham in 1958. This is the case of Black Widow Mary Elizabeth Wilson.

From a glance these Black Widows seem to be the most innocent women in the world, but as usual things are not always as they seem and this case is no different.Continuing on with our season of Black Widows, she not only fits the bill, but due to their crimes they would be the last women to be sentenced to life in prison on April 18th 2008 .This is the case of Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt

Every year, medical school graduates are required to take some form of the Hippocratic Oath. One of the oldest binding documents in history, the Oath boils down to “do no harm.” However, pediatric nurse Genene Anne Jones took the phrase “I must not play at God” as a challenge. Suspected of murdering up to 60 infants in her care, Genene took it upon herself to decide who lived and who died. How can such crimes go unnoticed? Today we'll discuss the horror that followed Genene Jones and how desperation to prevent bad publicity allowed her to evade punishment. This is the case of Black Widow Genene Anne Jones

Under the guise of elderly care, this Black Widow used every opportunity to get rich from the men and women who stayed at her home. Nicknamed the Murder factory, many people who stayed at the Archer Home for the Elderly met an untimely demise. How many truly died by her hands?This is the Black Widow, Amy Archer-Gillian.

Married five times, this woman often referred to the abuse she suffered from the hands of her former husband. She was convicted in 1985 of murdering the fifth and final of these husbands named Jimmy Don Beets. She was also suspected of killing her ex-husband Doyle Wayne Barker and the remains of both men would be discovered on her property.But that leaves the question, were her actions committed in self defense or were they of a colder, more nefarious nature?This is the Black Widow Betty Lou Beets.

Molded by a lengthy history of violence, this woman grew to be one of the most notorious murderers in Australian history. Savagely killing her boyfriend and preparing a feast of his flesh for the entire family.This is the case of Black Widow Katherine Knight.

In this brief introduction, we describe to you the first of many true crime seasons to come. Join us this month as we dive into the Black Widows from across the world.