10 Real-Life Black Widows

10 Real Life Black Widow Killers

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most infamous cases where a woman was alleged to have killed either one or multiple romantic partners.

Judi Buenoano

Sometimes, it’s not so great to be a trailblazer. Judi Buenoano possesses the infamous distinction of being Florida’s first female victim of the electric chair. This death sentence was handed out in connection to the death of Buenoano’s husband, James Goodyear. The list of Buenoano’s casualties doesn’t stop there, however, since she was also convicted of murdering her son Michael. This serial killer was also linked to the deaths of at least two other boyfriends, with the methodology routinely being that of arsenic poisoning. Buenoano’s homelife as a child was allegedly one that involved routine abuse, to the point where she was imprisoned at only fourteen for attacking her father and stepfamily.

Belle Gunness

There is a long list of victims that have been attributed or at least connected to the murder spree of Belle Gunness. Speculations from investigators and researchers place the number somewhere between 14 and 40. Insurance payouts seem to have played a part in many of Gunness’ insidious plans, with multiple husbands and even children suffering fatal accidents while living on her property. It wasn’t until after Gunness’ own demise in a house fire that authorities uncovered bags containing human remains, buried in the ground. We should actually say supposed demise, since the corpse investigators claimed to be Gunness was headless and differed in physical details. This has led some to surmise that she escaped from the burning house to kill again.

Katherine Knight

The trial and subsequent conviction of Katherine Knight in 2001 resulted in her being the first woman in Australian history to be sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. This was in connection to Knight’s gruesome killing of her partner, John Charles Thomas Price, the year prior. Knight allegedly intended to put her skills as an abattoir worker to use, serving Price’s remains to his children for dinner. This thankfully never came to pass, but Knight’s history of violence actually dated back to previous romantic partners, including the alleged attempted strangling of her first husband. Meanwhile, Knight also intentionally killed a dog belonging to boyfriend David Saunders, and attacked the latter with a pair of scissors, stabbing him in the stomach.

Chisako Kakehi

The idea that female murderers primarily utilize poison is something of a misconception when it comes to the hard data and facts. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t at least some truth to this stereotype, as evidenced from Japan’s Chisako Kakehi. Authorities in that country claim that Kakehi is responsible for the deaths of at least seven romantic partners. Motives in these cases were historically seen as financial, specifically insurance money windfalls. Kakehi’s methodology seemed to be cyanide poisoning, with no less than three of her lovers succumbing to the effects of the drug after becoming involved with Japan’s septuagenarian black widow.

Evelyn Dick

The body of Evelyn Dick’s former husband John was in atrocious shape back when it was uncovered by a group of Canadian children back in the early 1940s. The Dicks’ marriage was a short one, and notable for Evelyn’s romantic liaison with another man, Bill Bohozuk, only days after tying the knot. Meanwhile, John’s dismembered remains were whittled down to a torso, and Evelyn’s trial was a sensationalized and salacious media frenzy. This resulted in a conviction, which was overturned, with an acquittal coming from a re-trial. A second trial for the mummified fetal corpse found on her property resulted in an eleven year prison stay.

Susan Wright

The trial of Susan Lucille Wright was one that vacillated between two stories: one of self-defense and the other cold-blooded murder. Wright’s lawyer stated that her marriage to Jeffery Wright was one under which Susan suffered physical violence. Thus, the admitted stabbing of this husband that took place while the latter was bound to his marital bed was committed out of fear. The prosecution, meanwhile, painted Wright as someone who intentionally murdered her husband, although it should be said that the former did voluntarily turn herself in to the authorities after meeting with her counsel. The jury eventually convicted Susan Wright to 25 years, a sentence that was reduced to 20, and from which Wright emerged, on parole, in 2020.

Stacey Castor

We can’t imagine that it's a very pleasant method of death, being fed antifreeze. Yet, that’s allegedly what Stacey Castor did to not one, but two of her husbands. Toxicology reports for both Michael Wallace and David Castor reported positive for antifreeze poisoning. The case of the latter is particularly troubling, however, since it was alleged that Stacey Castor forcibly locked her husband in a room, and force fed him the poison, when he became too weak from malnourishment to resist. It was initially surmised that David Castor’s death was self-inflicted, but the truth came out during the trial, and Stacey Castor was sentenced to 51 years to life. The severity of this sentence was also impacted by the alleged poisoning of her daughter, Ashley.

Nannie Doss

A 1954 mugshot of Nancy Hazel, a.k.a. “Nannie Doss” is all it really takes to underline this serial killer’s reputation as “The Giggling Granny.” The slightly sinister smirk on Doss’ face belies the fact that she was allegedly responsible for at least eleven murders. Four separate husbands died while being married to Nannie Doss, while the latter also confessed to killing her mother, sister, mother-in-law and grandson. A recurring theme of insurance money returns here, the seeming motive for the death of Nannie’s final husband, Samuel Doss, from arsenic poison during his brief, fatal marriage. Insurance also was related to others of the deaths.

Betty Lou Beets

The woman born Betty Lou Dunevant was married five times (twice to the same man) prior to tying the knot with Jimmy Don Beets in 1982. That aforementioned double marriage to Bill York Lane resulted in Betty shooting her husband, although he did survive the attack. This wasn’t the case with Doyle Wayne Barker, Beets’ fourth spouse whose remains were found on her property, alongside the body of Jimmy Don Beets. Both bodies had similar-looking gunshot wounds. Beets was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1985, but the long appeals process meant that the method of lethal injection wasn’t carried out until fifteen years later, on February 24th 2000.

Amy Archer-Gilligan

It is true that Amy Archer-Gilligan, née Duggan, was convicted of poisoning her husband, Michael. However, dozens of other reported individuals died while residents of a nursing home, under Archer-Gilligan’s care. Traces of arsenic and strychnine were found by forensic officials that examined several deaths at The Archer Home for the Elderly and Infirm. Stranger still was how some of these victims were convinced while presumably lucid enough to sign over their life insurance policies to Archer-Gilligan. Her initial conviction was overturned on a retrial and insanity defense, with Archer-Gilligan being sent to a mental hospital until the end of her days.

If we did a list of Black Widowers, what infamous men would make the list? Let us know in the comments.