Thursday, June 16, 2011

My Cousin, The Nefarious Black Widow...Dies

Almost three years ago to the day, I did a blog post about a cousin of mine who had just been arrested for "allegedly" disposing of -- over a period of some 56 years -- a total of five husbands. Over the next several months, Cousin Betty was investigated and interrogated and was ultimately released when the authorities could not find enough evidence to move forward with four of the purported murders.

Eventually, she was indicted for the murder of Harold Gentry...the man I mentioned in my earlier post...the one I had met. She remained in jail for quite a while as I recall, but eventually her lawyer was able to get her out on bail, and she was -- evidently -- living with one of her daughters in Louisiana, awaiting a trial date, when she passed away earlier this week. If anyone is interested, this is one of the news articles I received in a Google Alert announcing her demise.

In my original post, I commented on the fact that I had a LOCI episode unfolding in my very own family, and I hoped that Bobby would be the one to find her out and wrangle the truth from her. Well, in true Dick Wolf "ripped from the headlines" fashion, the story was told, but on the SVU franchise, not LOCI. Oh, well...it's not the first time I've been disappointed in my life and certainly was not the last.

Most L & O "ripped" storylines started out with the basic premise of the true-life story, but then morphed into something else entirely along the way. (At least, that is how I remember them.) Anyway, the episode that showcased Cousin Betty's shady past was called "Ballerina" and starred Carol Burnett in a rare dramatic role. In this instance, the show began with an unrelated story, and turned into the "Black Widow." It is the only episode of SVU I have ever purchased...for obvious reasons...and the last one I ever watched.

So, this post concludes the sad but true tale of my Cousin Betty, the suspected "Black Widow." Dead at the ripe old age of 79, accused of committing numerous, horrendous crimes and ruining countless lives of the loved ones left behind. Did she do it? I guess we'll never know for sure; the truth died with her. One thing is for certain...she had some "splaining to do" when she reached the "other side."

Here is one final look at the old girl's mug shot.

3 comments:

fuzzytweetie said...

OMG!!! I read that article a couple of days ago.

Ya gotta admit, things involving her sounded a little suspicious. Too bad we'll never know the truth, it would have be fascinating.

Music Wench said...

I remember that post! I didn't know SVU did an episode of it as I never watch that mess...er, show. It is too bad Bobby didn't get to interrogate the Black Widow character.

I guess she literally got away with murder.

BobbyG said...

Hi Fuzzytweetie, it's been a while...good to hear from you. Yeah, I know, the more I read about her, the more suspicious her actions sounded. A trial would have been interesting.

Hi Music Wench. Yes, it sounds like she did indeed get away with murder. Even her son died under suspicious circumstances, and she was the beneficiary on his life insurance policy. If she did these crimes and got away with them...what can I say...she was one cagey old broad.