In the news cycle, an elderly woman attempting to poison her husband would have garnered a pretty small amount of attention from the press, then faded away when a larger story came along. But it didn’t take long for the press to learn that the poisoning of Melissa Ann Shepard's new husband wasn't the first time she had been suspected or convicted of attempted murder. In fact, Melissa Ann Shepard had a criminal history in two countries that went back decades, including many crimes that were very similar to the one she had just perpetrated only with a much worse outcome.

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As It Happens. 2016. Victim questions release of notorious Internet Black Widow. March 16. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.3492260/victim-questions-release-of-notorious-internet-black-widow-she-ll-never-change-1.3492579.

Associated Press. 2005. "'Black Widow' pleads guilty." Kingston Whig-Standard, March 15: 2005.

Canadian Press. 2013. "'Black Widow' pleads guilty to drugging husband's coffee days after wedding." Globe and Mail, June 11.

—. 2016. "Internet black widow off the hook." Hamilton Spectator, December 23: 10.

—. 2013. "'Black Widow' gets 3 1/2 years for drugging husband." Toronto Star, June 12.

—. 2013. "Alleged victim of 'Black Widow' holds no ill will as trial set to start." Windsor Star, June 7: 35.

2012. The Fifth Estate: The Widow's Web. Television. Directed by CBC News. Performed by CBC News.

Elash, Anita. 2012. Police were asked to warn husband of 'Internet Black Widow'. October 5. Accessed May 15, 2024. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/police-were-asked-to-warn-husband-of-internet-black-widow-1.1163836.

L'Heureux, Catie. 2016. "The real-life Gone Girl is 80, and terrifying." The Cut, April 13.

McMahon, Tamsin. 2005. "Robert Friedrich was alive and well, then he met this woman." Kingston Whig-Standard, April 9: 1.

O'Connor, Joe. 2012. "Romancing the 'Black Widow' ." National Post, October 3: 1.

Sherren, Reg. 2013. "Internet Black Widow 'will do it again,' says former husband." CBC News, September 16.

Starnes, Richard. 2005. "'Black widow' arrested in Florida." Ottawa Citizen, January 13: 7.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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Since the late nineteenth century, amusement parks have been providing countless hours of enjoyment for people all around the world. Often driven by the latest technology and advances in mechanical engineering, the thrill rides at parks like Disney Land, Great America, and other independent parks offer a controlled environment to experience terror and excitement.

While these rides, and the parks in general, are very safe and held to strict safety standards, there are times when the unthinkable happens—a cable snaps, a safety harness breaks—and the once safe ride becomes a nightmare for passengers. Far more often than not, tragic amusement park accidents are the result of human foolishness or, far less often, operator error. But other times, they are a bizarre fluke; a one in a million mechanical problem no one saw coming. Either way, the results can be shocking, horrifying, and even deadly.

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References

Adler, Eric, and Katy Bergen. 2016. "Questions swirl as grief befalls family of boy killed on slide." Wichita Eagle, August 9: 1.

Associated Press. 2016. "Slide complaints surface." Iola Register (Iola, KS), August 10: 2.

Bella, Timothy. 2019. "How a freak accident happens." Esquire, January 29.

Boston Globe. 1923. "Couple injured on Derby Racer." Boston Globe, May 31: 14.

Brennan v. Ocean View Amusement Company. 1935. Unknown (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, January 16).

Daily Item. 1911. "Fatal accident on Revere Beach roller coaster." Daily Item (Lynn, MA), June 9: 19.

—. 1911. "Fatally hurt on roller coaster." Daily Item (Lynn, MA), May 22: 9.

Merrill, Jamie. 2015. "The funfair disaster that Britain forgot." The Independent on Sunday, June 7.

Omaha Evening Bee-News. 1930. "Ban coaster after plunge kills four." Omaha Evening Bee-News, July 25: 1.

—. 1930. "Survivor tells story of tragedy." Omaha Evening Bee-News, July 25: 2.

O'Neil, Elise. 2023. Benson's almost forgotten amusement park. July 27. Accessed February 4, 2026. https://douglascohistory.org/9743-2/.

Pound, Cath. 2022. The scandalous roots of the amusement park. August 21. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20220818-the-surprisingly-scandalous-origins-of-disneyland.

Saner, Emine. 2024. "The rollercoaster I was on hurtled backwards and crashed." The Guardian, September 23.

Standard-Times. 1922. "New Bedford man, thrown from roller coaster, on danger list." Standard-Times (New Bedford, MA), September 12: 1.

The Times. 1973. "Big dipper a death trap, Crown says." The Times, November 6.

—. 1973. "Engineer says many parts of big dipper were unsafe." The Times, March 2.

—. 1972. "Two teenage boys and a girl killed in Battersea big dipper crash." The Times, May 5.

Vockrodt, Steve. 2018. "The making of Schlitterbahn’s Verrückt water slide: Too much, too fast? ." Kansas City Star, April 3.

Yesterday's America. n.d. The early history of theme parks in America. Accessed February 4, 2026. https://yesterdaysamerica.com/the-early-history-of-theme-parks-in-america/.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In the summer of 1998, eighty-two-year-old New York socialite Irene Silverman disappeared from her Manhattan townhouse without a trace. Silverman’s friends were immediately concerned, as it was completely out of character for Irene to leave town without telling anyone. Coincidentally, on the same day Irene Silverman disappeared, authorities in New York arrested Sante Kimes and her son, Kenny, on a charge of check fraud. Unbeknownst to investigators, these two events were directly linked.

In the wake of the arrest of Kimes and her son, investigators discovered a number of links between the mother and son con artists and Irene Silverman that would not only lead to the discovery of Silverman’s body, but also to a years’ long crime spree that included everything from check fraud and impersonation to arson and murder.

In the annals of American crime, it’s rare to find a series of violent crimes committed by a woman. And among those women, it is rarer still to find one so brutal, cunning, and manipulative as Sante Kimes.

References

Associated Press. 1985. "Couple charged with slavery." The Union (Grass Valley, CA), August 6: 4.

Bashinsky, Ruth, and Larry Sutton. 1998. "She lived in the present, belebrated ballet past." Daily News (New York, NY), July 8: 2.

Finkelstein, Katherine. 2000. "Mother and son are given life sentences." New York Times, June 28.

Kirsta, Alix. 1999. "The lady vanishes." The Guardian, November 20.

Kocieniewski, David. 1998. "Deed ceding widow's house to suspects is found, police say." New York Times, July 25.

NBC News. 2025. "The devil wore white." Dateline, January 1.

Rohde, David. 1998. "2 now face murder charge in widow's disappearance." New York Times, December 17.

—. 2000. "Jury hears a murder defendant's outburst; a woman screams for fairness." New York Times, April 29.

Rohde, David, and Julian Barnes. 2000. "Without a body, murder case of widow relies on circumstantial evidence." New York Times, May 16.

Sante Kimes v. United States. 1989. 86-1267 (District of Columbia Court of Appeals, October 31).

Walker, Kent. 2001. Son of a Grifter: The Twisted Tale of Sante and Kenny Kimes, the Most Notorious Con Artists in America. New York, NY: William Morrow.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022)

Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023)

Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley

Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally

Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025)

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