Notorious husband killer and pensioner Melissa Ann Shepard was back in the news this week for violating terms of her prison release.
The 80-year-old was discovered using the internet at the Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Road, no doubt searching for her next victim.
According to NY mag, Shepard was arrested in Nova Scotia on Monday. Last year she was convicted of the attempted murder of her fourth husband. Released from prison in March, Sheppard is required to adhere to strict terms including no use of the internet and alerting authorities to any romantic encounters.
Sheppard has harmed three of her husbands and one partner. All men are aging, recently widowed and fall victim to Sheppard’s panache for poison.
Sheppard’s first victim was husband Gordon Stewart. He was run over and discovered with lethal doses of drugs and alcohol in his system. Sheppard maintains that Stewart attempted to rape her and she portrayed herself as the victim. She was interviewed for the documentary When Women Kill and became renowned for speaking out about being the victim of an abuser.
Next victim was husband Robert Friedrich in 2001. Friedrich fell ill during the couples five month honeymoon and suffered falls which often left him hospitalised. He died less than a year after they married and Friedrich’s sons maintain that Sheppard overdosed on his prescription medication. She has never been charged.
In 2005 boyfriend Alex Strategos was the next victim. Like Friedrich, Strategos became prone to falling. Several trips to hospital determined that his body was full of tranquilizers and it became clear Sheppard had been spiking his ice cream with Lorazepam. She was sentenced to five years in prison.
In 2012 Husband number four, Fred Weeks again fell ill on the couple’s honeymoon. When he fell out of bed and was hospitalised, Doctor’s found a dose of tranquilizers in his blood. Sheppard was again charged with attempted murder and sentences to three and a half years imprisonment.
We reckon it’s only a matter of time before someone writes her into Orange is the New Black.
Image via Halifax Regional Police and YouTube
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