© 2016 BBC/Halifax Regional Police
Brilio.net/en - Melissa Ann Shepard is known as Canadas black widow. Wonder why? She has a track record for crimes that she committed against her previous spouses, or attempted to at least. Her release from prison on Friday, March 18th 2016, sparked anger amongst many local residents due to her short sentencing spell. She may be in her early 80s, but history suggests she should be kept in close watch. Heres a rundown of her infamous acts:
To find out how it all began, the horror story traces all the way back to about 40 years ago. Between the years 1977 and 1991, Melissa was found guilty for over 30 fraudulent acts, where she served multiple prison sentences in the process. Just a year later, she murdered her second husband by not only drugging him, but also running him over with a car! As a result of that, she was handed a six-year imprisonment sentence. In 1994, while she was on parole, she was featured in a documentary entitled When Women Kill, which focused on people involved in domestic violence towards their spouses. In 2002, her third husband was reported dead. She had met him on an online dating site, although this time she wasnt responsible for his death. In 2005, history repeated itself all over again, well most of it at least. Melissa was sentenced to five years in prison after counterfeiting and stealing $20,000 from Alex Strategos, her husband at that time. And it didnt just end there- she even smuggled drugs in his ice-cream. Wonder how she met this guy? Yup you guessed it, on an online dating site! Her latest prison sentence came about three years ago in Canada, this time because she attempted to kill her partner Fred Weeks by adding sedatives to his coffee. He simply described her as a smooth actor.
You must be wondering how such a psychotic woman like Melissa still isnt behind bars. Dont be too afraid just yet; now that the cops have learnt their lesson, they are keeping a close watch on her. While Melissa may be celebrating her release from prison, Canadian residents (especially aged men), better beware of the black widow thats on the loose!
(brl/red)
