Why Women Kill: Truth, Lies and Labels

The Black Widow

Episode Summary

Join the true crime writer Tori Telfer and notable guests as they unpack the intrigue, psychology and history of “Black Widow” killers, presented by CBS All Access.

Episode Notes

She killed her husband for his insurance payout. Then she killed her next husband. And the next. And the next. Eventually, Belle Gunness received the label “Black Widow,” a name given to a woman driven to kill her lovers for financial gain. But to what extent does the “Black Widow” archetype capture the bloody details of the Gunness story? Join the true crime writer Tori Telfer and notable guests as they unpack the intrigue, psychology and history of “Black Widow” killers, presented by CBS All Access.

Richard Lindberg is a historian and author of Heartland Serial Killers: Belle Gunness, Johann Hoch, and Murder for Profit in Gaslight Era Chicago. Marissa Harrison is an Associate Professor of Psychology, School of Behavioral Sciences and Education at Penn State Harrisburg. James R. Fitzgerald is a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and Criminal Profiler and author of his memoir series A Journey Into the Center of the Mind.