10 Wives Who Brutally Killed Their Husbands

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at the most violent cases of mariticide by wives against their husbands or ex-husbands.

Clara Harris

Even those with seemingly perfect lives can harbor dark thoughts and may even act out on them. With a good career and a loving family, Clara Harris seemed to have it all. That all changed when she suspected that her husband David was having an affair. She hired a personal detective, who confirmed her suspicions on July 24th, 2002. That night, she went to a hotel where he and his mistress were meeting. When he came outside, she reportedly ran over him multiple times, killing him, while her stepdaughter helplessly watched on. Harris received a twenty year prison sentence for the act in 2003. She was freed in 2023 following the completion of her parole, but her infamous crime lives on to this day.

Pamela Smart

Back when cameras were first allowed in courtrooms, this quickly became the trial of the decade. On trial was Pamela Smart, a woman accused of coercing her underaged boyfriend and his friends into breaking into her home and slaying her spouse, Gregg. She tried to claim that she had nothing to do with the concoction of the violent plan, but testimonies from the boys involved and recordings of Smarts conversations led to her being convicted of several charges, including being an accomplice to murder in the first degree. She received a life sentence in 1991, and maintained her innocence for decades only finally accepting full responsibility in 2024 in an attempt to get her sentence reduced.

Betty Broderick

Up until 1982, Betty Broderick had a pretty picturesque life. The veneer cracked that year, when her long-time husband Dan hired Linda Kolkena as his assistant. Betty began to suspect they were having an affair, and in 1985 her fears were validated when he moved out to be with her. A long divorce ensued, pushing her closer and closer to the brink. Things boiled over in 1989, when she began acting erratically. Vandalism quickly escalated to murder, when she broke into Dans home on November 5th, 1989, and shot him and Linda multiple times in their bed. She was immediately jailed, and after two trials, she was handed two lengthy sentences, which shes still serving today.

Melanie McGuire

Some people commit acts so violent that they seem incomprehensible. That was the case for Melanie McGuire, who fatally shot her partner Bill in 2004. She then dissected his body and distributed the parts across three different suitcases before throwing them into the Chesapeake Bay. Their discovery some time later would lead to her being dubbed the Suitcase Murderer, a title that follows her to this day. She pled not guilty, and still maintains her innocence many years into her life sentence. To this day, a confirmed motive still isnt known. No matter the reasoning, her horrific crime has ensured shell spend the rest of her days in prison, as she wont be eligible for parole until shes 101.

Betty Neumar

Some call her the Black Widow. Before finally being arrested in 2007, Betty Neumar appears to have claimed as many as five husbands. Most had been murdered in violent ways, though final husband John Neumar supposedly died naturally, although arsenic poisoning was suspected. It was Neumars brother that heavily encouraged the police to investigate. They found that she allegedly hired hit men to do her dirty work for her, all to collect their life insurance payouts. Before she could go to trial, she herself died in 2011 - so there was no chance for the evidence to be presented and her guilt or innocence established. Its hard not to wonder what the outcome wouldve been.

Susan Wright

After claiming to have suffered severe physical abuse at the hands of her husband Jeff, Susan Wright struck back. In January of 2003, she tied him to the bedposts and proceeded to stab him 193 times, before burying his remains. When the case went to trial in 2004, there was an immediate divide. The defense claimed it had been done in self-defense, while the prosecution argued that she was weaponizing her emotions. Reenacting the murder in court added fuel to the fire. When the smoke cleared, Wright was found guilty and sentenced to twenty-five years. A new witness coming forward in 2008 led to her punishment being slightly reduced, and she was eventually released on parole in 2020.

Mary Elizabeth Wilson

It was her sense of humor and nonchalant way of grieving her spouses that caused Mary Elizabeth Wilsons downfall. Her first husband died in 1955 following decades of marriage. Her second died in 1956, after just months. Both seemingly passed from natural causes. The pattern continued on twice more, with both men dying within a year. Each time, their money went to Wilson. She made copious jokes about them, leading to an investigation. The bodies of her last two revealed high amounts of phosphorus, and she was convicted of their deaths, with evidence later suggesting she killed her first two as well. She was condemned to death, but her age got it reduced to life in prison, where she died in 1962.

Chisako Kakehi

As Wilson and our next killer prove, age doesnt have to be a barrier when committing heinous crimes. Chisako Kakehi was in her 60s when she was arrested in 2014 after cyanide was found in her deceased second husbands system. During the extensive trial, it was found that her cruelty dated back to 2007, and that shed killed three men in total, along with attempting to kill another. And there may have been other victims as well. After she killed them, she would collect the inheritance and find a new victim. In 2017, she was condemned to death by hanging, but died of natural causes in 2024 before her sentence could be carried out.

Mary Hobry

All the way back in the 1600s, French midwife Mary Hobry lived with her husband, Denis, in London. Their marriage was perilous, as Denis was an abusive spouse with a substance use disorder. Having made unsuccessful attempts to exit the relationship, Hobry demanded a change in his behavior or else. When his awful mistreatment continued, she followed through on her threat to end his life. After having done so, she dismembered him in an attempt to discard any evidence of her crime. This plan was ineffective, and Hobry was arrested about a month later. She pled guilty, and was sentenced to death by burning.

Betty Lou Beets

Though shes believed to have killed and injured multiple husbands, Betty Lou Beets has managed to win over the hearts of countless supporters. Theyve both claimed that a majority of her marriages were abusive, and that she attacked back out of self defense. In 1985, she was arrested for the 1983 slaying of her fifth partner Don, whom shed shot and stuffed inside a well. Upon investigating her home, the remains of her fourth husband were also found Though she initially tried to pawn the blame off onto her children, she was eventually found guilty and sentenced to death. She was executed in 2000 amid protests, putting a permanent end to her spree.

Which of these black widow killers do you find the most brutal? Let us know in the comments below.