Betty Lafon Neumar

Serial Killer

Betty Lafon Neumar: The Alleged "Black Widow"

Introduction

Betty Lafon Neumar was an American woman whose five marriages and the deaths of the men she married attracted national attention. Commonly called the "Black Widow" or "Black Widow Granny" in news reports, Neumar became the subject of a multistate investigation after authorities accused her of attempting to arrange the murder of her fourth husband, Thomas Harold Gentry. Investigators subsequently examined the deaths of several other men connected to her, three of whom died from gunshot wounds. Despite frequently being described as a suspected serial killer, Neumar was never convicted of murder. She was formally charged only in connection with allegations that she solicited other people to kill Gentry. She denied responsibility, was released on bond and died before the case could be brought to trial. Consequently, many of the suspicions surrounding her marriages were never resolved in court.

Early Life and Marriages

Betty Lafon Johnson was born on November 27, 1931, in Ironton, Ohio. She graduated from South Point High School in 1949 and married Clarence Malone in November 1950. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1952, and Malone remarried after their separation. Neumar went on to marry four more men over the following decades. The deaths associated with her marriages occurred in several different states and under widely differing circumstances. Some were officially classified as homicides, one was described as a suicide and another was attributed to natural causes. The number of gunshot deaths eventually led investigators and journalists to examine whether the cases represented a pattern or an extraordinary series of unrelated tragedies. ...

Confirmed Victims: (1)

Thomas Harold Gentry Age: (48), Date of Death: 1986-07-13

Suspected Victims:

James A. Flynn , Date of Death: 1955-06-06

Nelos Richard Sills Age: (37), Date of Death: 1967-04-18

Clarence Malone Age: (39), Date of Death: 1970-11-27

John Neumar Age: (79), Date of Death: 2007-12-25

Betty Neumar Age