Rhonda Belle Martin

Serial Killer

Rhonda Belle Martin: The Poisoner of Montgomery

A Pattern of Death Inside One Family

Rhonda Belle Martin was an American serial poisoner who killed members of her own family over a period extending from 1937 to 1951. Born Rhonda Belle Thomley on November 4, 1906, she lived in Montgomery, Alabama, and worked as a waitress. Behind the appearance of an ordinary wife and mother was a pattern of arsenic poisoning that eventually led Martin to confess to killing her mother, two husbands and three of her daughters. Martin relied on arsenic-containing rat poison, which she secretly introduced into food, coffee, alcoholic drinks and other items consumed by her victims. Arsenic poisoning can cause vomiting, abdominal pain, weakness, numbness, paralysis and the gradual failure of vital organs. When administered repeatedly in small amounts, its effects can resemble serious natural illnesses. This allowed the deaths surrounding Martin to remain unsuspected for many years. The people Martin targeted were relatives who trusted her completely. Her daughters became ill while living under her care, her husbands deteriorated in their own homes, and her mother died after becoming another victim of the same general method. Martin often appeared to be the devoted caregiver during these illnesses. After each death, she received sympathy as a woman who had suffered another devastating personal loss.

Victims Rhonda Belle Martin Confessed to Poisoning

• Emogene Garrett - Martin's young daughter died on July 9, 1937, in Montgomery, Alabama. Emogene was born on December 13, 1934, making her two years old at the time of her death, although contemporary accounts sometimes described her as three. Martin later confessed that she had given the child arsenic-containing rat poison.
• George Wertlaw Garrett Jr. - Martin's second husband died on December 24, 1939, in Montgomery, Alabama. He was 35 years old. Martin later admitted placing rat poison in his whiskey. His death was initially attributed to bronchopneumonia following an illness, and no homicide investigation was opened at the time.
• Anna Carolyn Garrett - Martin's six-year-old daughter died on May 15, 1940, in Montgomery, Alabama. Her death occurred less than five months after the death of her father, George Garrett. Martin eventually confessed that Carolyn had also been poisoned with rat poison.
• Ellyn Elizabeth Garrett - Martin's 11-year-old daughter died on August 1, 1943, in Montgomery, Alabama. Martin later included Ellyn among the children she admitted poisoning. Like the earlier deaths, Ellyn's death was initially treated as the result of illness rather than deliberate poisoning.
• Mary Frances Grimes Gibbon - Martin's mother died on February 11, 1944, in Montgomery, Alabama. She was approximately 58 years old. Martin confessed that her mother had been poisoned, extending the series of killings beyond her husbands and children.
• Claude Carroll Martin - Martin's fourth husband died on April 27, 1951, in Montgomery, Alabama, at the age of 51. Martin secretly administered arsenic to him through food and beverages. Claude was the only victim whose murder resulted in Martin's prosecution and conviction.

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Confirmed Victims: (6)

Claude Carroll Martin Age: (51), Date of Death: 1951-04-27

Suspected Victims:

Emmitt Martin Age: (8), Date of Death: 1944

Ruth Evelyn Martin , Date of Death: 1944

Elberta Martin , Date of Death: 1945

Rohonda Belle Thomley , Date of Death: 1951

Lee Roy Gentry , Date of Death: 1952

Survivors:

Arnold Woodrow Martin , Date of Attack: 1956

Rhonda Belle Martin - Wikipedia