Mary Lou Martin Stabbed 2 Husbands to Death - 1987

FULL TEXT: Wildersville – Services for Dwight Rush, 34, were today at Reed’s Chapel funeral home in Lexington. Burial was in Parker’s Crossroads Cemetery.

Mr. Rush was found dead of stab wounds Saturday [May 25] at his midtown Memphis home.

His wife, Mary Louise Rush, 26, of Memphis Police Department’s violent crimes division. Brown said the stabbing resulted from an argument that began Friday night.

Mr. Rush was a native of Henderson County but had lived the past several years in Memphis.

Surviving are his mother, Mrs. Mary Sue Rush of Lexington; a sister, Mrs. Jean Chilcote of Lexington; and a brother, Harold Rush of Wilderville.

[Obituary: Dwight Rush, The Jackson Sun (Tn.), May 28, 1985, P. 16

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FULL TEXT: Funeral services for Charles D. Martin, 38, of Holly Springs were held at 11 a. m., Friday, May 9, at Newsom Funeral Home in Charleston with burial in Friendship Baptist Church Cemetery.

Mr. Martin was found stabbed to death in the bedroom of his home Wednesday, May 7, near Byhalia. Police reports that Mr. Martin had been dead since early Monday morning. The report indicated that Mr. Martin had been attacked with a large, sharp instrument in the chest.

His wife, Mary Lou Martin, 27, was arrested and charged with the murder and was being held without bond last Thursday in the Marshall County Jail.

Mr. Marshall and his wife were married in the Teasdale area about two months ago.

He also leaves a daughter, Miss Stacy Virginia, and two sons, Charles Martin Jr. and Jason Martin, all of Glenrock, Wyo.; and two sisters, Mrs. Virginia Carpenter of Charleston and Mrs. Peggy Naulr of Memphis.

[Obituary: Charles D. Martin, The Sun-Sentinel (Charleston, Ma.), May 15, 1986, p. 6]

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FULL TEXT: Holly Springs, Miss. – A woman convicted of stabbing two husbands to death in less than a year has received a 20-year prison sentence for manslaughter in the latest slaying.

Circuit Judge W. W. Brown gave Mary Lou Martin, 28, the maximum sentence for manslaughter Friday in the 1986 death of her husband, Charles Martin of Byhalia.

District Attorney Larry Little said the sentence was stiff because “that was the second husband she killed.”

Authorities found Martin’s body on May 7, 1986, in the bedroom of the couple’s home. Martin 38, who died of stab wounds to the chest, was believed to have been dead several days.

Mrs. Martin, charged originally with murder, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a reduced charge of manslaughter. According to authorities, the killing occurred after a heated argument.

Just a year earlier, Mrs. Martin had been married to Dwight Rush of Memphis, ten. According to court records, Rush was stabbed to death May 25, 1985, and his wife pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter last March.

A Shelby County, Tenn., judge gave her a two-year prison sentenced that was suspended. She also was placed on probation for five years.

Mrs. Martin, who was on probation in Tennessee, was indicted for murder by a Mississippi grand jury five days after Martin’s death. On June 30, 1986, her probation was revoked in Tennessee sand she was returned to custody here.

She spent nine months in a Memphis jail before waiving extradition and was returned to Holly Springs for trial in the latest slaying, Little said.

[“Woman gets 20 years for killing 2 husbands,” The Bismark Tribune (N. D.), May 31, 1987, p. 8A]

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FULL TEXT: Holly Springs, Miss. – A woman convicted of stabbing two husbands to death in less than a year has received a 20-year prison sentence for manslaughter in the latest slaying.

Circuit Judge W.W. Brown gave Mary Lou Martin, 28, the maximum sentence for manslaughter Friday in the 1986 death of her husband, Charles Martin of Byhalla.

Authorities found Martin’s body on May 7, 1986, in the bedroom of the couple’s home. Martin, 38, died of stab wounds to the chest.

The Martin woman, charged originally with murder, pleaded guilty Tuesday to a reduced charge of manslaughter. According to authorities, the killing occurred after a heated argument.

Just a year earlier, she had been married to Dwight Rush of Memphis, Tenn. According to authorities, the killing occurred after a heated argument.

A Shelby county, Tenn., judge gave her a two-year prison sentence that was suspended. She also was placed on probation for five years.

[“Woman sentenced for killing second husband,” Sunday Tribune (Lewiston, Id.), May 31, 1987, p. 2A]

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CHRONOLOGY

May 25, 1985 – Dwight Rush, Memphis. Tenn.

Mar. 11, 1985 – Mary Lou sentenced to 2 years, suspended; 5 years probation.

Mar. 1986 – Mary Lou marries Charles Martin.

May 5, 1986 – Charles Martin (36) killed; Byhalia, Miss.

May 7, 1986 – Charles Martin (36) body discovered.

May 8, 1986 – Mary Lou arrested, held without bond, Marshall County Jail.

May 12, 1986 – Mary Lou Martin (27) indicted in Miss. on murder charge.

Jun. 30, 1986 – probation revoked; 9 months in jail in Tenn. Before being returned to Miss.

Oct. 27, 1987 – Pleads guilty to a lesser charge, manslaughter.

Oct.30, 1987 – Sentenced to 20 years. Holl

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For links to other cases of woman who murdered 2 or more husbands (or paramours), see Black Widow Serial Killers.

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[577-7/24/20]

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