Unknown Gender History: Raynella Dossett Leath, Black Widow Serial Killer

Two murders (of husbands) plus one attempted murder. Raynella Dossett Leath (nee Large) murdered a District Attorney and got away with it.

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Wikipedia: Raynella Dossett Leath is a Knoxville, Tennessee woman serving a life sentence at the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville for the 2003 murder of her husband David Leath. Prosecutors alleged that she shot her husband in the head, and then attempted to stage his murder as a suicide. Dossett Leath is also a suspect in the 1992 death of her first husband, Ed Dossett, who supposedly died from being trampled by a cattle stampede, but prosecutors now believe that he was killed with a lethal dose of morphine.

~ Early life ~

Raynella Large was born on October 25, 1948 and raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. She attended Oak Ridge High School and graduated in 1966. Raynella went on to become a registered nurse, and she married her first husband, Ed Dossett, the Knox County District Attorney, in 1970. The couple had three children, and the family lived on a farm west of Knoxville, Tennessee.

~ Death of first husband ~

In August 1992, Ed Dossett, who at that time was in the late stages on terminal cancer, was found dead in the couple's corral, allegedly having been trampled by cattle. Despite the medical examiner's suspicions about a double indemnity clause on Ed's life insurance policy, his death was initially ruled to be an agricultural accident by the first medical examiner who autopsied him. Just six months after Ed's death, Raynella married her second husband, a retired barber, David Leath. It was not until 2006 that the death of Ed Dossett would be re-investigated after David Leath's death.

~ Death of second husband ~

On March 13, 2003, Raynella found the body of her second husband David Leath in their bedroom. She called 9-1-1 and reported her husband's death as a suicide. The physical evidence suggested that three shots were fired from a .38 caliber Colt revolver, but police argued that it was the second shot that killed David Leath. Following his death, authorities re-investigated the death of Ed Dossett. A new medical examiner revealed that the morphine levels in Ed Dossett's system were "so extraordinarily high it is unlikely that any human could function in an ambulatory manner or continue to live." In 2006, Raynella was charged with administering an overdose of morphine. Two years later, in 2008, she was charged with first-degree murder in the death of David Leath.

Attempted murder charge

In 1995, after the death of her first husband, Raynella discovered that Ed Dossett had an affair with another woman that resulted in the birth of a child. Her late husband's mistress was in the middle of a divorce with Steve Walker; the mistress revealed to Mr. Walker that she had an affair with Ed Dossett and that Dossett fathered one of her children. Soon after, Raynella lured Mr. Walker to her farm, where she allegedly opened fire on him until she ran out of bullets. She was charged with attempted murder, but plea bargained to a lesser charge. She served 6 years on probation and her criminal record was expunged.

Murder trial

In May 2009, Raynella Dossett Leath went on trial for the murder of her second husband David. She maintained that her husband's death was a suicide. After hours of jury deliberation, there was no verdict and the judge declared a hung jury.

Raynella's retrial began in January 2010. The prosecutor began his opening statement by playing Raynella's 911 call, then explaining why David's death was murder rather than suicide. The prosecutor said three shots were fired and the second shot killed David instantly. He also told the jury David was also drugged with a combination similar to what's used for patients having surgery. In this trial, Raynella's defense did not argue that David's death was in fact a homicide, but that Raynella had an alibi. After a day of deliberation, the jury had not reached a unanimous verdict. However, on January 25, 2010, Raynella Dossett Leath was convicted of first-degree murder and was automatically sentenced to 51 years to life in prison. Immediately following her conviction, the charges relating to her first husband's death were dropped.

Aftermath

Following her conviction, Raynella appealed for a new trial on the basis of Judge Richard Baumgartner's judicial misconduct for his drug use. She cited the murder of Channon Christian and Christopher Newsom case, which resulted in all of the defendants' convictions being overturned. Raynella's appeal was denied.

~ In popular culture ~

True crime author Diane Fanning published Her Deadly Web in 2012 about the Raynella Dossett Leath case.

Her case appeared on the Deadly Women episode, “An Inconvenient Marriage,” Nov. 18, 2011. Snapped, “Raynella Leath,” June 17, 2012.

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CHRONOLOGY

Oct. 25, 1948 – Raynella Large was born on and raised in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Became registered nurse.

Feb. 23, 1970 – marries Ed Gossett

Jul. 9, 1992 – Ed Gossett (44), Knoxville District Attorney, dies.

1993 – married David Leath (47); barber.

May 26, 1995 – attempted murder of Steve Walker (38); opened fire on him until she ran out of bullets. She was charged with attempted murder, but plea bargained to a lesser charge. She served 6 years on probation and her criminal record was expunged.

2001 – end of probation period.

Mar. 13, 2003 – David Leath (57) dies; Leath signed deed and a will before his death. Shot in his dead; unprescribed drugs found during autopsy.

2006 – Raynella was charged with administering an overdose of morphine to David Leath.

Dec. 14, 2007 – Knoxville prosecutors seek court order to exhume and examine corpse of Dossett.

2008 – she was charged with first-degree murder in the death of David Leath.

Feb. 15, 2008 – Judge Baumgartner announced he intends to refuse to order exhumation of Dossett because that matter has no effect on Leath murder trial. He refused a total of three times.

May 2009 – trial for murder of Leath. Hung jury, mistrial declared.

Jan. 2010 – Raynella's retrial began.

Jan. 25, 2010 – Raynella Dossett Leath (61) convicted of first-degree murder, of David Leath, and was automatically sentenced to 51 years to life in prison

May 10, 2010 – Trial for Dossett murder; Special Judge Paul Summers waited until moments before a jury was to begin deliberations to announce that he found evidence of Leath’s guilt too lacking to even allow the jury to decide it. “Summers tossed out Raynella Leath's conviction because Baumgartner had been visibly high on painkillers during her 2010 trial.”

Mar. 2011 – Judge Baumgartner pleads guilty to official misconduct, receives two-year diversionary sentence, pension spared.

Sep. 2011 – Judge Baumgartner agrees to disbarment to avoid public hearing.

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