After graduating from high school in 1962, Sandra Camille
Powers, who rarely dated as a student, began frequently dating men. Many of
them became smitten with Bridewell due to what one of Sandra's friends called
her "ladylike, 'poor helpless me' routine." [bio.com]
This “routine” was to serve Sandra, best known as Sandra
Bridewell, handily in her three-decade long career as con-woman and serial
killer. Suspected of two or three murders of, of targeting at least one female acquaintance
for a life insurance/murder scheme, Sandra was never charged for homicide. It
was only at the age of 63 that “The Black Widow” as she was then known, thanks
to articles by Dallas journalists, was finally jailed. But it was just a minor
charge, identity theft, and it only put her away for two years.
***
~ Sandra’s own “Law of Attraction”
Sandra Bridwell had written this phrase over and over in a
small tablet (discovered in 2003): "I attract millionaires and
billionaires and they have all the resources I need. And when I meet them, I
will persuade them to give me what I want." [Glenna Whitley, “Return of the Black Widow,” Dallas
Observer (Tx.), Jan. 22, 2004]
***
The Bridewell case is documented in detail in first-rate
long-form articles published by D Magazine and The
Dallas Observer.
• Skip Hollandsworth and Eric
Miller, “Death & Gossip in Highland Park,” (retitled for internet as “The
Black Widow”), D Magazine (Dallas, Tx), May 1987
• Glenna Whitley, “Return
of the Black Widow,” The Dallas Observer (Tx.), Jan. 22,
2004.
• Glenna Whitley, “Fatal
Web: The arrest of Dallas' "Black Widow" lights a fire under a cold
murder case,” The Dallas Observer (Tx.), Jun. 21,
2007.
• Glenna Whitley, “Black Widow Pleads Guilty,” The Dallas
Observer (Tx.), Feb. 28, 2008.
***
CHRONOLOGY
Apr. 4, 1944 – Sandra Camille Powers born.
(AKA Sandra Bridewell; Sandra Powers; Sandra Camille Powers Bridewell; Sandra
Powers Bridewell; Camille Powers; Camille Bowers); adopted into a family in
Sedalia, Missouri.
1967 – Sandra marries David Steagall. 3 daughters: Britt,
Kathryn, Emily; Dallas, Tx.
Feb/Mar. 1975 – David Steagall, husband #1, dies; shot with
.22, “suicide.”
1978 – Sandra marries Bobbie Bridewell.
1982 – Bobby Bridewell, husband #2, dies of lymphic cancer.
Jun. 16, 1982 – Betsy Bagwell (40) dies. Shot with .22,
suspicious “suicide”
Dec. 1984 – married Alan Rehrig (29).
Fall 1985 – Sand separates from husband; Rehrig moves out of
house.
Dec. 11, 1985 – Alan Rehrig (30) dies; Oklahoma. Shot with
.32. Sandra receives $22,000 from insurance.
May 1987 – Skip Hollandsworth and Eric Miller publish “Death
& Gossip in Highland Park” about Bridewell in Dmagazine (Dallas,
Tx.).
1988? – Cindy Abbott, San Francisco, FBI warned her she
might be in danger from Sandra. She had introduced Sandra to Dennis Kuba,
defrauded of $24,000 by Sandra. [Jeffrey Carroll, (San Francisco Chronicle), syndicated,
The Montana Standard (Butte), Jul. 15, 1989, p. 20]
Oct. 2003 – moves in with Jaie Benson (acquaintance from
church), suggests she take out life insurance.
Dec. 2003 – moved in with Stephen and Karen Retter of Novato,
California. Solicited money from John Retter (92). Sandra was then kicked out
of the house.
Sep. 2006 – Sandra (62) moves in with Sue Moseley (77), Southport,
N.C.
Mar. 2, 2007 – Arrested on charges of credit card fraud,
theft of credit cards, forgery and passing forged checks. Brunswick County Jail
in North Carolina. Bail set at $1.5 million.
2007 – Sandra pleads guilty; “five federal crimes, including
fraud and identity theft, all related to her interaction with Sue Moseley, a
77-year-old widow in New Brunswick County, North Carolina.”
Feb. 28, 2008 – Sandra (63) pleads guilty to one count of ID
theft. Sentenced to 2 years in prison.
Dec. 2008 – TV doc.; “The Black Widow: A Web of Suspicion.”
***
“LOAN” FRAUDS
1988 – Dennis Kuba, $24,000. San Francisco.
1988? – Tom Finney, $61,500. San Francisco?
1989? – Unnamed Victim, $200,000.
[Glenna Whitley, “Whatever Happened To The Black Widow: Sandra
Bridewell,” D Magazine (Dallas, Tx.), May 1989]
***
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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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