Black Widow Is The Bizarre New True Crime Docuseries To Watch
If you’re a true crime lover like we are, and you’re looking for a docuseries that’ll keep you hooked, then look no further than Sky’s latest documentary Black Widow, which premiered on Sunday. The three-part docuseries investigates the case of a woman who manipulated dozens of men through Lonely Hearts columns for her own benefit, with her crimes and behaviour slowly escalating over decades- including committing murder. Here’s everything you need to know about your next true crime binge:
What is Black Widow about?
The three-part docuseries centres around Dena Thompson, a British woman who through her crimes would become dubbed “The Black Widow” by the press. Each incident she committed followed a similar pattern: she would lure and manipulate men, often who were alone in life and emotionally vulnerable, and steal their money or otherwise use them to her advantage. Using Lonely Hearts columns in newspapers, she would wait and “catch” her victims much as the deadly black widow spider traps food in its web, hence her nickname bestowed on her by the media.
Her fake stories and manipulation tactics that she used on her lovers, as explored in the documentary, often strayed into the bizarre- for example she convinced her first husband, Lee Wyatt, that he was suddenly worth millions of pounds for a patent he had registered and, needed to go on the run from the mafia, allowing her to steal his home while he became homeless. Her third husband, Richard Thompson, allowed her to tie him up as a “sexual game”, before he freed himself after she attempted to attack him with a baseball bat. “I’d gone from married… in a split second, Dena tried to kill me” he recounts in the series’ trailer, which you can watch below.
But the crimes didn’t stop at fraud and assault: Dena poisoned and murdered her second husband Julian Webb by lacing a drink with a lethal dose of anti-depressants and serving it with a particularly spicy curry to mask the flavour. As she grew bolder and bolder, the police investigation into the string of criminal acts closed in on Dena, though she was able to evade justice for decades. After police later grew suspicious of her attempted assault on her third husband, they revisited Julian’s death and discovered he was poisoned.
What else do we know, and where can I watch?
Sky’s documentary follows the story from beginning to end, including her numerous escapes from prison including an acquittal for attempted murder, until she was finally caught. Through interviews with investigators and her husbands, this wild and at times disturbing tale is told in a way that’ll keep you hooked throughout. All episodes of Black Widow are available now to watch on Sky and to stream through NOW.
