Dena Thompson (born 1960),[1] commonly known as The Black Widow,[2] is a British convicted murderer, confidence trickster[3] and bigamist who is also suspected of having killed a second individual.
She had previously been acquitted of the attempted murder of her next husband Richard Thompson (whom she married in 1998 after her divorce), having attacked him with a baseball bat and a knife but being cleared on the grounds of self-defence.
"[9] DCI Underhill observed Thompson was a misandrist: "I think the events of her childhood have made her hate men.
"[1] After her murder conviction it was revealed that police were investigating the suspicious disappearance of a previous partner she had in Bulgaria, who has never been found.
[18][19] As he lay dying in bed, his mother had called to speak to him on his birthday, but she was told by Thompson that he was too unwell.
[20] She had asked him if she could tie him up and blindfold him for a sexual game, but once she did so she returned to the room with the bat and a knife and attacked him.
[20] It emerged that Thompson had planned to kill her husband and then sell their house while he was on a long-planned trip to Florida, as no one would be suspicious of his disappearance since they would have thought he was away in America.
[20] Police interviewed her former partners and found that she had stolen money from all of them and emptied their bank accounts of funds.
[28] Despite her acquittal for attempted murder, investigating officers had grown suspicious of the circumstances of the death of Thompson's second husband, Julian Webb, six years previously.
[20][7] A friend of Thompson's came forward to tell police that she had indicated to him that she had given the overdose of drugs to her husband in a hot curry.
[6] She was told her sentence would run to 16 years at a 2007 High Court ruling, meaning she would not be eligible for release until 2019.
[2] Wyatt, her first husband, had contacted her at the home she shared with Webb, and the motive for murder, according to the prosecution, was her fear the two men would meet and her double life would be exposed.
[13] Investigators had tried to trace all of Thompson's former lovers in order to establish if she had committed potentially criminal acts against further victims, stating "we cannot rule out the possibility that other partners have been injured in some way".
[26][13] In 2010, media interest was renewed in the disappearance after a new probe was launched, with investigators stating that "some sort of incident seems to have happened in Bulgaria but we don't know what it was.
[39] Sean McDonald, the officer who led the investigation into Thompson, expressed his concern at her potential release, stating: "I believe she will reoffend, she won’t be able to stop herself.
[41] In a document setting out their decision, the Parole Board stated that they were satisfied from her progress in prison that she was suitable for release, although it was also noted that Thompson had previously been a "deceptive" individual that "could hold grudges" and did not always have "control of her temper".
It was titled Black Widow: The True Story of How Dena Thompson Lured Men into a Twisted Web of Sex, Lies and Murder.