The Black Widow's Web: Lyda's Trail of Deception and Demise

What if the serene waters of Snake River concealed the sinister secrets of a notorious serial killer? Join us on a spine-chilling journey as we unravel the tale of Lyda Ann May Trueblood, infamously known as the Black Widow of Snake River. From her beginnings in Idaho, where her husbands and even her young daughter met untimely ends, to her cunning escapes across early 20th-century America, Lyda's life is a chilling testament to the power of deception. Discover how the absence of modern communication aided her evasion from justice until a trail of arsenic-laden deaths finally caught up with her, bringing an end to her deadly charade.

As we shift focus to Lyda's later years, we explore the lesser-known segments of her life post-incarceration, when she assumed the name Anna Shaw. Imagine the challenges faced by her sister during Lyda's probation, living under the shadow of such a notorious figure. We delve into the peculiarities of her life after prison, including the eerie mystery surrounding whether she remarried during the 34 years before her death. With a mix of curiosity and humor, we ponder the enduring questions around her death from a heart attack in Utah and her burial in Twin Falls, Idaho. Tune in to explore the enigma of Lyda's life and the enduring intrigue she left in her wake.

Sources:
https://time.com/archive/6765569/crime-flypaper-lyda/

pageaday.com 

https://localwiki.org/boise/Lady_Bluebeard-Lyda_Southard

https://murderpedia.org/female.T/t/trueblood-lyda.htm

https://www.nydailynews.com/2020/04/12/justice-story-merry-widow-used-illnesses-as-cover-for-string-of-poisoned-husbands/

https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/influenza-epidemic/#:~:text=The%20influenza%20epidemic%20that%20swept,plague%20emerged%20in%20two%20phases.

Chapters

• 0:01 Black Widow of Snake River
• 15:06 Sister's Life After Black Widow

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

DarkCast Network. Welcome to the dark side of podcasting. Welcome to Murder and Mimosas a true crime podcast brought to you by a mother and daughter duo.

Speaker 2: 0:18

Bringing you murder stories with a mimosa in hand. With a mimosa in hand, murder Mimosas is a true crime podcast, meaning we talk about adult matters such as murder, sexual assaults and other horrendous crimes. Listener discretion is advised. We do tell our stories with the victims and the victims families in mind. However, some information is more verifiable than others. However, you can find all of our information linked in the show notes. Welcome to Murder Mimosas. I'm Danica.

Speaker 2: 0:54

Today we're going to talk about the woman dubbed the Black Widow of the Snake River. Well then, we'll just call her by her name instead, at least for now. And her name is Lida Ann May Trueblood, and she was born on October 16th of 1892 in Missouri. At just 14 years old, she moved with her family to Twin Falls, idaho, and six years later, at the age of 20, lida married. Of 20, lyda married Robert Dooley on March 17th of 1912. Now the newlyweds lived with Ed Dooley's brother Robert oh, I'm sorry, no, with Ed Dooley, which was Robert's brother in Twin Falls. So two years into their marriage, the two went from newlyweds to new parents. The two went from newlyweds to new parents. Lyda gave birth to their sweet daughter, lorraine, in 1914. However, fatherhood for Robert would be short-lived because on October 12th of 1915, he fell ill and died of typhoid fever.

Speaker 1: 1:58

That's awful, but I guess it was good that they were living with this mother, so Lyda still should have been with her Well, actually, and pretty.

Speaker 2: 2:08

unfortunately, ed, her brother-in-law, had died just two months prior, in August of 1915, of pedomain poisoning, which is caused by a bacteria.

Speaker 1: 2:24

So Lyda became a widowed single mother, all by the age of 23 oh my god, I think you know that's so much loss, so young and having to care for her right and so, as you know, back then like it was really hard to be a single mom.

Speaker 2: 2:43

So two years later, she ended up remarrying and she married William McAfee in June of 1917. However, misfortune would follow Lyda again as she once again settled into newly life, newly wed life. Her three-year-old daughter, lorraine, became ill and died. Her three-year-old daughter, lorraine, became ill and died. Yeah, in my research, the cause of death for Lorraine was conflicting. There were a few different so-called causes of death, but typhoid fever was like the most common one that kept coming back up. So I'm going to say that it was probably typhoid fever.

Speaker 1: 3:21

Poor Lott Evans. She really seems to be cursed. I mean, like you know, it's January and we've already had three funerals in our family. I can't make it's very trying.

Speaker 2: 3:33

Yeah, she's definitely cursed or something. But after the death of her daughter, she and her new husband moved to Montana. However, it seems this misfortune or curse followed Lyda to her new home in Montana. Only a year after moving, William fell ill with the flu and he died on October 1st of 1918. His death certificate stated the flu and diphtheria as the cause, which is a bacterial infection of like the nose and throat. So less than half a year later, she's married again, this time to Harlan Lewis, and they moved together to Billings, Montana, where he worked as an automotive engineer. Getting married in March of 1919, Harlan was dead by July of yet another flu-related illness.

Speaker 1: 4:30

This mother is clearly someone who is causing the death of mothers, and at this point it seems clear that she's taking people over. How's somebody caught?

Speaker 2: 4:40

on yet. Well, you have to remember this isn't the time where there's social media, cell phones or like anything like that, and she's not staying in a small town where word can spread. She's moved from Idaho to Montana, which I think has running rampant in the United States. It wiped out an estimated 50 million people, so it's not like it was unheard of for death by the flu to be fairly commonplace. So by mid of night, middle of 1919, she is widowed again and she's on the hunt for husband. Number four, back in Idaho, would be Edward Meyer, who would succumb to Lida's charms and become her fourth husband. The two would marry in August of 1920, and the next month it would be time to attend another funeral, because Edward was dead by September 7th of 1920 of typhoid. It would be the death of Edward that would begin Lida's downfall it would be the death of edward that would begin lida's downfall.

Speaker 1: 5:54

How many people die before?

Speaker 2: 5:55

someone starts to get six at least six, but some reports say that it could be more. It would actually be the insurance companies that would have the first like suspicions about Lida, because she's been named the beneficiary of her many husband's life insurances. However, back in Twin Falls, family members of her first husband, ed Dooley, are also a little suspicious. Over time they've heard about the untimely death of multiple people that are very closely, you know, in her life. So Earl Dooley was the name of the Dooley's family member and he actually was a chemist and he enlisted the help of the Idaho State Chemist, edwin Rodenbach and a local physician, dr Hale Beeler, and the team of you know they put together this little ragtag team were able to confirm that Ed and Bob Dooley were both poisoned by arsenic while they conducted their own independent investigations.

Speaker 2: 7:04

Now while they're investigating her first murders, an exam is going on of her latest husband. When Edward Meyer's internal organs were thoroughly examined, they showed that he had consumed arsenic Right. So there were no autopsies done at that time and they obviously weren't tested for any type of poisoning.

Speaker 1: 7:29

Okay. So how did they come up with the cause of death for these that time? And they obviously weren't tested for any type of poisoning and while they're okay, so how did they come up with the cause of death for these, like they just?

Speaker 2: 7:34

well, because they'd, I guess because they'd fallen ill, they just chalked it up to the illness that they had claimed they had. Yeah, while her past is being dug up, her first husband's family had not yet communicated with the current police investigating for her last husband's death. Very confusing. So this means that they have to prove that lida was the one who poisoned edward, because they don't have this past history knowledge um provided to them yet. So they searched the home that lida and and Edward shared together for a whole month and they found a partially used package of flypaper.

Speaker 1: 8:15

No, those are good for catching fuzz. Are they also good for catching husbands?

Speaker 2: 8:21

I don't know about catching them, but they are a common source of arsenic and while this is not great for Lyda, the worst evidence is yet to come. Once the bodies of Ed, bob and her own daughter, lorraine, were exhumed and that evidence was provided to the police, they're ready to bring her in. They're like this is a slam dunk case. We know that Edward, her recent husband, was killed by arsenic. We know her first husband was killed by arsenic. We know her first husband was killed by arsenic. We know her daughter was killed by arsenic and we know that her first brother-in-law was killed by arsenic. And the only thread to all of these people is her.

Speaker 1: 8:58

Okay, I get that, but you've got like fly rolls, like flypaper.

Speaker 2: 9:07

How are you getting arsenic off it? That's a great question. I mean there's. I guess you could like use it like a tea bag, soak it in their tea, or something I'm just trying to think like, yeah, it could be there.

Speaker 2: 9:17

But in my brain I'm like how are you, she could do that I don't know, I have not in the business of poisoning people via fly paper, um, and I'm sure that fly paper now probably doesn't have on bars nick, um, so I can't like test any theories for you, um, but I don't know. That's what I think you just use like a tea bag. But anyway, they're ready to bring her in. However, there is a major problem because when they arrive to put her in cuffs and take her away, um, she's already gone in the wind. I wish I could, uh, but that would make me a liar when.

Speaker 2: 10:02

So when investigators finally found her in hawaii, she was actually married to a navy petty officer named paul southard when they found her. Of course, they have to take her back to idaho to face the music for the mini murder she's committed in the name of insurance money. Lyda would claim innocence and go on trial and, once all is said and done, it would actually take the jury 23 hours to decide her fate as guilty on November 4th of 1921, after a month-long trial which, if you remember, was about the same length as the marriage of the last husband she killed. So, as you can imagine, she was found guilty and she's sentenced to 10 years to life in prison.

Speaker 1: 10:46

It's about time At least she has the Abaham bars and can't poison any of their husbands.

Speaker 2: 10:52

Oh yeah. So about that Lyda's not quite done. Yet she actually pursues a gentleman named David Minton, who instantly fell in love with her while he himself was locked up. And she actually manages to escape from the Idaho State Penitentiary in May of 1931 by shimmying out on a bed sheet into the arms of her new love, david. However, david was a means to an end for Lyda, and while she left him breathing, she did leave him shortly after her escape, which might have been a decision that would come back to haunt her again. Lyda finds another man to marry. This time it's widower harry whitlock, and while he was still alive when the police caught up with her in topeka kansas, his mother, oddly enough, passed away shortly after Lyda moved in from a gastric ailment. Well, I told you that David Minton would be something to haunt her, and you know, nothing like a lover scorned, he was quite angry when she left him. So he went to the police and he let her know them know about her new home, her new marriage and her new life in Topeka.

Speaker 1: 12:19

I was surprised Harry was still alive by the time her escape came to an end.

Speaker 2: 12:25

Well, there was one thing that probably saved him Harry could not be persuaded, during the time of their marriage, to take out a life insurance policy. So you know, no money, no crime. Harry was actually completely shocked and appalled by the arrest of his wife and then the ensuing bombshells of her many, many crimes. And probably not surprising to everyone else, he was quick to annul the marriage after her re-arrest.

Speaker 1: 12:55

Okay, please tell me. This is where her story ends Behind bars, never to be seen again.

Speaker 2: 13:02

Um, I could, but also that would be a lie. Lyda might be behind bars, but she clearly has the charm to convince so many men to not only marry her but get out life insurance policies with her as a beneficiary. Her charm cannot be contained even in a prison cell. So the prison that she's in is run at the time by warden George Rudd. He would also fall victim to her charming personality and while she didn't try to marry him, she does end up getting some special privileges. Him. She does end up getting some special privileges. She actually gets something way more valuable.

Speaker 2: 13:43

Lyda convinces Warden Rudd to give her day trips to local resorts, time out of prison to spend with her sick mother. You know, just free time. You know that's a really good question. I never saw anything about it in my research that said that her mother had any type of arsenic poisoning, but honestly I wouldn't put it past Lydia. I mean, she killed her own daughter with it. It would actually end up being an investigation into prison conditions that would unearth Lyda's special privileges granted by the warden. Of course, when this comes to light, warden is stuck between a rock and a hard place and has no choice but to resign, which, of course, as he resigns, so do all of Lyda's special privileges. Now, eventually, lyda would be released from prison in october of 1941 so how many years did she end up serving?

Speaker 2: 14:44

so she served 20 years in prison, minus the roughly like year-long time where she was on the lam after her prison escape. Once she was released, ly Lyda was about 50 years old and after her release she was actually on a probation period in which she lived with her sister in Oregon. There is very little known about Lyda's life after her release from prison and during that probationary period with her sister. What I was able to find was that she changed her name to Anna Shaw and she died of a heart attack on February 5th 1958, the age of 84, in Utah.

Speaker 1: 15:27

However, Can you imagine being her sister? I'm not touching anything.

Speaker 2: 15:31

you have touched sister Like oh, you made me some tea. Tea, I just decided I don't like tea. Oh, spaghettis for dinner, I think I might be allergic, oh god, yeah, no, I didn't even think about that. But I definitely would not eat anything she gave me. No, definitely would not. Um, but after she died. She died, died in Utah, and then they took her body to the cemetery in Twin Falls, idaho, to be laid to rest. And I'm not sure if she was married again between her release and her death, but there is like 34 years between her release from prison until her final breath.

Speaker 1: 16:12

It has to be the end of her story now, but it's hard to come back from death. So there's a lot of murders and quite a lot of husbands, dead or alive.