‘Internet Black Widow’ appears in Dartmouth court to protest conditions

DARTMOUTH – An 82-year-old woman convicted of poisoning and killing her former lovers appeared in Dartmouth Provincial Court Tuesday to contest the conditions of a peace bond against her.

Melissa Shepard appeared only briefly with her lawyer Mark Knox Tuesday, as the hearing was adjourned until the end of the month to give Knox and Crown Attorney James Giacomantonio time to finalize the details of a new peace bond.

Shepard, known as the ‘Internet Black Widow,’ was sentenced to three-and-a-half years minus time served for charges of administering a noxious substance and failing to provide the necessaries of life after spiking her newlywed husband’s coffee with tranquilizers in 2012.

She had originally been charged with attempted murder in the case and was released March 18 on 22 court-imposed conditions including she keep the peace, be of good behaviour and not access the Internet.

Her release prompted police to issue a public warning that she was considered a high risk to re-offend and Shepard was arrested a month later after an officer allegedly spotted her using a computer at Halifax Central Library on Spring Garden Road.

She goes to trial on three charges of breaching a recognizance in relation to that incident in February, but Tuesday’s hearing was to deal with the original peace bond. 

Knox has been attempting to have Shepard’s release conditions changed and said he and Crown James Giacomantonio have been working on a new two-year peace bond with the hope of having it finalized for the new Oct. 31 hearing.

Shepard’s hearing was also slightly delayed Tuesday after she had gone to Halifax Provincial Court for her 9:30 a.m. scheduled appearance by mistake, instead of Dartmouth Court, but she appeared before a Judge around 10:30 a.m.

Shepard faces trial in Halifax for the breach charges and her last scheduled appearance in August was at the Spring Garden Road courthouse, but the original peace bond was filed in Dartmouth.

Shepard sat quietly in the prisoner’s box while her lawyer addressed the judge and after the brief appearance, she left the courthouse accompanied by another woman. 

History of making lovers into victims

Shepard was first arrested in 1991 after her second husband, Gordon Stewart, was drugged and run over with a car, twice.

She was convicted of manslaughter in 1992 and after her release on that charge, Shepard met Robert Friedrich in Florida.  The pair were later married in Nova Scotia in 2000 before Friedrich died of a heart attack in 2002.

No one was charged in his death but Shepard was convicted on seven charges after his family said money started to disappear from his accounts after mysterious health battles.

She was handed a five year sentence for three counts of grand theft from a person 65 years or older, two counts of forgery and two counts of using a forged document.

After being released on those charges, Shepard eventually married Fred Weeks, who became a victim after she spiked his coffee with tranquilizers in 2012.

She was sentenced to three-and-a-half years minus time served on charges of administering a noxious substance and failing to provide the necessaries of life, but was originally charged with attempted murder.

With files from The Canadian Press