You are thinking of the notorious “Black Widow Killer,” Blanche Taylor Moore, who poisoned her long-time boyfriend Raymond Reid (often misspelled as Reed), as well as her first husband, James Napoleon Taylor. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The Victims and the Crimes
- Raymond Reid: He was a Kroger grocery store manager who had a long-term relationship with Blanche. He died in 1986 from what was originally misdiagnosed as Guillain-Barré syndrome. His body was later exhumed, revealing fatal levels of arsenic. [1, 2, 4]
- James Napoleon Taylor: Blanche’s first husband died in 1973 from what doctors initially ruled a heart attack. Following the investigation into Reid’s death, Taylor’s body was exhumed and also showed massive arsenic poisoning. [1, 4]
- Reverend Dwight Moore: Blanche’s second husband, a minister, became critically ill in 1989 just after they married. Doctors found 20 times the lethal dose of arsenic in his system, which miraculously did not kill him but sparked the entire murder investigation. [3, 5, 6]
- Other Suspected Victims: Investigators also exhumed the bodies of Blanche’s father (P.D. Kiser Sr.) and her mother-in-law (Isla Taylor), finding elevated arsenic levels in them as well. [7]
The Trial and Current Status
Blanche Taylor Moore was put on trial in Forsyth County, North Carolina, and was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of Raymond Reid in 1990. She was sentenced to death and remains on death row in North Carolina. At 93 years old, she is the oldest woman currently on death row in the United States. [2, 3]