Lyda Catherine AMBROSE

Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: "Black Widow" - To collect insurance money
Number of victims: 5
Date of murders: 1917 - 1920
Date of arrest: December 1920
Date of birth: 1891
Victims profile: Husbands and lovers
Method of murder: Poisoning (arsenic)
Location: Missouri/Idaho, USA
Status: Sentenced to life imprisonment. Escaped from the Idaho state prison on May 4, 1931. Recaptured in Kansas City in 1932. Died in prison

Lyda Catherine Ambrose

A typical "Black Widow," Lyda Catherine Ambrose left a trail of five dead husbands and lovers in her quest for insurance policy payoffs. Born in 1891, nothing is known about her early life until 1917 when she killed her first fiancee in Keytesville, Missouri. The unfortunate man died of stomach pains after taking out a life insurance policy worth $2,500 in the name of his future bride.

Not one for grieving, Lyda turned her charms on her fiancee's brother and married him a few days after his brother's death. Within three months he too died fo "stomach trouble" after taking out a $2,500 life insurance policy.

Next stop Lyda moved to Twin Falls, Idaho, where she married the owner of a restaurant where she worked as a waitress. Soon after their June 10, 1918 wedding, the hapless man dropped dead dead from "stomach ulcers." Unfortunately for his wife he had forgotten to sign his life insurance documents and was unable to collect.

Soon she was onto victim number four whom she killed three months after they exchanged wedding bows. This time though his insurance policy was signed and she collected $10,000 dollars for her husband's untimely death. Not one to sit around twiddling her thumbs, she married husband number four (victim number five) on October 1920. On November 20 the man died and she collected a $12,000 insurance payment that had been purchased on october 6.

Until then police were unaware of Lyda's bad luck with her husbands. Once her cottage was searched authorities found a large amount of old-fashioned arsenic-laced flypaper. Toxicology test on her late husbands revealed heavy doses of the poison in their remains. Police arrested her in Oakland, California and returned to Idaho where she had killed her most recent victim.

Convicted of first degree murder she was given life. Always the planner, she escaped from the Idaho state prison on May 4, 1931. By 1932 she was recaptured in Kansas City in 1932 as she searched for a new husband. Nothing more is know about her asfter except that she died in jail of old age.

Ambrose, Lyda Catherine (born in 1891 in Missouri) used arsenic to poison five men, which were either her husbands or her boyfriends.

Little is known about her early life until 1917 when she killed her first fiancee in Keytesville, Missouri. He died of stomach pains shortly after taking out a life insurance policy worth $2,500 in the name of Lyda Catherine Ambrose. Shortly afterwards the young widow turned her charms on her fiance's brother and married him. Within three months he was dead too, leaving Ambrose with another life insurance worth $2,500.

She turned to Twin Falls, Idaho, where she got involved with the owner of the restaurant she worked for as a waitress. They got married and soon after their wedding on June 10 in 1919, the hapless man dropped dead from "stomach ulcers". Unfortunately for his wife he had forgotten to sign his life insurance documents and hence left her nothing to collect.

The third husband was soon found and died three months after they exchanged wedding bows. This time though his insurance policy was signed and Ambrose collected approximately $10,000 for her husbands untimely death.

She married husband number four on October 16 in 1920. He passed away about a month later and left Lyda Catherine Ambrose $12,000.

The police began the investigate and once her cottage was searched, authorities found a large amount of old-fashioned arsenic-laced flypaper. Toxicology tests on her late husbands revealed heavy doses of the poison in their remains. The police arrested Ambrose in Oakland, California and returned her to Idaho where she had killed her most recent victim. By 1931, she was convicted of first degree murder and was given life. She managed to escape from the Idaho state prison, but was recaptured in Kansas City in 1932. She died in jail of old age.

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