Two years have handed because the girl dubbed the ‘Black Widow’ after defrauding three husbands, killing one and brutally attacking one other, was launched from jail.
There was a time when petite murderess Dena Thompson may capitalise on her girl-next-door seems to lure males into her life and deceive them. Right this moment, the grey-haired sexagenarian barely warrants a second look.
However, says the previous police officer who helped put her behind bars, males who encounter the 64-year-old ought to stay vigilant.
‘In case your father, son, uncle, cousin, pal, whoever, comes house and says they’ve met a stunning new woman known as Dena, then my recommendation can be to ring the police,’ says retired Sussex police detective Sean McDonald, who led the investigation into Dena and met her on a number of events.
Dena Thompson defrauded her first husband, bigamously married, defrauded after which poisoned her second and married and stole from a 3rd whom she later attacked
‘I’ve stated this earlier than and I am going to say it once more, I’m completely satisfied she’s going to commit additional offences.’
Dena’s heinous crimes are the topic of a brand new three-part documentary, Black Widow, as a result of be aired on Sky later this month.
The collection will inform the jaw-dropping story of how she defrauded her first husband, bigamously married, defrauded after which poisoned her second and, having coated up the homicide as suicide, married and stole from a 3rd whom she later attacked with a metallic baseball bat and carving knife.
These crimes could also be simply the tip of the iceberg. When she was despatched to jail in 2003, Sussex police claimed Dena had focused at the very least eight different males and presumably extra by way of newspaper lonely hearts commercials.
Whereas Dena’s darkish previous is about to be below scrutiny once more, the true concern is what the longer term holds for the Black Widow – described by the choose who jailed her as ‘totally ruthless and with none pity’ – now that she is free once more.
Most annoying of all are claims I uncovered this week that the killer might have shaped a relationship with a jail pen pal, one thing which disturbs the lads who’ve already crossed her path.
Whereas the previous constructing society employee might now not be the sylph-like blonde she was when committing her crimes, Sean McDonald believes her advancing years and the arrival of on-line courting might even give her a bonus with regards to assembly males.
‘She’s now moved into an age bracket the place there are many divorcees and folks with massive pensions, who might properly personal their very own properties with no mortgages,’ he says.
‘She picks her targets very fastidiously. They’re weak males who’re lonely and who have gotten cash.’
Dena’s former husband, 69-year-old retired businessman Lee Wyatt, is aware of all too properly how simple it’s for males to fall into her grip.
‘I used to be the primary sufferer,’ he advised me this week. ‘I wished somebody to develop outdated with however now I look again and suppose I am fortunate to be alive.’
He paid a heavy worth for falling in love with a ‘fairly and fun-to-be- with’ 22-year-old within the early Eighties when each lived in North London.
Other than being deceived, defrauded and manipulated for years by Dena, he’s estranged from the son they’d collectively, his solely youngster, Darren, now 37.
Darren was 16 years outdated when his mom was despatched to jail and was raised by Dena’s dad and mom at their house in Cullompton, Devon.
‘He’ll by no means settle for the reality now,’ says Lee.
A supply near the household advised me this week that though Dena’s two youthful brothers now not converse to her, her dad and mom doted on their ‘golden woman’ and her mom and late father, who died in June 2022, refused to just accept her guilt.
‘Single males ought to beware,’ reiterates Lee. ‘She performs the harmless, the form of candy girl that could not harm a fly however it’s all an act. No man is secure round her.’
Some would possibly argue that given her later crimes, Lee obtained off flippantly. However the actuality was that after marrying Dena in October 1984, his life grew to become a nightmare – a rare story of fraud and gaslighting which may have been plucked straight from a Hollywood thriller.
By the point Darren was born in 1987, Lee had stop his medical rep job and arrange a gentle toy enterprise with Dena, who was eager on handicrafts. They moved to the village of Yapton, West Sussex, and he or she started work on the Woolwich constructing society in Arundel.
Round this time she started spinning the primary webs of deceit. By forging paperwork she satisfied Lee that Disney wished to pay thousands and thousands for the rights to a leprechaun gentle toy character she had created. She later used the identical approach to trick him into believing the mafia wished a lower of their cash.
Faked letters arrived at their house. Some threatened their lives. Others gave the impression to be from a ‘safety squad’ despatched by the FBI and Dena persuaded Lee to get away from their house, whereas she remained there with their son.
Taken in, he modified his identify to Colin Mitchell and have become a upkeep employee at an amusement arcade whereas residing below the radar in Cornwall. He paid most of his wages into Dena’s checking account.
As extraordinary as her claims have been, Lee believed he was performing in the most effective pursuits of his household, not realising that she had moved one other man into their house.
Julian Webb, an promoting gross sales government on the West Sussex Gazette was that man. The pair met in Could 1991 and married, bigamously, six months later. Quickly after, Dena advised him she had most cancers – a lie she repeated to lots of her victims, typically interchanging it with the declare that she had diabetes and would want to have each toes amputated.
A retired Sussex police detective believes the arrival of on-line courting might even give Dena a bonus when assembly males
She persuaded Julian at hand over £25,000 in financial savings to pay for remedy and likewise stole £23,000 from the department of the Woolwich the place she labored after transferring the money into bogus accounts.
In 1994, Lee turned up unannounced at his outdated house.
‘One thing made me go there that day,’ he tells me. ‘I would had sufficient. I wished solutions.’
Dena persuaded him to depart however it was later stated in courtroom that fearing her two husbands would possibly meet and he or she can be uncovered, Dena determined to kill Julian. He died on his thirty first birthday in July 1994 after consuming a curry she laced with aspirin and paracetamol.
However on the time police discovered no proof of foul play. Crucially, although, Julian’s suspicious mom Rosemary refused Dena’s calls for for a cremation and insisted he was buried close to her house on Hayling Island, Hampshire.
At Julian’s inquest, a coroner recorded an open verdict and stated he wasn’t satisfied that Julian had taken his personal life.
Over the following 4 years, Dena discovered new victims to prey on by way of lonely hearts adverts positioned in newspapers throughout Sussex, together with a psychological well being employee and a customs official at Gatwick Airport. Each gave her £6,000.
She was obsessive about transferring to Florida and sometimes drew the lads in her life into her plans, typically utilizing the most cancers lie to say it was her dying want. She satisfied a panorama gardener she had obtained him a job at Nasa and used his bank cards behind his again.
Within the midst of all this, Dena was jailed for 18 months for her theft from the Woolwich. By the point she got here out of jail, Lee had begun divorce proceedings. However totally remorseless, she started in search of extra victims as quickly as she was freed.
In 1998, she met husband quantity three, divorced BT supervisor Richard Thompson, whose identify she nonetheless makes use of.
They married six months after assembly, with Richard unaware Dena was already forging his signature, had emptied his financial savings account and had run up 1000’s of kilos of debt on his bank cards.
She advised him she had breast most cancers and he gave up his job with BT and took a £36,000 early retirement bundle.
Lower than a yr into their marriage, after pretending to seduce him and tying him up within the toilet, she positioned a towel throughout Richard’s face earlier than hitting him twice across the head with an aluminium baseball bat and stabbing him with a carving knife.
He solely managed to flee by getting his palms free and sticking his fingers into her eyes.
‘I do not suppose Richard grasped what had occurred at first,’ recollects Sean McDonald. ‘By the point he known as us, the lavatory had been cleaned up however there was nonetheless some blood spatter behind the radiator and up on the ceiling.’
Sussex police have been satisfied that Dena can be discovered responsible of tried homicide, however in 2000 a jury at Lewes Crown Courtroom accepted her declare that she had been defending herself after a row about cash turned to violence.
She was cleared of making an attempt to kill Richard however was jailed for 3 years and 9 months on 15 theft and dishonesty expenses.
Crucially, says Sean McDonald, the case led Sussex police to re-open the investigation into Julian’s dying. In 2001, his physique was exhumed and re-examined.
Police later established that she had laced Julian’s favorite curry with medicine to poison him. She was jailed for all times on the Outdated Bailey in 2003. Police stated she had focused at the very least eight others.
Retired businessman Lee Wyatt was the primary sufferer – after marrying Dena in October 1984, his life grew to become a nightmare
Dena stole the life financial savings of her third husband BT supervisor Richard Thompson
Julian Webb, an promoting gross sales government on the West Sussex Gazette met Dena in Could 1991 and married, bigamously, six months later. Quickly after, his spouse lied that she had most cancers
They have been unable to hint two of the lads. Different victims have been reluctant to present proof in opposition to her as they have been married on the time, or had companions, or just felt ashamed at being defrauded and tricked by a lady.
Unsurprisingly, Dena’s launch two years in the past introduced again horrible reminiscences for many who had encountered her.
Now aged 65 and residing in East Sussex, her third husband Richard Thompson declined to talk about his evil ex-wife this week, however beforehand advised me: ‘She will’t change. She’s by no means proven regret.
‘So many males have been her victims. She’s the grasp of placing on an act. She’s a schemer.
‘There is not any manner she ought to be launched.’
Whereas Dena’s present location is unknown, since her launch there have been sightings of her in each Studying and London.
She was additionally seen in Devon, in July 2022, not lengthy earlier than being free of jail, when she attended her father’s funeral at Exeter crematorium.
One other mourner on the funeral recollects how she arrived, wearing a tweed jacket and skirt, handcuffed to a jail guard, to take her place among the many 15 or so mourners.
‘They sat on the entrance pew collectively and Dena had her free arm supporting her mum who was fairly frail by then,’ stated the visitor who famous that other than her mom and son, no different relative spoke to Dena. ‘She by no means shed a tear however she was daring as brass,’ they added. ‘You’ll have thought she might need been a bit sheepish however she adopted the coffin out on the finish together with her head held excessive.’
Most regarding of all are experiences that she would possibly already be in a brand new relationship with somebody who contacted her whereas she was in jail.
‘If it is appropriate, then this individual should learn about her offending,’ says Sean McDonald. ‘However some persons are drawn to the drama and pleasure of that type of relationship.’
He added: ‘I feel she’ll proceed to offend. It is solely a matter of time.
She is a manipulator. There will likely be different victims.’
Lee Wyatt agrees. ‘Her need for cash will all the time be there,’ he says. ‘She will’t assist herself. There is not any manner she’s not going to do something.’
BLACK WIDOW will premiere on Sky Documentaries on September 15.
