Black Widow: Sharon Fuller Nelson

The life of Sharon Fuller Nelson is a fascinating case study of a sociopathic woman who could win a man’s affection, seduce him into leaving his wife and family, and convince him to kill for her. She was dangerous to any man who could give her something she wanted and she had no remorse or empathy if he or anyone else got in her way. Sharon grew up in a strict, religious family. An early marriage was followed by numerous affairs, divorces, and mysterious deaths. Sharon married for money, but there was never enough. Once the money was gone she would get bored and move on. When divorce didn’t appeal to her, she turned to murder. Sharon was brash, trashy, and manipulative to the point where you would expect intelligent people to see through her exploits, but, amazingly, she wasn’t stopped until overwhelming evidence revealed her evil deeds. Even then, when she confessed to police in a Pizza Hut in 1988, she showed no sympathy for her victims. Investigations into her crimes would show that Sharon was far from an evil genius. Many of her exploits were careless and stupid. Looking back, those who survived having Sharon in their lives would wonder how she had fooled them for as long as she did. Sharon Nelson was a typical black widow in that she saw the men she seduced as disposable. She used the same tricks over and over to get what she wanted. At the quiet end today, we’re telling the story Sharon Fuller Nelson, a killer who took as much pleasure in the hunt as she did in the final result.