1 00:00:05,315 --> 00:00:08,815 - Amidst the sprawling cityscape of Dallas where power 2 00:00:08,875 --> 00:00:11,735 and prosperity intersect with secrets and lies. 3 00:00:12,635 --> 00:00:15,095 Sandra Bridewell story, unravel 4 00:00:16,005 --> 00:00:19,655 Bridewell was a beautiful alluring socialite in the affluent 5 00:00:19,765 --> 00:00:21,335 enclave of Highland Park 6 00:00:21,965 --> 00:00:24,935 when Dallas was the world's most popular TV show. 7 00:00:25,315 --> 00:00:28,215 And the Dallas Cowboys were America's team. 8 00:00:29,275 --> 00:00:31,935 It is a tail woven with deception, sex, 9 00:00:32,035 --> 00:00:34,375 and the dark underbelly of high society 10 00:00:34,995 --> 00:00:37,535 in a close knit community known as the Beverly Hills 11 00:00:37,555 --> 00:00:42,375 of the Southwest Highland Park, known infamously 12 00:00:42,475 --> 00:00:43,535 as the Black widow. 13 00:00:44,455 --> 00:00:47,055 Sandra's life story reads like a script from 14 00:00:47,135 --> 00:00:48,215 a classic thriller. 15 00:00:48,715 --> 00:00:51,895 Her charm and beauty masking a sinister reality 16 00:00:51,955 --> 00:00:55,975 of purported suicides, murders, beatings, romance scams, 17 00:00:56,335 --> 00:00:58,895 religious cons, and identity theft. 18 00:01:00,125 --> 00:01:03,095 True crime author John Lee peels back the layers 19 00:01:03,235 --> 00:01:07,215 of Sandra Bradwell's enigmatic persona in the meaning 20 00:01:07,235 --> 00:01:11,415 of malice On the trail of the Black Widow of Highland Park, 21 00:01:23,605 --> 00:01:27,705 you suspect that Sandra Bridewell is not only a black widow, 22 00:01:27,845 --> 00:01:28,985 but a serial killer. 23 00:01:29,865 --> 00:01:31,145 - I do. I, I believe 24 00:01:31,595 --> 00:01:35,785 after evaluating all of the evidence, circumstantial 25 00:01:36,045 --> 00:01:39,905 and physical evidence displayed in these 26 00:01:40,595 --> 00:01:43,145 death scene photos, I say death scene 27 00:01:43,495 --> 00:01:45,465 because they were originally ruled. 28 00:01:45,565 --> 00:01:50,145 The first two violent deaths I looked at were ruled 29 00:01:50,905 --> 00:01:53,425 suicides by the Dallas County Medical Examiner. 30 00:01:54,385 --> 00:01:55,945 I obtained copies of the photos. 31 00:01:56,785 --> 00:01:58,665 I had those photos examined 32 00:01:59,005 --> 00:02:01,465 by contemporary forensic experts. 33 00:02:01,985 --> 00:02:05,505 Remember we're talking 1975 and 1982. 34 00:02:05,605 --> 00:02:09,505 The first two cases I had these photos examined by 35 00:02:10,225 --> 00:02:13,425 contemporary forensic experts, really up 36 00:02:13,425 --> 00:02:14,505 to date in their training. 37 00:02:15,245 --> 00:02:18,185 And the evidence displayed in the photos shows 38 00:02:18,655 --> 00:02:20,865 that these were not self-inflicted. 39 00:02:21,035 --> 00:02:22,865 There was another party involved. 40 00:02:23,485 --> 00:02:27,265 So that physical evidence displayed in photos combined 41 00:02:27,335 --> 00:02:29,865 with the circumstantial evidence in witness 42 00:02:30,385 --> 00:02:32,065 testimony leads me to believe 43 00:02:32,655 --> 00:02:35,505 that Sandra Bradwell is in fact an officially 44 00:02:35,875 --> 00:02:37,465 undetected serial killer. 45 00:02:37,605 --> 00:02:38,825 Now, now I say officially 46 00:02:39,695 --> 00:02:43,425 because law enforcement has never arrested her 47 00:02:43,565 --> 00:02:46,585 or even subjected her to a difficult interview. 48 00:02:47,125 --> 00:02:50,065 But she's long been suspected 49 00:02:50,845 --> 00:02:52,505 of involvement in these deaths. 50 00:02:53,915 --> 00:02:58,055 - Sandra Broadwell arrived in Dallas in 1950 as a child 51 00:02:58,105 --> 00:03:00,805 after her mother had been killed in a car accident. 52 00:03:01,595 --> 00:03:03,935 Her father's soft drink bottling business had 53 00:03:03,935 --> 00:03:05,055 fallen on hard times. 54 00:03:05,795 --> 00:03:07,895 He lost his leg in a hunting accident. 55 00:03:08,435 --> 00:03:11,375 He remarried and sold cemetery plots. 56 00:03:12,075 --> 00:03:14,375 Sandra did not get along with her stepmother, 57 00:03:14,995 --> 00:03:18,575 and she had a burning desire to get out of South Oak Cliff, 58 00:03:18,815 --> 00:03:21,295 a working class neighborhood across the Trinity River 59 00:03:21,725 --> 00:03:22,935 from downtown Dallas. 60 00:03:24,925 --> 00:03:26,985 - Sandra went to, I think, 61 00:03:27,105 --> 00:03:31,145 a pretty good public school called the Kimball School and, 62 00:03:31,285 --> 00:03:35,065 and Oak Cliff, which is rhythm and blues. 63 00:03:35,065 --> 00:03:38,825 People will be familiar with that from their familiarity 64 00:03:38,975 --> 00:03:41,585 with the biography of Stevie Ray Vaughn. 65 00:03:41,785 --> 00:03:45,585 Stevie Ray Vaughn was a Kimball High School graduate about a 66 00:03:45,585 --> 00:03:46,705 year after Sandra. 67 00:03:47,245 --> 00:03:49,545 So I don't think that it was a, um, 68 00:03:49,865 --> 00:03:51,465 a rough neighborhood per se. 69 00:03:51,845 --> 00:03:54,985 But given what we now know about Sandra's social 70 00:03:55,455 --> 00:03:57,465 aspirations, I think it was perceived 71 00:03:57,465 --> 00:03:58,865 as a humble neighborhood. 72 00:03:59,725 --> 00:04:04,715 - And what is it there that sort of triggers this yearning 73 00:04:04,735 --> 00:04:07,715 and this desire to be a socialite in Dallas? 74 00:04:08,475 --> 00:04:11,755 - I think that's a fascinating question that runs 75 00:04:11,755 --> 00:04:13,235 through this whole story. 76 00:04:14,055 --> 00:04:18,115 You know, there was a, an article in D magazine 77 00:04:18,885 --> 00:04:23,555 about cinder, the, the Cinderella syndrome 78 00:04:23,745 --> 00:04:28,395 that seems to be so prevalent in Dallas culture. 79 00:04:28,655 --> 00:04:32,395 The, the report was published in the nineties, 80 00:04:32,395 --> 00:04:34,315 but it's talking about how Dallas, 81 00:04:34,945 --> 00:04:36,915 something about our culture here. 82 00:04:37,415 --> 00:04:41,355 You know, Neiman Marcus, the Dallas Cowboys, the Meins, 83 00:04:41,455 --> 00:04:46,355 the Hunts seems to promote this Cinderella aspiration. 84 00:04:46,895 --> 00:04:49,875 Pretty girl, rich man. Mm-Hmm. . 85 00:04:50,015 --> 00:04:52,115 And this seems to have really 86 00:04:52,635 --> 00:04:54,515 ignited in Sandra's imagination. 87 00:04:55,415 --> 00:04:57,875 Um, I'm a beautiful girl. 88 00:04:58,535 --> 00:05:01,435 Um, I'm talented and she was, I'm talented. 89 00:05:02,305 --> 00:05:05,075 I've learned about cooking, French cooking and culture 90 00:05:05,215 --> 00:05:06,515 and interior decorating. 91 00:05:06,615 --> 00:05:10,555 I'm gonna find myself a wealthy man. 92 00:05:10,735 --> 00:05:15,075 She went to Tyler Junior College, which in those days was 93 00:05:16,145 --> 00:05:19,165 in the dead center of the East Texas oil patch, 94 00:05:19,215 --> 00:05:21,645 where these huge fortunes had been made. 95 00:05:22,465 --> 00:05:24,525 And it seems to me likely 96 00:05:24,635 --> 00:05:28,845 that already then in the early sixties, she was hoping 97 00:05:28,945 --> 00:05:32,965 to land perhaps the son of, uh, 98 00:05:32,995 --> 00:05:35,445 east Texas, you know, oil family. 99 00:05:35,905 --> 00:05:38,405 The interesting thing about that is she didn't do 100 00:05:38,405 --> 00:05:41,165 that when she was at Tyler Junior College for a year, 101 00:05:41,425 --> 00:05:44,565 but later she did in the person of Bobby Bridewell, 102 00:05:44,565 --> 00:05:47,565 he actually came from a Tyler Texas oil family. 103 00:05:48,145 --> 00:05:51,565 - And that oil money from the East Texas oil field, 104 00:05:52,585 --> 00:05:56,605 it flowed into Dallas, into Highland Park, which is, uh, 105 00:05:57,255 --> 00:05:59,335 surrounded by the city of Dallas as a separate city, 106 00:05:59,355 --> 00:06:01,735 but it's also referred to as the Beverly Hills 107 00:06:02,075 --> 00:06:03,135 of the Southwest. 108 00:06:03,795 --> 00:06:05,815 And today, you, it's a who's who of, you know, 109 00:06:05,815 --> 00:06:09,095 Jerry Jones has got an estate there, the Perots, 110 00:06:09,235 --> 00:06:10,655 and I can, you can just tick off, 111 00:06:10,655 --> 00:06:12,655 especially the oil money that is there. 112 00:06:12,955 --> 00:06:15,495 - You know, there are all of these oil families 113 00:06:16,125 --> 00:06:20,415 that built beautiful homes in, in Highland Park. 114 00:06:21,375 --> 00:06:23,255 Interestingly enough, a lot of people don't realize this. 115 00:06:23,305 --> 00:06:26,135 David Wilbur Cook, who is the landscape designer 116 00:06:26,195 --> 00:06:29,535 for Beverly Hills, he also did the layout for Highland Park. 117 00:06:29,915 --> 00:06:31,575 So it's an apt comparison. 118 00:06:32,555 --> 00:06:34,815 - How does she take root in Highland Park? 119 00:06:34,955 --> 00:06:39,095 She met, she meets this young upcoming dentist. 120 00:06:40,755 --> 00:06:42,095 How, how does that come about? 121 00:06:42,835 --> 00:06:43,855 - That's a great question. 122 00:06:43,995 --> 00:06:48,255 Um, and it's kind of, sort of a romantic, sort of a 123 00:06:48,895 --> 00:06:52,575 youthful, sexy moment In Dallas, there was a, 124 00:06:53,235 --> 00:06:56,855 in the sixties, there was an apartment complex right off 125 00:06:56,855 --> 00:07:00,175 of University Avenue near Southern Methodist University 126 00:07:00,395 --> 00:07:02,175 called the Spanish Trace. 127 00:07:03,315 --> 00:07:06,535 And the developers of the Spanish Trace were friends 128 00:07:06,535 --> 00:07:09,695 with Eddie Ackerman, who was the, the CEO of 129 00:07:10,205 --> 00:07:11,615 Braniff Airlines. 130 00:07:12,435 --> 00:07:16,695 And in the conception of this apartment complex, 131 00:07:16,765 --> 00:07:20,855 they had the idea, this is where the young and the beautiful 132 00:07:20,995 --> 00:07:23,055 and the rich, you know, are going to live 133 00:07:23,115 --> 00:07:24,975 as they're getting their start in Dallas. 134 00:07:25,555 --> 00:07:28,495 So the Spanish Trace was a real scene. 135 00:07:28,515 --> 00:07:30,735 It had a swimming pool, you know, it's the sixties. 136 00:07:31,675 --> 00:07:34,775 And by some favorable arrangement with Braniff, 137 00:07:35,085 --> 00:07:38,015 they had a certain number of apartments allotted 138 00:07:38,015 --> 00:07:40,175 to beautiful braniff stewardesses, 139 00:07:40,175 --> 00:07:43,695 which would in turn draw in the, the well-healed, 140 00:07:43,875 --> 00:07:45,535 um, handsome young men. 141 00:07:45,675 --> 00:07:50,215 So Sandra lived in an apartment across the street from the 142 00:07:50,215 --> 00:07:51,975 Spanish Trace called the Windsor House. 143 00:07:52,955 --> 00:07:57,335 Her first husband, a guy named David Stegel, was a 144 00:07:57,855 --> 00:07:59,575 graduate of the Baylor School of Dentistry. 145 00:07:59,715 --> 00:08:01,415 He lived at the Spanish Trace. 146 00:08:02,435 --> 00:08:06,055 And so that's where they, they met, he was young, 147 00:08:06,235 --> 00:08:07,695 he was handsome, um, 148 00:08:07,875 --> 00:08:11,325 and very, we don't think of dentistry 149 00:08:11,505 --> 00:08:13,565 as a very glamorous profession, 150 00:08:14,025 --> 00:08:18,285 but he was studying with a famous reconstructive dentist 151 00:08:19,385 --> 00:08:20,445 in Beverly Hills. 152 00:08:20,745 --> 00:08:24,525 And I, I suddenly, his name is slipping me, 153 00:08:24,665 --> 00:08:26,045 um, doesn't matter. 154 00:08:26,585 --> 00:08:28,965 But he was a well-known reconstructive 155 00:08:28,965 --> 00:08:30,445 dentist in Beverly Hills. 156 00:08:30,545 --> 00:08:32,645 He was kind of the dentist to the stars 157 00:08:33,465 --> 00:08:36,725 in getting your teeth, your smile perfect for the camera. 158 00:08:37,375 --> 00:08:40,605 David Stegel was making trips out to California 159 00:08:40,665 --> 00:08:42,165 to train with the guy. 160 00:08:43,145 --> 00:08:45,485 And in he, as he mentioned to a friend, 161 00:08:45,505 --> 00:08:46,845 and in one notable moment, 162 00:08:46,915 --> 00:08:49,685 they had Paul Newman in the dental chair. 163 00:08:49,985 --> 00:08:54,325 So I imagine he told Sandra that this is what he aspired 164 00:08:54,325 --> 00:08:59,125 to do, and, um, she found it compelling. Well, 165 00:08:59,125 --> 00:09:02,645 - You know, and, and Braniff Airlines really reflected this 166 00:09:03,675 --> 00:09:06,685 high fashion life in the fast lane 167 00:09:06,685 --> 00:09:07,965 because, you know, 168 00:09:07,965 --> 00:09:10,885 it had a certain motif painted on the aircraft, 169 00:09:11,185 --> 00:09:14,045 but they were the first to outfit all 170 00:09:14,045 --> 00:09:17,325 of their flight attendants in fashions done 171 00:09:17,345 --> 00:09:18,765 by famous designers. 172 00:09:19,305 --> 00:09:22,245 The interiors were done by famous designers. 173 00:09:22,765 --> 00:09:24,645 - Salvador Dali was a designer. Yeah, 174 00:09:24,795 --> 00:09:25,795 - Yeah. 175 00:09:25,795 --> 00:09:29,205 And, and, and the flight attendants had to meet this, this 176 00:09:29,965 --> 00:09:31,165 criteria for beauty. 177 00:09:31,825 --> 00:09:35,205 You know, there was one slight flaw. 178 00:09:35,685 --> 00:09:37,925 A tooth didn't look just white enough, 179 00:09:38,515 --> 00:09:40,165 they didn't make the grade. Yeah. 180 00:09:40,165 --> 00:09:44,325 - This is, this is the early era of, of, of jet travel. 181 00:09:44,505 --> 00:09:47,125 And there was this, I mean, now we just take for granted 182 00:09:47,125 --> 00:09:50,085 that jet travel is kind of a beat down, 183 00:09:50,105 --> 00:09:53,565 but in those days it was new, it was glamorous. 184 00:09:54,385 --> 00:09:55,885 And I think Braniff 185 00:09:55,945 --> 00:09:59,205 and Pan Am had kind of deals with Hilton. 186 00:10:00,025 --> 00:10:01,165 Hilton Hotels, 187 00:10:01,345 --> 00:10:04,525 was very aggressively building properties in places 188 00:10:04,555 --> 00:10:06,085 like Acapulco, Mexico. 189 00:10:07,065 --> 00:10:09,805 One of the things that the Spanish traces, um, 190 00:10:09,905 --> 00:10:12,605 if you signed a one year lease at the trace, 191 00:10:13,425 --> 00:10:16,645 you were invited for the annual Acapulco 192 00:10:17,435 --> 00:10:20,005 Bash in which you would be flown down on Braniff. 193 00:10:20,025 --> 00:10:22,845 And so they were really cultivating this era 194 00:10:22,845 --> 00:10:24,285 of glamor and sex appeal. 195 00:10:24,745 --> 00:10:26,525 - So Sandra Bridewell must have thought, 196 00:10:26,695 --> 00:10:28,045 she's hit the jackpot. 197 00:10:28,055 --> 00:10:30,405 She's living there, she's in the midst of all of this. 198 00:10:30,405 --> 00:10:32,165 What she's around 22 years old 199 00:10:32,945 --> 00:10:35,085 and here's this up and coming dentist. 200 00:10:35,955 --> 00:10:37,045 - Yeah. And so 201 00:10:38,035 --> 00:10:40,925 what becomes evident pretty quickly is she had very 202 00:10:41,035 --> 00:10:46,005 unrealistic expectations of how much a dentist could earn, 203 00:10:46,865 --> 00:10:50,445 uh, compared to a guy working in oil, gas, 204 00:10:50,595 --> 00:10:51,765 real estate or banking. 205 00:10:52,285 --> 00:10:54,925 I mean, remember, dentistry isn't scalable. 206 00:10:55,365 --> 00:10:58,285 I mean, you can only spend so many hours in a dental chair 207 00:10:58,385 --> 00:10:59,765 or working on a dental chair. 208 00:11:00,465 --> 00:11:02,885 And so one of the first things that she does, 209 00:11:02,955 --> 00:11:05,685 they purchase a house in Greenway Parks, 210 00:11:05,855 --> 00:11:08,605 which is immediately adjacent to the Park cities. 211 00:11:09,515 --> 00:11:11,125 Also a very beautiful neighborhood. 212 00:11:11,745 --> 00:11:16,645 She hires John Aston Perkins to be her interior designer. 213 00:11:16,905 --> 00:11:20,845 Now, he was a Yale trained art historian 214 00:11:21,225 --> 00:11:25,965 and interior designer who was the designer of Ross Perot. 215 00:11:26,255 --> 00:11:29,685 Clint Murson, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys. 216 00:11:30,915 --> 00:11:35,735 So quite quickly, David realizes while this interior design 217 00:11:37,435 --> 00:11:42,395 projects antiques, tapestries original oil paintings is, 218 00:11:42,795 --> 00:11:47,425 um, it's, it's, it's outstripping my income. 219 00:11:47,855 --> 00:11:50,385 - Yeah. In a chapter in your book, the Meaning of Malice, 220 00:11:50,935 --> 00:11:53,845 that chapter is titled A Black Belt in 221 00:11:53,845 --> 00:11:55,085 Home Decorating . 222 00:11:55,585 --> 00:11:57,725 - Yes. That, that Clint Marcus 223 00:11:57,905 --> 00:12:00,645 and Sr said of his first wife. 224 00:12:01,305 --> 00:12:03,565 She has a black belt and shopping. 225 00:12:04,885 --> 00:12:08,525 Apparently Clint's first wife would go to Neiman Marcus 226 00:12:09,105 --> 00:12:11,965 and literally buy every single dress 227 00:12:12,145 --> 00:12:16,525 and her size, every single she'd just clean out the joint. 228 00:12:17,465 --> 00:12:19,925 And of course, Clint Murchison 229 00:12:20,835 --> 00:12:24,205 possessed an enormous oil fortune so he could afford it. 230 00:12:25,085 --> 00:12:27,485 I borrowed that phrase, not shopping, 231 00:12:27,805 --> 00:12:30,685 although Sandra had a black belt and shopping as well. 232 00:12:31,265 --> 00:12:33,445 But home decorating was her thing, 233 00:12:33,445 --> 00:12:35,325 and she had a black belt in it for sure. 234 00:12:35,505 --> 00:12:37,125 - And Murchison was the original owner 235 00:12:37,125 --> 00:12:38,205 of the Dallas Cowboys. 236 00:12:38,205 --> 00:12:40,365 Correct. Back ball at oil money. 237 00:12:40,795 --> 00:12:43,805 - Correct. So it was, you know, I think of this era, 238 00:12:44,365 --> 00:12:48,365 I think in 1974 you had the Israeli, um, uh, 239 00:12:48,715 --> 00:12:51,445 Arab Israeli war and the oil embargo. 240 00:12:52,105 --> 00:12:54,605 So, so oil in between 74 241 00:12:54,705 --> 00:12:57,125 and 1980, it shot up 242 00:12:57,145 --> 00:13:00,525 to over a hundred dollars per barrel. 243 00:13:01,145 --> 00:13:02,445 So these independent oil 244 00:13:02,465 --> 00:13:05,725 and gas companies in Dallas were suddenly if, if 245 00:13:06,205 --> 00:13:10,005 provided they add good leases at the time, you know, 246 00:13:10,035 --> 00:13:11,445 were coining money. 247 00:13:12,185 --> 00:13:16,045 And it's interesting because this was an era of stagflation 248 00:13:16,985 --> 00:13:18,605 in the United States as a whole. 249 00:13:18,665 --> 00:13:20,965 So Dallas really was standing out 250 00:13:22,105 --> 00:13:24,725 as a bright spot in the American economy. 251 00:13:24,865 --> 00:13:27,805 And, and with America's team, the Dallas Cowboys, 252 00:13:27,805 --> 00:13:31,445 these mediagenic players with Neiman Marcus, some 253 00:13:31,445 --> 00:13:35,785 of these kind of keytones of Dallas glamor, 254 00:13:36,365 --> 00:13:39,625 it attracted these Hollywood producers 255 00:13:40,525 --> 00:13:44,905 to come up with this TV series Dallas. 256 00:13:45,965 --> 00:13:50,305 And the first episode was shot in 1978, 257 00:13:51,165 --> 00:13:54,825 and this is the same year in which Sandra Bridewell marries 258 00:13:54,845 --> 00:13:59,265 her second husband, Bobby Bridewell, after a few years 259 00:13:59,265 --> 00:14:03,345 after her first husband, apparently David Stegel, 260 00:14:03,345 --> 00:14:06,065 the dentist, apparently committed suicide. 261 00:14:06,405 --> 00:14:10,785 - So at that point, we're talking, um, beginning of 1975, 262 00:14:11,285 --> 00:14:12,865 she has driven this young husband 263 00:14:12,965 --> 00:14:14,265 to the brink of bankruptcy. 264 00:14:14,265 --> 00:14:16,065 He's in debt, he's in trouble. 265 00:14:16,765 --> 00:14:19,865 And then suddenly she's phones a friend 266 00:14:19,865 --> 00:14:22,705 and says, something terrible has happened to David. 267 00:14:24,455 --> 00:14:27,115 - Yes. Before she called the police. 268 00:14:27,435 --> 00:14:30,515 I mean, this was something I pieced together after the fact. 269 00:14:30,615 --> 00:14:31,915 But it all hangs together. 270 00:14:32,105 --> 00:14:34,195 It's something has happened to David. 271 00:14:34,335 --> 00:14:35,795 And the story she told is, 272 00:14:36,115 --> 00:14:37,475 I was sleeping in a different room, 273 00:14:37,895 --> 00:14:40,555 the implication being we were estranged. 274 00:14:42,075 --> 00:14:45,015 And I got up the next morning around seven o'clock, 275 00:14:45,495 --> 00:14:47,095 I went into the master bedroom. 276 00:14:47,795 --> 00:14:49,615 And already upon entering the room, 277 00:14:49,815 --> 00:14:52,005 I could see he was lying in a pool of blood. 278 00:14:52,145 --> 00:14:53,365 It, it frightened me. 279 00:14:54,625 --> 00:14:58,445 So we now know, or I discovered, she didn't call the police. 280 00:14:58,625 --> 00:15:02,565 She called some friends, a prominent dentist who knew David. 281 00:15:02,845 --> 00:15:06,085 I believe she called maybe another medical man as well. And 282 00:15:06,085 --> 00:15:08,725 - They, what they rush over in to sea, in the bedroom, 283 00:15:08,985 --> 00:15:11,325 in the bed dead before the police have even 284 00:15:11,555 --> 00:15:14,965 - Correct, which I, I, I can only speculate about 285 00:15:14,965 --> 00:15:16,285 what she was doing there, but, 286 00:15:16,285 --> 00:15:19,605 but I believe she was putting a layer of insulation 287 00:15:20,315 --> 00:15:22,125 between her and the police. 288 00:15:22,225 --> 00:15:24,845 In other words, when the police arrive, she's sort of 289 00:15:25,065 --> 00:15:27,165 beside herself with, with emotion. 290 00:15:28,305 --> 00:15:32,845 And these men who are sort of coming there 291 00:15:32,865 --> 00:15:36,725 to assist, establish her social bonafides. 292 00:15:36,725 --> 00:15:37,965 These are serious guys. 293 00:15:37,965 --> 00:15:40,885 These are medical guys, prominent people in the community. 294 00:15:41,205 --> 00:15:44,605 I believe when law enforcement arrived, they perceived, wow, 295 00:15:44,605 --> 00:15:47,205 this is a socially integrated woman. 296 00:15:48,105 --> 00:15:51,965 And already straight off the bat, you see a lack 297 00:15:51,965 --> 00:15:55,645 of serious inquiry, a lack of serious examination 298 00:15:55,665 --> 00:15:56,885 of what's gone on here. 299 00:15:57,235 --> 00:16:00,645 They survey the death scene in the marital bed. 300 00:16:02,645 --> 00:16:06,405 Apparently at the time it sort of looked like suicide, 301 00:16:06,595 --> 00:16:08,845 like he'd shot himself in bed. 302 00:16:09,585 --> 00:16:12,605 The medical examiner did not perform an autopsy. 303 00:16:12,905 --> 00:16:16,365 He only performed an external examination. 304 00:16:17,225 --> 00:16:21,325 And I ultimately obtained the external examination report. 305 00:16:21,425 --> 00:16:24,125 And then later I obtained the death scene photos. 306 00:16:25,155 --> 00:16:28,805 They tell a different story than that of suicide. 307 00:16:29,385 --> 00:16:30,885 The, the, the first thing I noticed, 308 00:16:31,195 --> 00:16:33,965 just reading the external exam report 309 00:16:34,865 --> 00:16:38,925 was on his forearm, nowhere near 310 00:16:39,775 --> 00:16:43,285 where the radial artery comes up into the wrist 311 00:16:43,375 --> 00:16:44,685 where you take the pulse, 312 00:16:45,105 --> 00:16:48,325 but like the forearm proper, where the muscle and, 313 00:16:48,505 --> 00:16:50,845 and a lot of fascia tissue is. 314 00:16:51,745 --> 00:16:56,165 The medical examiner describes these relatively superficial 315 00:16:56,845 --> 00:16:58,005 incisions as 316 00:16:58,005 --> 00:16:59,325 - If he was trying to commit suicide, 317 00:16:59,325 --> 00:17:01,605 - Cut his wrist suicide as if he was, as if he was trying 318 00:17:01,605 --> 00:17:05,965 to commit suicide with some kind of cutting instrument. 319 00:17:06,905 --> 00:17:08,565 And the implication is, well, 320 00:17:08,715 --> 00:17:12,565 that didn't work these incisions to his right forearm. 321 00:17:13,545 --> 00:17:16,605 So he then took this pistol, 322 00:17:16,705 --> 00:17:18,885 22 caliber target pistol 323 00:17:20,185 --> 00:17:22,285 and shot himself in the head. 324 00:17:22,385 --> 00:17:24,285 So the first question I asked was, 325 00:17:24,345 --> 00:17:25,725 and I spoke, some 326 00:17:25,725 --> 00:17:27,965 of his old dental buddies were still alive. 327 00:17:28,865 --> 00:17:31,485 You know, why would he slash himself on the forearm? 328 00:17:31,725 --> 00:17:34,525 I mean, the medical examiner notes that it, 329 00:17:34,525 --> 00:17:37,365 it didn't incise any major blood vessel. 330 00:17:37,745 --> 00:17:40,445 He knew David knew that. 331 00:17:41,085 --> 00:17:42,405 I mean, he studied a year 332 00:17:42,425 --> 00:17:44,845 of anatomy at the Baylor School of Dentistry. 333 00:17:45,305 --> 00:17:47,445 He knew this would have no lethal effect. 334 00:17:47,705 --> 00:17:50,245 It would be painful, it would be upsetting 335 00:17:50,385 --> 00:17:54,045 and distressing to cut oneself on the forearm. 336 00:17:54,665 --> 00:17:57,085 But he knew that it would have no lethal effect. 337 00:17:57,345 --> 00:17:59,125 So why did he do this 338 00:18:00,505 --> 00:18:02,565 before shooting himself in the head? 339 00:18:02,865 --> 00:18:05,445 And then when I looked at the, the, the death scene photos, 340 00:18:06,225 --> 00:18:10,085 you can see from the bloodstain pattern, he never moved 341 00:18:10,985 --> 00:18:13,605 his right arm never moved. 342 00:18:13,625 --> 00:18:15,845 So it's not like he climbs into bed 343 00:18:15,845 --> 00:18:19,445 with a razor slashes himself, thinks to himself, you know, 344 00:18:19,465 --> 00:18:20,965 oh no, I'm not bleeding out. 345 00:18:21,065 --> 00:18:22,485 I'm gonna have to go find a pistol. 346 00:18:22,585 --> 00:18:26,965 The bloodstain shows he got into bed with a loaded 347 00:18:27,065 --> 00:18:31,615 and cocked pistol was lying there 348 00:18:32,235 --> 00:18:33,455 and, and never moved. 349 00:18:33,475 --> 00:18:36,215 So in other words, if you follow the logic of this, 350 00:18:36,435 --> 00:18:39,175 I'm gonna get into bed with a pistol ready to go, 351 00:18:39,835 --> 00:18:42,295 the cartridge chambered, but 352 00:18:42,295 --> 00:18:46,815 before I shoot myself in the head, I'm gonna slash myself 353 00:18:46,875 --> 00:18:49,975 to no lethal effect on the right forearm. 354 00:18:50,215 --> 00:18:51,615 I just found that strange. 355 00:18:52,035 --> 00:18:54,015 And then, but then when I got the photos 356 00:18:54,195 --> 00:18:57,175 and I started looking closely at the photos, um, 357 00:18:57,515 --> 00:19:00,055 the first thing you notice is he's been tucked in. 358 00:19:00,675 --> 00:19:02,135 So the, the way the, 359 00:19:02,135 --> 00:19:06,255 the bedding is tucked along the backside of his legs, 360 00:19:06,715 --> 00:19:08,295 the backside of his buttocks, 361 00:19:08,805 --> 00:19:11,815 someone has smoothed out the 362 00:19:12,405 --> 00:19:14,495 comforter on the right side of the bed 363 00:19:14,675 --> 00:19:16,335 and then tucked him in. 364 00:19:17,155 --> 00:19:21,815 The comforter is drawn up over his left hand 365 00:19:22,665 --> 00:19:26,415 lying outstretched, left hand lying on the weapon. 366 00:19:27,035 --> 00:19:29,215 The comforter is drawn up over that. 367 00:19:29,635 --> 00:19:33,215 Now it's impossible to shoot yourself in the left side 368 00:19:33,215 --> 00:19:34,295 of the head with the pistol. 369 00:19:35,675 --> 00:19:37,895 The hand then falls on the bed, 370 00:19:39,155 --> 00:19:43,335 and then to then draw the covers up. That's impossible. 371 00:19:44,035 --> 00:19:46,415 - And you tracked down the origin of the pistol, the, 372 00:19:46,955 --> 00:19:48,055 - The, the gun revolver. 373 00:19:48,055 --> 00:19:52,695 Yeah. The gun belonged to one of David's close friends who 374 00:19:53,345 --> 00:19:56,535 lived in a big fancy house just north 375 00:19:56,535 --> 00:19:58,175 of Preston Center in Dallas. 376 00:19:59,605 --> 00:20:02,455 David's medical offices were impressed and center. 377 00:20:02,675 --> 00:20:06,975 Um, Sandra was very close with this man's wife 378 00:20:08,135 --> 00:20:09,855 I know from multiple witnesses. 379 00:20:10,235 --> 00:20:13,055 Sandra was always hanging around over at the house. 380 00:20:14,075 --> 00:20:17,415 The ladies both had a love of champagne. 381 00:20:17,765 --> 00:20:19,535 They would hang around at the pool, 382 00:20:20,105 --> 00:20:22,215 drink champagne into the evening. 383 00:20:23,315 --> 00:20:24,775 The pistol was found 384 00:20:25,035 --> 00:20:28,975 or was known to be in a dr, a dresser 385 00:20:29,955 --> 00:20:33,775 in the back house, apartment over the garage. 386 00:20:34,655 --> 00:20:38,735 I do not believe that David went into the back house, 387 00:20:38,925 --> 00:20:41,895 apartment over the garage and stole the pistol. 388 00:20:42,415 --> 00:20:43,695 I believe the totality 389 00:20:43,695 --> 00:20:46,935 of circumstances indicates that she did. 390 00:20:47,545 --> 00:20:49,565 - And David was the father of their three children. 391 00:20:50,225 --> 00:20:53,805 But the people that came to console her, you talked to them 392 00:20:53,825 --> 00:20:56,215 and they were kind of bothered. 393 00:20:56,275 --> 00:20:57,615 She had a cheerful demeanor. 394 00:20:58,235 --> 00:20:59,975 And she leaves without even taking 395 00:21:00,035 --> 00:21:01,175 the portraits of her children. 396 00:21:01,595 --> 00:21:04,095 - You're referencing his dental office. 397 00:21:04,355 --> 00:21:06,495 So David had worked all of these years 398 00:21:06,595 --> 00:21:08,375 to become a reconstructive dentist. 399 00:21:08,675 --> 00:21:12,015 Um, and in his office, he had 400 00:21:12,905 --> 00:21:16,415 three portraits of his chil of his three children by, um, 401 00:21:16,735 --> 00:21:19,095 Giddings, the famous studio photographer. 402 00:21:19,675 --> 00:21:24,295 And when Sandra sold his dental practice to, uh, 403 00:21:25,095 --> 00:21:27,375 interestingly enough, a female dentist in Dallas, 404 00:21:28,115 --> 00:21:31,295 the female dentist said, God, these giddings portraits 405 00:21:31,295 --> 00:21:33,375 of your three beautiful children, that they're, 406 00:21:33,375 --> 00:21:36,495 they're beautiful, like come by and get them any time. 407 00:21:37,515 --> 00:21:39,095 And she just thought it was notable 408 00:21:39,095 --> 00:21:41,255 that Sandra never came by to get the photos. 409 00:21:44,115 --> 00:21:46,715 - A year after burying her first husband, 410 00:21:46,975 --> 00:21:50,635 who suspicious death with a handgun was ruled a suicide. 411 00:21:51,535 --> 00:21:54,755 Sandra struck up a relationship with a very wealthy, 412 00:21:55,065 --> 00:21:56,915 high profile restaurateur. 413 00:21:57,575 --> 00:21:58,595 - She goes on the hunt, 414 00:21:58,855 --> 00:22:02,555 and probably the most interesting, uh, relationship 415 00:22:02,825 --> 00:22:05,155 that she had, um, in, in the year 416 00:22:05,165 --> 00:22:09,275 after David died of a purported suicide was, was 417 00:22:09,275 --> 00:22:13,715 with Norman Brinker, who was a famous entrepreneur. 418 00:22:15,125 --> 00:22:16,905 He was an Olympic equestrian, 419 00:22:17,225 --> 00:22:20,265 I believe it was the 1952 Olympics in Seoul, Korea. 420 00:22:20,825 --> 00:22:25,545 A a real man in full, a man about town, um, handsome Rich. 421 00:22:25,725 --> 00:22:29,145 He da Norman Brinker is famous 422 00:22:29,645 --> 00:22:32,905 for starting this whole new style 423 00:22:33,125 --> 00:22:34,865 of dining in the United States. 424 00:22:35,015 --> 00:22:38,065 It's somewhere between fast food 425 00:22:38,405 --> 00:22:42,185 and really formal, there's a categorical name for this, um, 426 00:22:43,205 --> 00:22:45,985 casual dining chains that are affordable 427 00:22:46,005 --> 00:22:47,265 for middle class families. 428 00:22:47,265 --> 00:22:50,065 But you nevertheless took your family and sat down 429 00:22:50,165 --> 00:22:51,345 and had proper service. 430 00:22:51,605 --> 00:22:55,465 So Steak and Ale was an early norm. Brinker. 431 00:22:55,485 --> 00:22:59,545 And then ultimately he, I think he was involved in Chili's, 432 00:22:59,865 --> 00:23:04,465 TGI, Fridays, you know, multiple casual dining chains. 433 00:23:04,565 --> 00:23:06,185 And, and he made a great fortune. 434 00:23:06,375 --> 00:23:10,105 Norm Brinker is really one of the great restaurateurs 435 00:23:10,125 --> 00:23:14,345 of all time in, in terms of, um, his portfolio, Sandra, and, 436 00:23:14,445 --> 00:23:16,345 and encountered Norm. 437 00:23:16,685 --> 00:23:18,705 And as he perceived it at the time, 438 00:23:18,805 --> 00:23:22,345 it was a fortuitous encounter at a car wash. 439 00:23:23,085 --> 00:23:24,665 And he found her very charming. 440 00:23:25,365 --> 00:23:28,465 He invited her out on a date, and they had a brief romance 441 00:23:28,845 --> 00:23:30,865 or, uh, a fairly high profile. 442 00:23:30,865 --> 00:23:32,585 They were, they were spotted about town. 443 00:23:33,675 --> 00:23:35,865 Sadly, for Sandra, it was not to last. 444 00:23:36,285 --> 00:23:39,025 - So now she goes on the hunt for other wealthy men. 445 00:23:39,685 --> 00:23:41,585 Is she doing that at this point, 446 00:23:42,205 --> 00:23:43,905 at the church she's attending, 447 00:23:44,365 --> 00:23:47,285 or is it some other social function? 448 00:23:47,285 --> 00:23:49,645 But is she, is she even showing up in their offices? 449 00:23:50,345 --> 00:23:52,165 - So, church, St. 450 00:23:52,165 --> 00:23:55,445 Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church, um, I 451 00:23:55,785 --> 00:23:58,885 and I have taken pains 452 00:23:58,885 --> 00:24:01,205 to protect the identity for the family. 453 00:24:01,865 --> 00:24:04,925 She did seduce a church warden at St. 454 00:24:04,925 --> 00:24:08,405 Michael, a married man, a very wealthy man, 455 00:24:08,985 --> 00:24:13,505 and was able to extract how to put it, well, 456 00:24:13,505 --> 00:24:14,585 I'll just jump to it. 457 00:24:15,285 --> 00:24:17,345 She persuaded him to co-sign a loan. 458 00:24:17,925 --> 00:24:20,745 He thought he was just guaranteeing the loan that so 459 00:24:20,745 --> 00:24:23,465 that she could get the loan and service the loan herself. 460 00:24:24,685 --> 00:24:26,545 She didn't pay a penny of the loan. 461 00:24:27,485 --> 00:24:30,145 Um, and when he countersued her, 462 00:24:31,005 --> 00:24:34,625 or it was a cross action suit, he was sued by the lender 463 00:24:35,085 --> 00:24:36,185 for non-performance. 464 00:24:36,325 --> 00:24:39,105 He then did a cross action suit against Sandra 465 00:24:39,845 --> 00:24:44,585 for non-performance of the loan, at which point she revealed 466 00:24:44,615 --> 00:24:46,265 with the court reporter present 467 00:24:47,015 --> 00:24:51,265 that the loan arrangement had come about following the 468 00:24:51,545 --> 00:24:54,585 commencement of an intimate relationship, . 469 00:24:55,445 --> 00:24:58,425 And as she began to speak with the court 470 00:24:59,025 --> 00:25:01,185 reporter typing away about the details 471 00:25:01,285 --> 00:25:03,905 of their intimate relationship, his attorney 472 00:25:04,715 --> 00:25:05,945 waved the whole thing off 473 00:25:06,445 --> 00:25:08,065 and said, we'll, settle the matter. 474 00:25:08,315 --> 00:25:09,665 Let's just forget it. 475 00:25:09,795 --> 00:25:13,665 We'll petition the court to dismiss this with prejudice. 476 00:25:14,085 --> 00:25:17,225 And it's an interesting moment in Sandra's career 477 00:25:17,655 --> 00:25:20,225 because she realized if you're a married man 478 00:25:20,845 --> 00:25:22,585 and you're a high profile guy, 479 00:25:22,725 --> 00:25:27,585 and particularly if your public image is that 480 00:25:27,585 --> 00:25:32,095 of a church warden, you are going to take great pains 481 00:25:32,095 --> 00:25:33,135 to avoid exposure. 482 00:25:33,845 --> 00:25:37,895 - What was about her that made her so alluring? 483 00:25:38,635 --> 00:25:40,615 You know, I, I read how you, I've read 484 00:25:40,635 --> 00:25:42,815 how she would touch men on the 485 00:25:42,875 --> 00:25:44,175 arm as she told them something. 486 00:25:44,175 --> 00:25:46,135 Would you describe her? She was apparently 487 00:25:46,255 --> 00:25:47,335 a striking brunette. 488 00:25:47,635 --> 00:25:51,775 But what was this other aura that just sort of exuded sex? 489 00:25:52,535 --> 00:25:54,615 - I think, and I remember, I, 490 00:25:55,055 --> 00:25:58,455 I encountered Sandra multiple times in my early 491 00:25:58,565 --> 00:25:59,575 teenage years. 492 00:25:59,815 --> 00:26:01,255 I lived down the street from her. 493 00:26:01,315 --> 00:26:03,375 Um, and I even as a 13 494 00:26:03,435 --> 00:26:07,175 and 14-year-old boy, remember this smoldering. 495 00:26:07,915 --> 00:26:10,975 Now, I I wouldn't have described it in these terms at the 496 00:26:10,975 --> 00:26:14,055 time, I didn't know, I didn't know what I was looking at. 497 00:26:14,955 --> 00:26:18,135 But 13, 14, it's at a time 498 00:26:18,155 --> 00:26:19,975 of awakening sexuality. 499 00:26:20,255 --> 00:26:23,775 I, I remember even then thinking there's something 500 00:26:24,005 --> 00:26:25,855 mesmerizing about this woman. 501 00:26:26,795 --> 00:26:29,255 She had these big brown eyes that would just 502 00:26:29,765 --> 00:26:34,335 hold you in her gaze and whatever you were saying. 503 00:26:34,515 --> 00:26:37,615 And I mean, look, I was 13 or 14. 504 00:26:37,855 --> 00:26:40,495 I was probably talking about a BMX bike or something. 505 00:26:41,155 --> 00:26:43,095 She would hold you with this gaze as, 506 00:26:43,225 --> 00:26:44,085 as though it was the most 507 00:26:44,445 --> 00:26:45,845 fascinating thing she'd ever heard. 508 00:26:46,465 --> 00:26:48,765 And she had this lustrous brown hair. 509 00:26:49,225 --> 00:26:50,565 And what I remember 510 00:26:50,585 --> 00:26:54,685 and what other men have have admired was this, this, uh, 511 00:26:55,015 --> 00:26:59,165 white skin, this, this milky white skin that 512 00:27:00,085 --> 00:27:02,765 contrasted with her raven hair and brown eyes. 513 00:27:03,345 --> 00:27:05,205 So she was, she was devastating, 514 00:27:05,885 --> 00:27:09,685 particularly if you were a man who had not 515 00:27:10,385 --> 00:27:14,725 had this kind of attention from a woman like that, you know, 516 00:27:14,825 --> 00:27:16,245 for a long time, if ever, 517 00:27:18,585 --> 00:27:22,245 - Sandra Bridewell will have a devastating effect on men 518 00:27:22,505 --> 00:27:24,085 and women in the years to come. 519 00:27:24,825 --> 00:27:28,285 In part two of our three episode series Beneath the Charm 520 00:27:28,555 --> 00:27:31,365 Unveiling the Black Widow, John Lee, 521 00:27:31,365 --> 00:27:33,925 explores more mysterious shooting deaths than Sandra 522 00:27:34,035 --> 00:27:35,485 Bridewell Social Web. 523 00:27:36,235 --> 00:27:38,325 It's a tale of intrigue and sorrow. 524 00:27:39,145 --> 00:27:40,445 You will not want to miss.