Dena Thompson

Thompson was born Dena Holmes in 1960 in Hendon, North London. She worked for a building society.{{Cite web|url=http://courtnewsuk.co.uk/dena-thompson/|title=Dena Thompson:THE BLACK WIDOW AND THE POISONED VINDALOO – Court News UK|website=courtnewsuk.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=10 October 2018|date=13 December 2003|archive-date=15 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015055338/http://courtnewsuk.co.uk/dena-thompson/|url-status=live}} Her father was described in 2000 as a retired prison warder.{{cite news |title=Bondage case wife is jailed |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/6791870.bondage-case-wife-is-jailed/ |access-date=23 April 2022 |work=The Argus |date=18 August 2000 |archive-date=26 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126204351/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/6791870.bondage-case-wife-is-jailed/ |url-status=live }} She moved to Sussex in the 1980s with her first husband. At the time of her arrest Thompson was living at an address in Cullompton, Devon.

Thompson married Lee Wyatt in 1984, having met two years previously. She convinced Wyatt he had received £50 million for a toy he had patented and was wanted by the mafia. He was forced to live homeless for years in order to 'escape' the mafia.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3224938.stm |title=Accused wife 'spun web of lies' |publisher=BBC News |date=20 November 2003 |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-date=20 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220235845/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3224938.stm |url-status=live }} The defence described Wyatt as a "fantasist".{{cite web|url=http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/11/21/5100601.Jury_told_of_witness_s__fantasy_life_/ |title=Jury told of witness's 'fantasy life' (From The Argus) |publisher=Theargus.co.uk |date=21 November 2003 |access-date=1 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808045630/http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/11/21/5100601.Jury_told_of_witness_s__fantasy_life_/ |archive-date=8 August 2014 }} She had previously secured an injunction against Wyatt after making false claims of being assaulted by him.{{cite news |last=Pook |first=Sally |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1446489/Bigamous-wife-killed-husband-by-poisoning-his-curry.html |title=Bigamous wife 'killed husband by poisoning his curry' |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=12 November 2003 |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-date=10 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910205429/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1446489/Bigamous-wife-killed-husband-by-poisoning-his-curry.html |url-status=live }}

During their marriage, she stole £23,000 from the building society in which she worked then attempted to blame it on Wyatt. She was jailed for 18 months in 1995 for this crime. They divorced in 1997.

Thompson bigamously married Julian Webb in 1991.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3321669.stm |title=Favourite curry hid wife's poison |publisher=BBC News |date=15 December 2003 |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-date=6 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070606182657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3321669.stm |url-status=live }} She murdered him on his 31st birthday in June 1994 by poisoning a curry. Webb had a penchant for very hot curry and it is speculated that this would have masked the taste of the anti-depressants. He died of an overdose of anti-depressants and ground aspirin in a drink.{{cite news|last=Raif|first=Shenai|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/black-widow-guilty-of-poisoning-second-husband-82699.html|title='Black Widow' guilty of poisoning second husband|work=The Independent|agency=PA News|date=15 December 2003|access-date=23 April 2022|archive-date=23 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423110731/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/black-widow-guilty-of-poisoning-second-husband-82699.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/nov/12/3|title='Wife hid poison in hot curry'|work=The Guardian|date=12 November 2003|access-date=|archive-date=23 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423134406/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/nov/12/3|url-status=live}} As he lay dying in bed, his mother had called to speak to him on his birthday, but she was told by Thompson that he was too unwell. His mother told her to call a doctor but she did not.

The inquest into his death recorded an open verdict. Thompson unsuccessfully attempted to have his body cremated. The very next morning after Webb died she had tried to collect money amounting to £35,000, which would be released from his pension plan, in the event of his death{{cite web|url=http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/11/12/6723898.Husband__killed_by_curry_treat_/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140806172959/http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/11/12/6723898.Husband__killed_by_curry_treat_/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 August 2014 |title=Husband 'killed by curry treat' (From The Argus) |publisher=Theargus.co.uk |access-date=1 August 2014 }}{{cite AV media |people=Discovery Channel |date=31 August 2012 |title=Deadly Women: Insatiable Greed|trans-title= |type=TV documentary |language= |url= |access-date= |format= |time= |location=Deadly Women, season 6 |publisher= |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= }} but Webb's mother was able to establish that Thompson was not his next of kin, as she was still married to her first husband.{{cite news|last=Cowan|first=Rosie|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/dec/16/ukcrime.rosiecowan|title='Black widow' jailed for life for killing husband|newspaper=The Guardian|date=16 December 2003|access-date=1 August 2014|archive-date=10 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140910195144/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2003/dec/16/ukcrime.rosiecowan|url-status=live}} Webb's mother later testified that she had warned her son about marrying a woman whom he had known for only three months.{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3268115.stm |title=Overdose victim 'warned about wife' |publisher=BBC News |date=13 November 2003 |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-date=22 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222072828/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/3268115.stm |url-status=live }}

Dena Holmes married Richard Thompson, her third husband, in 1998.{{cite web|url=http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/12/16/5099453.Black_Widow__Inside_the_mind_of_a_predator/ |title=Black Widow: Inside the mind of a predator (From The Argus) |publisher=Theargus.co.uk |access-date=1 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907164935/http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2003/12/16/5099453.Black_Widow__Inside_the_mind_of_a_predator/ |archive-date=7 September 2014 }} They lived together in Rustington near Brighton, Sussex. On 1 January 2000, she attempted to kill her bound-and-gagged husband with a baseball bat. She had asked him if she could tie him up and blindfold him for a sexual game, but once she did so she returned to the room with the bat and a knife and attacked him. He managed to free his hands and fight back against her, and despite bleeding profusely from the head managed to force her to drop the knife. After this she broke down, saying "It's all been a lie. I've spent all your money". Richard later recounted his subsequent feelings on an episode of Crimewatch Solved in 2009:

{{quote|"I cannot believe what has just happened. This woman has turned into some kind of monster. There was no indication whatsoever till a few minutes previously."}}

Dena Thompson left the house and the next day an estate agent turned up unexpectedly, explaining that he had been told by her that he was to sell the house and stating he expected Richard would be in Florida. It emerged that Thompson had planned to kill her husband and then sell their house while he was on a long-planned trip to Florida, as no one would be suspicious of his disappearance since they would have thought he was away in America.

Richard contacted the police and his wife was soon arrested. Police interviewed her former partners and found that she had stolen money from all of them and emptied their bank accounts of funds. Richard Thompson's accounts were likewise discovered to have been emptied. She admitted to police to conning money from men but denied trying to kill her husband. She claimed that he had attacked her following the revelation that she had defrauded him and had retaliated in self-defence.{{cite web|url=http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2000/08/18/5159877.Bondage_case_wife_is_jailed/ |title=Bondage case wife is jailed (From The Argus) |publisher=Theargus.co.uk |access-date=1 August 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911001857/http://www.theargus.co.uk/archive/2000/08/18/5159877.Bondage_case_wife_is_jailed/ |archive-date=11 September 2014 }} At the trial, the jury acquitted her of attempted murder charges, but she was convicted on 15 counts of deception, which she had admitted before the trial, and sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment for the money she stole from Thompson and two other lovers.{{cite news|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12241248.fraudster-faces-death-inquiry-police-to-reopen-investigations-after-wife-is-cleared-of-bondage-attack/|title=Fraudster faces death inquiry: Police to reopen investigations after wife is cleared of bondage attack|newspaper=The Herald|location=Glasgow|date=18 August 2000|access-date=23 April 2022|archive-date=23 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423130130/https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12241248.fraudster-faces-death-inquiry-police-to-reopen-investigations-after-wife-is-cleared-of-bondage-attack/|url-status=live}} Richard Thompson later described Dena as "pure evil'.{{cite web |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/%27I+hope+she+just+rots+in+prison%27.-a0111292277 |title='I hope she just rots in prison'. – Free Online Library |publisher=Thefreelibrary.com |date=16 December 2003 |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-date=11 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411012610/http://www.thefreelibrary.com/%27I+hope+she+just+rots+in+prison%27.-a0111292277 |url-status=live }}

Despite her acquittal for attempted murder, investigating officers had grown suspicious of the circumstances of the death of Thompson's second husband, Julian Webb, six years previously. They announced that they would be exhuming Webb's body, which was done in October 2001. A friend of Thompson's came forward to tell police that she had indicated to him that she had given the overdose of drugs to her husband in a hot curry.

In 2003, Thompson was convicted of Webb's murder after a trial at the Old Bailey and sentenced to life. She was told her sentence would run to 16 years at a 2007 High Court ruling, meaning she would not be eligible for release until 2019.{{cite news |title=Black Widow to serve 16 years for murdering husband |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1909497.black-widow-to-serve-16-years-for-murdering-husband/ |access-date=23 April 2022 |work=The Argus |date=17 December 2007 |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423114416/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1909497.black-widow-to-serve-16-years-for-murdering-husband/ |url-status=live }} The judge at her 2003 trial described her as "utterly ruthless and without pity". Wyatt, her first husband, had contacted her at the home she shared with Webb, and the motive for murder, according to the prosecution, was her fear the two men would meet and her double life would be exposed. Webb was also unaware of her attempts to try and implicate Wyatt for her thefts from the building society.

She was dubbed "The Black Widow" in the press, as a black widow spider will kill their male counterparts after mating with them.{{cite AV media |people=Crimewatch |date=6 January 2009 |title=Crimewatch Solved: Tuesday 6th January 2009 |trans-title= |type=TV documentary |language= |url= |access-date= |format= |time= |location=Crimewatch Solved |publisher=BBC |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= }}

As of 2016, Thompson was imprisoned in HM Prison Send, but she became eligible for parole in 2019.{{cite web |author1=Koestler Trust |title=The UK's annual national show of Art by Offenders |url=https://usercontent.one/wp/nl.artwithoutbars.be/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/377.pdf |publisher=Southbank Centre |format=Art exhibition of art by offenders programme |date=2008 |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=16 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220616102155/https://usercontent.one/wp/nl.artwithoutbars.be/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/377.pdf |url-status=live }}{{cite web |author1=The Ingram Collection |author1-link=Ingram Collection of Modern British Art |title=The Break Up, 2012 – The Ingram Collection |url=http://ingramcollection.com/works/the-break-up-2012/ |publisher=Inside Out collection |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=26 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426163523/http://ingramcollection.com/works/the-break-up-2012/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=SWEET SENDSATION, 2016 – The Ingram Collection |url=http://ingramcollection.com/works/sweet-sendsation-2016/ |website=The Ingram Collection |publisher=Inside Out Collection |date=2016 |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=31 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531064457/http://ingramcollection.com/works/sweet-sendsation-2016/ |url-status=live }}

Following her 2003 conviction, it was reported that Thompson was being investigated about the disappearance of another of her previous partners, Stoyan Kostov.{{cite news |last=Pook |first=Sally |title=Black Widow Gets Life for Murder as Police Launch Hunt for 'victim No 3' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1449559/Black-Widow-gets-life-for-murder-as-police-launch-hunt-for-victim-No-3.html |access-date=23 April 2022 |work=The Telegraph |date=18 December 2003 |archive-date=23 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423110726/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1449559/Black-Widow-gets-life-for-murder-as-police-launch-hunt-for-victim-No-3.html |url-status=live }} Investigators had tried to trace all of Thompson's former lovers in order to establish if she had committed potentially criminal acts against further victims, stating "we cannot rule out the possibility that other partners have been injured in some way".

It was discovered that Kostov, whom she dated in the 1970s and 1980s, had been missing since he had dated Thompson while she was training as a gymnast in Bulgaria.{{cite news |last=Walker |first=Emily |title=Interpol hunt for missing lover of Sussex's black widow |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5060737.interpol-hunt-for-missing-lover-of-sussexs-black-widow/ |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=The Argus |date=15 March 2010 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407064404/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/5060737.interpol-hunt-for-missing-lover-of-sussexs-black-widow/ |url-status=live }} In 2010, media interest was renewed in the disappearance after a new probe was launched, with investigators stating that "some sort of incident seems to have happened in Bulgaria but we don't know what it was."{{cite web |author=This is Cornwall |url=http://www.westbriton.co.uk/POLICE-QUIZ-BLACK-WIDOW/story-11420208-detail/story.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140806173013/http://www.westbriton.co.uk/POLICE-QUIZ-BLACK-WIDOW/story-11420208-detail/story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 August 2014 |title='Black Widow' | poisoned curry | Dena Thompson | Julian Webb| Cullompton, Devon | Stoyan Kostov missing | Western Morning News |publisher=West Briton |date=15 March 2010 |access-date=1 August 2014 }}{{cite web |author=This is Exeter |url=http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Hunt-possible-victim-Black-Widow/story-11822882-detail/story.html |title=Hunt is on for another possible victim of the 'Black Widow' |publisher=Exeter Express and Echo |date=15 March 2010 |access-date=1 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924005159/http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Hunt-possible-victim-Black-Widow/story-11822882-detail/story.html |archive-date=24 September 2015 |url-status=dead }} As of 2021, Kostov had never been found.{{cite book |last1=De Luca |first1=Ruben |title=Serial killer |date=2 September 2021 |publisher=Newton Compton |location=Italy |isbn=978-8822752949 |page=390 |language=Italian |chapter=25: La donna serial killer}}{{cite book |last1=Mußhoff |first1=Frank |last2=Heß |first2=Cornelius |title=Murder poisons |date=18 July 2014 |publisher=Bastei Entertainment |location=Germany |isbn=978-3838753454 |page=112 |language=German}}

In April 2022, the parole board announced that they would consider Thompson’s case for release and publish their decision in May.{{cite news |title=Poisoner Dena Thompson Called The Black Widow Could Be Freed By Parole Board |url=https://nixolympia.com/poisoner-dena-thompson-called-the-black-widow-could-be-freed-by-parole-board/ |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=Nix Olympia |date=9 April 2022 |archive-date=14 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220414020551/https://nixolympia.com/poisoner-dena-thompson-called-the-black-widow-could-be-freed-by-parole-board/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |author1=Big City Radio |author1-link=Big City Radio |title=Poisoner Dena Thompson dubbed the Black Widow could be freed by Parole Board |url=https://bigcityradio.uk/2022/04/07/poisoner-dena-thompson-dubbed-the-black-widow-could-be-freed-by-parole-board/ |access-date=22 April 2022 |date=7 April 2022 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408052101/https://bigcityradio.uk/2022/04/07/poisoner-dena-thompson-dubbed-the-black-widow-could-be-freed-by-parole-board/ |url-status=live }} It was revealed that Thompson was already being held in an open prison with day release provisions (either HM Prison Askham Grange in York or HM Prison East Sutton Park in Kent, as these are the only open prisons for women in England).{{cite news |title=EXCLUSIVE: Fears 'Black Widow' murderer 'may strike again' as she's prepared for release |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fears-black-widow-murderer-may-26971172 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=Daily Mirror |date=15 May 2022 |archive-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220522184433/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/fears-black-widow-murderer-may-26971172 |url-status=live }} Sean McDonald, the officer who led the investigation into Thompson, expressed his concern at her potential release, stating: "I believe she will reoffend, she won’t be able to stop herself. She has no remorse but will be the model prisoner and say all the right things. Her potential release concerns me and everybody who has been involved with her."

Richard Thompson, the former husband of Thompson, also stated that he hoped Thompson would stay in prison, saying: "She definitely tried to kill me, and they proved that she murdered her second husband. So, she would have been a serial killer if she had been successful. And God knows what else she has done."{{cite news |title=Surviving husband of bigamist 'Black Widow' murderer says she must not be freed |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/surviving-husband-bigamist-black-widow-26926225 |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=Daily Mirror |date=10 May 2022 |archive-date=23 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523154930/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/surviving-husband-bigamist-black-widow-26926225 |url-status=live }} Richard also complained he had not been notified of the parole hearing.

On 23 May, it was announced that Thompson's release on parole had been granted and she would be released in early June.{{Cite web |last=Thompson |first=Flora |date=23 May 2022 |title='Black Widow' killer to be released from jail, Parole Board rules |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/parole-board-black-widow-richard-thompson-sussex-devon-b1001848.html |access-date=23 May 2022 |website=Evening Standard |language=en |archive-date=23 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220523144457/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/parole-board-black-widow-richard-thompson-sussex-devon-b1001848.html |url-status=live }} In a document setting out their decision, the Parole Board stated that they were satisfied from her progress in prison that she was suitable for release, although it was also noted that Thompson had previously been a "deceptive" individual who "could hold grudges" and did not always have "control of her temper".

In August 2022 it was reported that Thompson had been seen out shopping having been released.{{cite news |title=Black Widow enjoys shopping trip after being freed from prison |url=https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/black-widow-enjoys-shopping-trip-7405910 |access-date=7 April 2023 |work=Leicester Mercury |date=1 August 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407184257/https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/black-widow-enjoys-shopping-trip-7405910 |url-status=live }}

Thompson's case has featured in multiple documentaries:

• On 29 June 2005, Channel 4 aired a documentary on Thompson titled 'The Black Widow'. It was part of their Cutting Edge series.{{cite news |title=Black Widow traps 4.5m for Channel 4 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jun/30/overnights |access-date=22 April 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=30 June 2005 |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422162926/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/jun/30/overnights |url-status=live }}
• On 6 January 2009, Thompson was the subject of an episode of Crimewatch Solved.{{cite web |title=Crimewatch Solved: BBC One: Tue 6th Jan 2009, 21:00 on BBC One London |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/1c4addff0ae9499aa6dd70b039039527 |website=BBC Programme Index |date=6 January 2009 |publisher=The BBC |access-date=22 April 2022 |archive-date=22 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422162927/https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/1c4addff0ae9499aa6dd70b039039527 |url-status=live }}
• On 31 August 2012, Thompson was the subject of a season 6 episode of Deadly Women. It was titled 'Insatiable Greed'.{{cite AV media |people=Deadly Women |date=31 August 2012 |title=Insatiable Greed |trans-title= |type=TV documentary |language= |url= |access-date= |format= |time= |location= |publisher=Investigation Discovery |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= }}
• On 3 October 2013, an episode of Britain's Deadly Women was aired that featured Thompson's case.{{cite AV media |people=Discovery Channel (British and Irish TV channel) |date=3 October 2013 |title=Britain's Deadly Women: Killer at Home |trans-title= |type=TV documentary |language= |url= |access-date= |format= |time= |location=Series 1 |publisher= |id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= }}
• A Sky documentary titled Black Widow was released in September 2024.{{cite news |first=Charlotte |last=Lytton |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/08/24/black-widow-documentary-sky-dena-thompson-true-crime/ |title=My wife murdered her ex-husband... and I'm sure I was meant to be next |newspaper=The Telegraph |date=24 August 2024 |access-date=25 August 2024 }}

A book was published about Thompson in 2010 by Adrian Gatton. It was titled Black Widow: The True Story of How Dena Thompson Lured Men into a Twisted Web of Sex, Lies and Murder.{{cite book |last1=Gatton |first1=Adrian |title=Black Widow: The True Story of How Dena Thompson Lured Men into a Twisted Web of Sex, Lies and Murder |date=2010 |publisher=John Blake |location=London |isbn=978-1844549931}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite book |last1=Gatton |first1=Adrian |title=Black Widow: The True Story of How Dena Thompson Lured Men into a Twisted Web of Sex, Lies and Murder |date=2010 |publisher=John Blake |location=London |isbn=978-1844549931}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Dena}}

Category:1960 births

Category:20th-century English criminals

Category:British female murderers

Category:Confidence tricksters

Category:English people convicted of murder

Category:English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment

Category:Living people

Category:People convicted of murder by England and Wales

Category:People from Hendon

Category:English female criminals

Category:Poisoners

Category:Violence against men in the United Kingdom