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[align=justify]Because this is a case that invites forum-style discussion, I'm going to quote a large portion of my blog entry below the link to the entry.

"A Black Widow's Trail?"

Blog post:

(A mild health issue has slowed my writing for a couple of days. The following really couldn't wait, in part because I'm sure some readers will find this unfolding story just as fascinating as I do. I decided to be careful with this post because it touches on a long-term, ongoing investigation that stretches from Missouri to Utah. Only a few names are real, the rest are pseudonyms and marked with asterisks [*]. At the moment, I only have public records and a source close to one family involved in this story to go on for background info, so some details are sketchy, but that will change. To my knowledge, no arrest has been made in this case.)

Eugenia Howell* married Dennis Spriggs in 1967. A photo made 5 years after the couple tied the knot showed a slender woman with a pleasant face, long straight nose, engaging smile. By 1972 the pair had two children, and Eugenia Spriggs was occasionally working as a subsitute teacher. When she wasn't taking care of her kids or substituting, she was involved with the Rho Delta Chapter of ESA International, a leadership and service organization for women. In November, 1972, Mrs. Spriggs received the organization's highest honor, the First Pearl Award. A local paper said the award was given for "educational and philanthropic accomplishments."

Dennis Spriggs passed away 20 years after his wife received the First Pearl Award. He was 47. There was no autopsy. Spriggs was buried with little fanfare in the Highland Park Cemetery in Kirksville, Missouri.

Eugenia moved on to Ottumwa, Iowa. She married Ray Don Ford*, became a member of the Ottumwa Chamber of Commerce. It only lasted a few years -- a petition for the dissolution of the marriage was filed by either Mr. Ford or his counsel on August 27, 1998.

Then something happened to Ray Ford. Just 3 weeks after he filed for divorce from the former Mrs. Spriggs, a new petition was filed. The court records regarding the "Guardianship of Ray Don Ford" indicate the guardianship was "involuntary." A new petition was made on December 2, 1998. This motion was to appoint a "guardian and conservator" for Mr. Ford. At 59, Ray Ford apparently could no longer care for himself.

Eugenia Spriggs Ford moved West, to Utah. In June, 1999, Utah's business journal, The Enterprise, reported that she had been appointed executive director of the Murray, UT Chamber of Commerce. The Fords' divorce was final on September 9, 1999.

That same year, Mrs. Spriggs Ford married Brice Fulton*, a fifty-something father of 6 (by a previous marriage) and an Industrial Engineer who worked for UPS.

In 2003, Brice Fulton's heart nearly gave out. After a cardiac arrest Fulton received a Left Ventricular Assist Device. He lived 3.5 more years, and died on January 4, 2007.

Just over one year later, police were in the Highland Park Cemetery in Kirksville, Missouri. They were there to dig up the remains of Dennis Spriggs...

(...)

*= Pseudonym

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Again, the full entry can be read here.[/align]