Dena Thompson, known as the Black Widow, was jailed for life in 2003 after she was convicted of killing her second husband, Julian Webb, at their home in Yapton, Sussex, on his 31st birthday in June 1994.
Julian worked as an advertisement sales executive for the West Sussex Gazette newspaper – which is part of Sussex World – in Arundel when he met Dena in the 1990s. They were 'married' at Chichester registry office with the reception at her Yapton home. Concerns about his death were raised to the police by staff of the West Sussex Gazette.
Described by police as a ‘dangerous woman’ and ‘every man’s nightmare’, confidence trickster Thompson – of Cullompton, Devon – had a history of conning men out of money. Thompson served time for defrauding her two surviving husbands, and was cleared of trying to kill her third husband with a bat and a knife, claiming she was fearful for her life during a bondage session gone wrong. Officers said she had targeted men ‘sexually, financially and physically’ for a decade.
The killer, who walked free from prison two years ago, will be the subject of a new three-part Sky documentary series.
The documentary features former police officer and current West Sussex county councillor Sean McDonald – who was a major part of the investigation team.
Mr McDonald said: “This story is important and needs to be told. It shows coercive and controlling behaviour on an extreme scale. Dena was clearly a very dangerous woman. She married three times. She drove the first husband mad by saying he had to go on the run. He had to go into hiding. He thought the Mafia was after him. She married her second husband bigamously – Julian Webb. She murdered him in 1994 but there were initially no charges after the investigation."
The truth of her crimes only emerged seven years after the murder, when Thompson’s husband’s body was exhumed from a family plot in Hayling Island. This came after Thompson was acquitted of the attempted murder of her third husband.
Thompson was jailed for life in 2003 but was released in 2022.
Thompson lived in Goring, Yapton and Rustington and the story covers her manipulation of three husbands – beginning in the 1990s – and her eventual conviction for the murder of her second husband.
A Sky spokesperson said: “Black Widow follows the decade-long police investigation into Dena Thompson.
"Over 20 years, Dena who was known as ‘The Black Widow’, carried out a sustained campaign of fraud, deception, bigamy and murder.
"Using Lonely Hearts columns to lure a succession of husbands and dozens of lovers into her life, she was able to coerce them into giving up their life’s savings, their homes, their families and their freedom based on her bizarre but convincing stories.
"Dena was finally caught in 2003 and convicted for murder, but after 19 years behind bars, she has been released from prison, and her victims are still struggling to understand what happened to them.
"This three x 60minute series includes first-hand testimony from those affected, with exclusive access to her first husband - who ended up homeless believing he was on the run from the mafia.”
Black Widow is on Sky Documentaries (Channel 121 on Sky) on Sunday (September 15) at 9pm.
1. Black Widow
A tale steeped in mystery and deception Black Widow tells the story of how three male victims were deceived, defrauded, and abused by Dena before she was finally caught and sent to prison in 2003. Following Dena’s release in 2022, her victims, as well as the police officers involved in the case, have decided to tell their cautionary tale about one of the worst cases of abuse and coercive control by a woman in British history. Photo: Jim Incledon / Blast Films
2. Black Widow
The documentary features former police officer and current West Sussex county councillor Sean McDonald – who was a major part of the investigation team Photo: Contributed
3. Black Widow
A new Sky documentary will tell the story of a notorious female killer, who killed her husband with a poisoned curry in Sussex. Photo: SKY
4. Black Widow
A tale steeped in mystery and deception Black Widow tells the story of how three male victims were deceived, defrauded, and abused by Dena before she was finally caught and sent to prison in 2003. Following Dena’s release in 2022, her victims, as well as the police officers involved in the case, have decided to tell their cautionary tale about one of the worst cases of abuse and coercive control by a woman in British history. Photo: Charlie Panapa / Blast Films