Woman arrested in cold case had other dead spouses ~ Flossie
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Flossie
Jan 29, 2009, 3:07:33 PM1/29/09
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From: --Flossie-- (Original Message) Sent: 6/13/2008 1:44 PM
This was sent to me by an internet friend.
By MITCH WEISS Associated Press Writer
Article Last Updated: 06/13/2008 02:35:17 AM CDT
ALBEMARLE, N.C.—For two decades, Al Gentry begged investigators to
take another look at the mystery of who killed his brother, Harold,
and left his gunshot-ridden body sprawled on the floor of the home he
shared with his wife.
He visited the sheriff's office dozens of times and made just as many
phone calls. And when authorities finally listened, they wound up
arresting the person Gentry had always suspected: His brother's now 76-
year-old former wife, who was charged last month with hiring a hit man
to gun him down.
"This is something I've been waiting for for a long time," Gentry
said.
But Gentry's persistence may have led investigators to a far more
chilling discovery about Betty Neumar. After arresting her,
authorities realized that five times since the 1950s, she was married,
and each union ended with the death of her husband.
Authorities say they've notified law enforcement officials where
Neumar is believed to have lived with the men. So far, no one has said
whether the deaths are suspicious, but some officials are reopening
the cold cases.
Al Gentry had been showing up for years at the sheriff's office and
talking to anyone who would listen about the case. His brother's body,
with several gunshot wounds, was found inside the couple's home on
July 14, 1986.
Neumar, who was out of town the day her husband was killed, showed no
emotion when she got back, Al Gentry said. When she pulled up to the
one-story brick house in a quiet neighborhood that was surrounded by
flashing lights and filled with police officers, he recalled, she
blurted out that she had been in Augusta, Ga., the previous night—
before he even said a word.
"If she had gotten out of that car with tears in her eyes and asked me
why would anybody kill Harold, I would never have suspected her at
all," she said. "That's where she slipped up."
Harold Gentry met Neumar—who was then Betty Sills—in Florida and they
married on Jan. 19, 1968, in Charlton County, Ga., when he was 29 and
she was 36. The couple moved to Norwood, about an hour east of
Charlotte, in the late 1970s after he retired from the Army after 21
years of service.
Over the years, Al Gentry recalls, she told the family she had been a
nurse and that her first husband died of cancer. She also said she was
a beautician and had lived in Ohio, and had children from a previous
marriage. At various times, she worked in a drug store, drove a school
bus and waited tables while Harold Gentry worked long hours driving a
delivery truck for the Royal Chemical Co.
At first pleasant, she grew to become "cold" to his brother and
family, Al Gentry said. By 1986, the marriage was strained and Harold
Gentry was living in a camper in the front yard.
"She was the type of person who liked fancy things—jewelry and
clothes. She had the means to live like that but that wasn't enough,"
Al Gentry recalled. "She always wanted more, more, more. And she found
a way to get it."
After Harold Gentry was killed, Al Gentry and his brother, Richard,
said Neumar collected at least $20,000 in life insurance, plus other
benefits from the military and sold the couple's house and other
items. But as recently as a few years ago, bankruptcy records
indicate, Neumar had no income other than a small monthly Social
Security check—but had more than three dozen credit cards and hundreds
of thousands in debt.
At a hearing earlier this month, prosecutors said she also had at
least one overseas bank account.
The couple were married for about 14 years. They filed for bankruptcy
in April 2000, and records show they owed $206,300 on 43 credit cards.
They listed $14,355 in assets, including a 1996 Lincoln Town car, and
had a combined monthly income of only about $1,800. The bankruptcy
filing allowed the couple to wipe away the debts.
After Gentry's death, Neumar remarried two more times. Once was to 79-
year-old John Neumar, who died in October. Authorities in Neumar's
hometown of Augusta, Ga., are examining the death, and detectives went
to her home two weeks ago and seized an urn with his ashes, said
Richmond County, Ga., sheriff's investigator Lt. Scott Peebles.
His cause of death was listed as sepsis—an illness caused by a
bacterial infection of the body's blood and tissues—and his body was
cremated shortly after his death. Peebles said investigators would
test the remains to see if there "were any other factors that
contributed to his death," including whether he was poisoned by
arsenic, which can cause sepsis-like symptoms.
"We're not going to rule anything out until we get the results back,"
he said.
Neumar was charged with a single count of solicitation of murder in
Gentry's death and is being held on $500,000 bond. At her first
appearance, prosecutors said she tried to hire several people to kill
her husband, offering one potential hit man cash and a pickup truck to
do the job.
She does not yet have an attorney and a message from The Associated
Press given to a jailer went unanswered. Her daughter with Harold
Gentry, who also lives in Augusta, declined to comment about her
mother's arrest.
The sheriff who reopened the case, Rick Burris, wasn't leading the
department at the time Gentry was killed. Burris said he reviewed the
thick case file and read transcripts of interviews conducted by the
State Bureau of Investigation. He said they pointed to the likelihood
that Neumar had hired someone to kill her husband, but police didn't
collect enough evidence at the time to charge her. He assigned an
investigator, who re-examined the evidence in the file and conducted
new interviews.
"She was a suspect for a long time but we didn't have enough evidence.
Now we do," Burris said.
Brothers Al and Richard Gentry said the pain of his death still
lingers for the family. But after the arrest, the family visited their
brother's grave, where Al Gentry said he delivered a simple message:
"Brother, we got her."
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From: WarChild_05 Sent: 6/13/2008 8:18 PM
Thank god they got her. I tried and tried when dad died to prove mom
did it and they would not even do a autopsy.
Take Care,
Krys
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From: --Flossie-- Sent: 6/13/2008 10:32 PM
Even with the victim's brother' insistance, they still might not have
done anything without the knowledge that the widow was also a widow to
four other men. I think she is pure evil.
I know it must be very hard to deal with the knowledge that your
mother could've killed your father. ((((hugs))))
Flossie
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From: SPARKSAFLYING1 Sent: 6/14/2008 9:15 AM
The P pattern of her behavior sounds so familiar. The lies, the
spending, the dead husbands, etc.
Just makes you wonder how many deaths (murders committed by spouses)
get swept under the carpet as 'nature causes?'
I think Bozo may have been involved in 2 or 3 deaths of women living w/
him... I know he collected on 3 insurance policies of Collette and
another large insurance policy on Laurie.
Reply
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From: --Flossie-- Sent: 6/14/2008 10:53 AM
Thank God you found Collette's letter. You may have been next on his
list.
A few years back, my expbf wanted me to make an extra payment a month
(or something to that effect) on my life insurance so if we had some
hard times it would be caught up.
I got so mad at him for trying to involve himself in my business, and
also at the thought he might want to be the benificiary of that policy
in the future, that I dropped my policy. He never mentioned insurance
again.
I really think he he is capable of something like this woman did.
spouses
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From: --Flossie-- (Original Message) Sent: 6/13/2008 1:44 PM
This was sent to me by an internet friend.
By MITCH WEISS Associated Press Writer
Article Last Updated: 06/13/2008 02:35:17 AM CDT
ALBEMARLE, N.C.—For two decades, Al Gentry begged investigators to
take another look at the mystery of who killed his brother, Harold,
and left his gunshot-ridden body sprawled on the floor of the home he
shared with his wife.
He visited the sheriff's office dozens of times and made just as many
phone calls. And when authorities finally listened, they wound up
arresting the person Gentry had always suspected: His brother's now 76-
year-old former wife, who was charged last month with hiring a hit man
to gun him down.
"This is something I've been waiting for for a long time," Gentry
said.
But Gentry's persistence may have led investigators to a far more
chilling discovery about Betty Neumar. After arresting her,
authorities realized that five times since the 1950s, she was married,
and each union ended with the death of her husband.
Authorities say they've notified law enforcement officials where
Neumar is believed to have lived with the men. So far, no one has said
whether the deaths are suspicious, but some officials are reopening
the cold cases.
Al Gentry had been showing up for years at the sheriff's office and
talking to anyone who would listen about the case. His brother's body,
with several gunshot wounds, was found inside the couple's home on
July 14, 1986.
Neumar, who was out of town the day her husband was killed, showed no
emotion when she got back, Al Gentry said. When she pulled up to the
one-story brick house in a quiet neighborhood that was surrounded by
flashing lights and filled with police officers, he recalled, she
blurted out that she had been in Augusta, Ga., the previous night—
before he even said a word.
"If she had gotten out of that car with tears in her eyes and asked me
why would anybody kill Harold, I would never have suspected her at
all," she said. "That's where she slipped up."
Harold Gentry met Neumar—who was then Betty Sills—in Florida and they
married on Jan. 19, 1968, in Charlton County, Ga., when he was 29 and
she was 36. The couple moved to Norwood, about an hour east of
Charlotte, in the late 1970s after he retired from the Army after 21
years of service.
Over the years, Al Gentry recalls, she told the family she had been a
nurse and that her first husband died of cancer. She also said she was
a beautician and had lived in Ohio, and had children from a previous
marriage. At various times, she worked in a drug store, drove a school
bus and waited tables while Harold Gentry worked long hours driving a
delivery truck for the Royal Chemical Co.
At first pleasant, she grew to become "cold" to his brother and
family, Al Gentry said. By 1986, the marriage was strained and Harold
Gentry was living in a camper in the front yard.
"She was the type of person who liked fancy things—jewelry and
clothes. She had the means to live like that but that wasn't enough,"
Al Gentry recalled. "She always wanted more, more, more. And she found
a way to get it."
After Harold Gentry was killed, Al Gentry and his brother, Richard,
said Neumar collected at least $20,000 in life insurance, plus other
benefits from the military and sold the couple's house and other
items. But as recently as a few years ago, bankruptcy records
indicate, Neumar had no income other than a small monthly Social
Security check—but had more than three dozen credit cards and hundreds
of thousands in debt.
At a hearing earlier this month, prosecutors said she also had at
least one overseas bank account.
The couple were married for about 14 years. They filed for bankruptcy
in April 2000, and records show they owed $206,300 on 43 credit cards.
They listed $14,355 in assets, including a 1996 Lincoln Town car, and
had a combined monthly income of only about $1,800. The bankruptcy
filing allowed the couple to wipe away the debts.
After Gentry's death, Neumar remarried two more times. Once was to 79-
year-old John Neumar, who died in October. Authorities in Neumar's
hometown of Augusta, Ga., are examining the death, and detectives went
to her home two weeks ago and seized an urn with his ashes, said
Richmond County, Ga., sheriff's investigator Lt. Scott Peebles.
His cause of death was listed as sepsis—an illness caused by a
bacterial infection of the body's blood and tissues—and his body was
cremated shortly after his death. Peebles said investigators would
test the remains to see if there "were any other factors that
contributed to his death," including whether he was poisoned by
arsenic, which can cause sepsis-like symptoms.
"We're not going to rule anything out until we get the results back,"
he said.
Neumar was charged with a single count of solicitation of murder in
Gentry's death and is being held on $500,000 bond. At her first
appearance, prosecutors said she tried to hire several people to kill
her husband, offering one potential hit man cash and a pickup truck to
do the job.
She does not yet have an attorney and a message from The Associated
Press given to a jailer went unanswered. Her daughter with Harold
Gentry, who also lives in Augusta, declined to comment about her
mother's arrest.
The sheriff who reopened the case, Rick Burris, wasn't leading the
department at the time Gentry was killed. Burris said he reviewed the
thick case file and read transcripts of interviews conducted by the
State Bureau of Investigation. He said they pointed to the likelihood
that Neumar had hired someone to kill her husband, but police didn't
collect enough evidence at the time to charge her. He assigned an
investigator, who re-examined the evidence in the file and conducted
new interviews.
"She was a suspect for a long time but we didn't have enough evidence.
Now we do," Burris said.
Brothers Al and Richard Gentry said the pain of his death still
lingers for the family. But after the arrest, the family visited their
brother's grave, where Al Gentry said he delivered a simple message:
"Brother, we got her."
First Previous 2-5 of 5 Next Last Delete Replies
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 2 of 5 in Discussion
From: WarChild_05 Sent: 6/13/2008 8:18 PM
Thank god they got her. I tried and tried when dad died to prove mom
did it and they would not even do a autopsy.
Take Care,
Krys
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 3 of 5 in Discussion
From: --Flossie-- Sent: 6/13/2008 10:32 PM
Even with the victim's brother' insistance, they still might not have
done anything without the knowledge that the widow was also a widow to
four other men. I think she is pure evil.
I know it must be very hard to deal with the knowledge that your
mother could've killed your father. ((((hugs))))
Flossie
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 4 of 5 in Discussion
From: SPARKSAFLYING1 Sent: 6/14/2008 9:15 AM
The P pattern of her behavior sounds so familiar. The lies, the
spending, the dead husbands, etc.
Just makes you wonder how many deaths (murders committed by spouses)
get swept under the carpet as 'nature causes?'
I think Bozo may have been involved in 2 or 3 deaths of women living w/
him... I know he collected on 3 insurance policies of Collette and
another large insurance policy on Laurie.
Reply
Recommend Delete Message 5 of 5 in Discussion
From: --Flossie-- Sent: 6/14/2008 10:53 AM
Thank God you found Collette's letter. You may have been next on his
list.
A few years back, my expbf wanted me to make an extra payment a month
(or something to that effect) on my life insurance so if we had some
hard times it would be caught up.
I got so mad at him for trying to involve himself in my business, and
also at the thought he might want to be the benificiary of that policy
in the future, that I dropped my policy. He never mentioned insurance
again.
I really think he he is capable of something like this woman did.
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