Bibliography/Sources
Author’s Note: The internet movie database (www.imdb.com) was used on every chapter to provide information on movie releases (cast, crew and release dates) for each chapter.
Marilyn Monroe
Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe - Author: Anthony Summers. Publisher: Orion Publishing Group 2007
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com (internet movie database)
Sharon Tate
Helter Skelter – Authors: Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry. Publisher: Castle House 1974
www.biography.com (Charles Manson)
www.imdb.com
Jean Harlow
www.biography.com
www.findagrave.com
www.imdb.com
www.thebiographychannel.co.uk
Dorothy Stratten
The Killing of the Unicorn – Author: Peter Bogdanovich. Publisher: William Morrow 1984
www.imdb.com
Peg Entwistle
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
www.nndb.com
www.suite101.com
Dominique Dunne
www.dddis.de
www.imdb.com
Heather O’Rourke
www.heatherorourke.net
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle: A Biography of the Silent Film Comedian. Author Stuart Oderman. Publisher: McFarland
www.imdb.com
Gig Young:
Final Gig: The Man Behind the Murder. Author George Eells 1991
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur: Legacy. Author: Jamal Joseph. Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2006
www.imdb.com
Bobby Driscoll
www.deadcelebs.com
www.imdb.com
www.findadeath.com
Freddie Prinze
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
www.franksreelreviews.com
Rebecca Schaeffer
The Los Angeles Times by Times Staff Writer Eric Malnik July 19, 1989
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
Bob Crane
www.trutv.com (The Bob Crane Case)
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
Jayne Mansfield
The Stars and Stripes Archives October 5, 1957
www.bombshell.com
www.imdb.com
Ronni Chasen
www.hollywoodreporter.com
www.jewishjournal.com (article November 22, 2010)
Two Supermen Down
Speeding Bullet: The Life and Bizarre Death of Superman. Author: Jan A. Henderson 1999
www.trutv.com (The Mysterious Death of Superman)
Still Me. Author: Christopher Reeves 1999
www.christopherreeve.org
www.imdb.com
The Rebel Without A Cause Curse
Live Fast, Die Young: The Wild Ride Making Rebel Without A Cause. Authors: Lawrence Frascella and Al Weisel. Publisher: Simon and Schuster 2006
Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood. Author Suzanne Finstad. Publisher: Three Rivers Press 2002
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
Anissa Jones
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
www.franksreelreviews.com (The House on Littler Lane)
River Phoenix
www.findadeath.com
www.franksreelreviews.com (The Untimely Death of River Phoenix)
www.imdb.com
Heath Ledger:
The Heath Ledger Handbook: Everything You Need To Know About Heath Ledger Author: Allison Maxfield. Publisher: Temmo
www.findadeath.com
www.imdb.com
Cory Monteith
www.cnn.com (July 15, 2013 “ Cory Monteith Found Dead in Hotel in Canada” by Steve Almasy)
www.imdb.com
What follows is a chapter from They Walk Among Us which is coming soon.
The Black Widow of the Internet
Halifax and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, Canada and Bradenton Florida1990-2012: Millie is up to her old tricks again. Melissa Russell was born in Prince Edward Island on May 16, 1935. At least that’s one of the birthdays that she has used. She has different sets of identification with three different birthdays and, oh yes, 13 different aliases. We won’t use them all here. For our purposes you should know that she has gone by Melissa Russell, Melissa Anne Shepard, Melissa Stewart, Melissa Anne Friedrich and Millie Weeks.
In 1955 Millie was just 17 years old when she married Russell Shepard in Montague, P.E.I. The couple had two children. Millie was a bit of a late bloomer when it comes to her criminal activity. She had a clean record into the mid 1970’s but boy, did she make up for lost time. She did time for forgery in Toronto. In 1982 she did three months for uttering threats. In 1984 she was convicted of fraud and served two years. In 1985 she did another six months for fraud, was released and then did another six months for parole violation. By now she was divorced from Russ Shepard. BY now Millie had discovered the internet and she made use of it to find her next man. She met Gordon Stewart and in April of 1990 they married in Las Vegas. Problems in the marriage surfaced rather quickly. Gordon noticed that his money was disappearing rather quickly. When Gordon complained, Millie accused him of violence and abuse. On April 27, 1991 she fed her hubby a cocktail of booze, pills and rubbing alcohol. Gordon became quite groggy and Millie drove him out to a deserted road near the Halifax International Airport. Once there, she proceeded to run over her husband and then, just to make sure, she backed up and ran over him again. She was charged with first degree murder.
The charge was later reduced to second degree murder and then finally manslaughter. Millie’s defence centered around her claiming that she was abused by her husband who she claimed was a violent alcoholic. The claims garnered Millie a lot of sympathy. In May 1992 she was convicted of manslaughter and received a six year sentence. She only served two years. When she got out she became a spokesperson for abused women and appeared in a Canadian made documentary called Why Women Kill about battered women syndrome. Gordon Stewart’s family wasn’t buying it. Kate Reeves, Gordon’s sister said, “Obviously, she’s capable of anything, in my opinion.” It wouldn’t be long before Kate was proven to be right on the money.
In October 2001, Millie was 66 years old. She once again took to the internet to find a man. Through an online dating site, she connected with Robert Friedrich from Bradenton, Florida. Robert was 82 years old. Millie travelled to Florida and within three days the happy couple was engaged. We’re guessing that Millie had to work fast, well, you know Robert was 82 years old after all. On December 16, 2002 Robert took ill and Millie showed up in the hospital with papers for him to sign…and sign them he did. He had roughly $100,000 in insurance money and he made Millie the beneficiary. Robert’s sons were highly suspicious of the woman and filed a complaint with the Sheriff’s Department. No charges were filed as the hospital did not find a trace of poison in his system. They didn’t have a chance to investigate further as Robert had been quickly cremated. The courts sided with the sons who got back the lion’s share of the insurance money. Millie kept $15,000. Millie left Florida and headed back to Canada and once again returned to the internet in search of another husband.
In the fall of 2004 Millie started chatting online with another man from the sunshine state. Alexander Strategos lived in Pinellas Park, Florida and at the time was 73 years old. Millie herself was getting up there but that didn’t stop her. One day she just showed up at Alexander’s home and moved right in. Before you know it, Alex began getting ill and was hospitalized. By now his son was suspicious and when he noticed money had been withdrawn from his father’s account he called the police. In January 2005, she was charged with exploitation of the elderly as well as forgery. The
re were suspicions that Strategos was being poisoned but no evidence. In February, Millie found out that she was in hot water on both sides of the border. Back in Canada, the RCMP had issued a warrant for her arrest on charges that she had used two social insurance numbers and two names (Melissa Shepard and Melissa Stewart) to collect extra old age security benefits. She had collected approximately $30,000 more than what she was entitled to. On March 14 she pleaded guilty in Florida to the exploitation of the elderly and forgery charges. She was given a five year sentence. She was two months shy of her 70th birthday.
Millie was released from the prison in Florida in 2009 and deported back to Canada. She was now 74 years old and one might think that is where the story would end but the black widow of the internet was not quite done yet. In 2012 Millie was back surfing the net and, wouldn’t you know it, she found herself another man. Remember now, she had been deported from the USA so she would have to find a home-grown man and that is exactly what she did. She started chatting with Fred Weeks who was actually two years younger than Millie. Keeping with the pattern, Millie and Fred were soon wed. Also in keeping with the pattern, Fred soon became ill. The couple was staying at a bed and breakfast in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia when Millie came downstairs to say that her husband was not well. Paramedics arrived and quickly took Fred to a hospital in Sydney. Doctors soon became suspicious and the police were called. When Millie’s identity became known she was arrested and eventually charged with the attempted murder of Fred Weeks. Fred eventually made a full recovery. As of this writing, Millie’s trial has not yet begun.
The last word goes to Alex Strategos who managed to survive Hurricane Millie. He is now 82 years old and still living in Florida. When told of Millie’s latest exploits he simply said, “she’s a busy little gal, isn’t she?”
We remember the victims: Gordon Stewart, Robert Friedrich, Alexander Strategos (survived) and Fred Weeks (survived).
Current projects:
I am currently working on They Walk Among Us which is being co-written with my son Tristan. Also near completion is Sports Deaths and Disasters Book Two: 1963-2013. A short story about a fictional time traveler is also in the works as well as a flash fiction story about the Beatles. Another sports book is also in preparation. The working title is The Red Zone: Murder and Mayhem in the NFL. Check out the website for more information (see contact information below). Thanks for reading!
Contact information:
I can be reached via email at [email protected] I respond to all emails. Also, please feel free to visit my website at www.lesmacsbooks.weebly.com
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www.facebook.com/thedaythemusicdiedbylesmacdonald
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Hollywood's Unhappiest Endings: Legends Never Die Updated Page 11
