{{Short description|American convicted murderer (1967–2016)}} {{Infobox criminal | name = Stacey Castor | image_name = Stacey Castor (criminal).png | image_size = | image_caption = 2007 mugshot, Onondaga County Sheriff’s Dept | birth_name = Stacey Ruth Daniels | birth_date = {{birth date|1967|7|24|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Clay, New York, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2016|6|11|1967|7|24|mf=yes}} | death_place = Bedford Hills, New York, U.S. | alias = | motive = Monetary gain | charge = Murder, attempted murder, forgery | conviction = February 5, 2009 | conviction_penalty = 51 years to life in prison | conviction_status = | occupation = Office manager | spouse = {{plainlist| * {{marriage|Michael Wallace|1988|2000|end=died}} * {{marriage|David Castor|2003|2005|end=died}} }} | parents = Jerry Daniels and Judie Eaton | children = 2 }}
'''Stacey Ruth Castor''' (née '''Daniels''', formerly '''Wallace'''; July 24, 1967 – June 11, 2016)<ref>[http://nysdoccslookup.doccs.ny.gov/GCA00P00/WIQ3/WINQ130 NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> was an American convicted murderer from Weedsport, New York. In 2009, she was found guilty of murdering her then-husband David Castor with antifreeze in 2005 and attempting to murder her daughter, Ashley Wallace, by spiking her drinks with pills in 2007. In addition, she was suspected of having murdered her first husband, Michael Wallace, in 2000; his grave lay next to David's until the latter's remains were disinterred and buried elsewhere in 2016. The story made national news, and Castor was subsequently named the "Black Widow" by media outlets.<ref name="abcnews.go.com">{{cite news|author=Angela Chambers and Jon Meyersohn |title=Exhumed Body Reveals Stacey Castor's First Husband 'Didn't Just Die': Exclusive Look Inside Anti-Freeze Murder Mystery; What Brought Two Men to Rest in Neighboring Graves. Page 1|publisher=ABC|date=2009-04-23|accessdate=2009-04-25|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7394363&page=1}}</ref>
==Early life== Stacey Castor was born Stacey Daniels in Clay, New York, on July 24, 1967. Her parents were Jerry Daniels and Judie Eaton. Castor met her first husband, Michael Wallace, in 1984 when she was 17.<ref name=abcnews.go.com/><ref name="ABCnews.go.com">{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=7426074|title=The Black Widow|publisher=20/20|date=2009-04-24|accessdate=2009-04-25}}</ref> The couple married and had their first daughter, Ashley, in 1987.<ref name=abcnews.go.com/> A second daughter, Bree, was born in 1991.<ref name=abcnews.go.com/><ref name=ABCnews.go.com/>
Castor was employed by an ambulance dispatch company, while Wallace worked nights as a mechanic, but the family had little money. According to Castor, Wallace was very close to Bree, showing a favoritism that Castor made up for by becoming "best friends" with elder daughter Ashley.<ref name=abcnews.go.com/><ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Despite their closeness with their children, the couple grew apart, and it was rumored that each was having extramarital affairs.<ref name=abcnews.go.com/>
==Murders== In late 1999, Wallace began feeling intermittently ill. Family members variously remember him as acting unsteady, coughing and seeming swollen. As his inexplicable sickness persisted over the holiday season, his family encouraged him to seek medical care, but he died in early 2000 before he could do so.<ref name="Abcnews.go.com">{{cite news|author=Angela Chambers and Jon Meyersohn |title=Exhumed Body Reveals Stacey Castor's First Husband 'Didn't Just Die': Exclusive Look Inside Anti-Freeze Murder Mystery; What Brought Two Men to Rest in Neighboring Graves. Page 2|publisher=ABC|date=2009-04-23|accessdate=2009-04-25|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=7394363&page=2}}</ref> Physicians told Castor that her husband had died of a heart attack. Although Wallace's sister was skeptical and requested an autopsy, Castor refused, saying she believed the doctors were correct.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name="ABcnews.go.com">{{cite news|author=Angela Chambers and Jon Meyersohn|title=Exhumed Body Reveals Stacey Castor's First Husband 'Didn't Just Die': Exclusive Look Inside Anti-Freeze Murder Mystery; What Brought Two Men to Rest in Neighboring Graves. Page 3|publisher=ABC|date=2009-04-23|accessdate=2009-04-25|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=7394363&page=3}}</ref>
In 2003, Stacey married David Castor, whose surname she used from that point forward.<ref name=Abcnews.go.com/> David was the owner of an air conditioning installation and repair company, and she served as his office manager. One afternoon in August 2005, Castor called the Onondaga County sheriff's office to tell them that her husband had locked himself in their bedroom following an argument and had not been seen nor heard from for the past day, claiming he was depressed.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=Abcnews.go.com/><ref name="ABCNEws.go.com">{{cite news|first=Angela|last=Chambers|title='Black Widow' Stacey Castor Accused in Anti-Freeze Murder. Exclusive Access to the Investigation Into David Castor's Death, Stacey Castor's Trial|publisher=ABC|date=2009-04-21|accessdate=2009-04-27|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7380832&page=1}}</ref><ref name="www.theinsider.com">{{cite news|title=Stacey Castor 'Black Widow' Accused in Anti-Freeze Murder|publisher=The Insider|access-date=2009-04-25|url=http://www.theinsider.com/news/2081309_Stacey_Castor_Black_Widow_Accused_in_Anti_Freeze_Murder|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428090032/http://www.theinsider.com/news/2081309_Stacey_Castor_Black_Widow_Accused_in_Anti_Freeze_Murder|archive-date=2009-04-28}}</ref> Upon visiting the house for a wellness check, Sergeant Robert Willoughby kicked in the door of the bedroom and found David dead. Among the items near his body were a container of antifreeze and a half-full glass of bright green liquid. Willoughby says he remembers that Castor screamed, "He's not dead, he's not dead."<ref name=ABCNEws.go.com/>
The coroner reported that David had committed suicide through a self-administered lethal dose of antifreeze, but when police found Castor's fingerprints on the antifreeze glass and located a turkey baster that had David's DNA on the tip, they began to suspect she had engineered his death.<ref name=Abcnews.go.com/> They believed Castor had used the turkey baster to force-feed David once he became too physically weak.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/>
Investigators secured audio and visual surveillance on Castor's house and the gravesites of her husbands, who had been buried side by side at her request.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Detectives reasoned that if Castor were truly genuine about her love for her late husbands, then she would eventually visit their graves.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Castor, however, never visited.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Investigators soon felt the only way to prove she was responsible for both homicides was to have Wallace's body exhumed.<ref name="ABCNews.go.com">{{cite news|author=Angela Chambers and Jon Meyersohn |title=Exhumed Body Reveals Stacey Castor's First Husband 'Didn't Just Die': Exclusive Look Inside Anti-Freeze Murder Mystery; What Brought Two Men to Rest in Neighboring Graves. Page 4|publisher=ABC|date=2009-04-23|accessdate=2009-04-25|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=7394363&page=4}}</ref> A toxicology screen ruled that Wallace had also been killed through antifreeze poisoning.<ref name=ABCNews.go.com/>
===Attempted murder=== In September 2007, Castor panicked as suspicion mounted over the deaths of her husbands.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> After learning that police had exhumed Wallace's body and found traces of antifreeze in his system, she was believed to have devised a plan to set up her daughter Ashley for the murders.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name="theage.com.au">{{cite news|first=Ian|last=Munro|title=Death by anti-freeze 'perfect murder'|newspaper=The Age|date=2007-10-13|accessdate=2009-04-25|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/death-by-antifreeze-perfect-murder/2007/10/12/1191696176894.html}}</ref>
On Ashley's first day of college, investigators came to her school to question her about Wallace's death and to inform her that he had been poisoned.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name="ABCNEWs.go.com">{{cite news|first=Nikki|last=Battiste|title=Exclusive: Mother and Daughter Face Off in Murder Mystery. Stacey Castor Accused of Poisoning Her Two Husbands, Plotting to Murder and Frame Daughter Ashley Wallace|publisher=ABC|date=2009-04-22|accessdate=2009-04-27|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7389055&page=1}}</ref> An upset Ashley called Castor.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=ABCNEWs.go.com/> Soon after, Ashley said, Castor invited her to the family home in Liverpool to have a drink together.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Ashley agreed because Castor was not only her mother but her "best friend".<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/>
The following day, Castor invited Ashley to drink at home again, offering a "nasty-tasting" drink that she initially refused.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Seventeen hours later, Ashley was found comatose in bed by her younger sister Bree.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=theage.com.au/> Bree demanded that help be sought, and Castor made the 911 call.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Ashley's sister left her side for a moment and when she returned, she found a suicide note next to Ashley that contained a supposed confession to the murders of her father and stepfather.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/2020/Suicide_Letter_scan0001_090422.pdf|title=PDF of Suicide Letter}}</ref><ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=theage.com.au/> Castor quickly took the note and later gave it to paramedics.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/>
Tests revealed that potentially fatal painkillers had been found in Ashley's system, and that she most likely would have died if she had been taken to the hospital just a few minutes later.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=theage.com.au/> When Ashley woke up, police questioned her about the murders and the suicide note; she said the last thing she remembered was her mother making her an alcoholic drink, something she had never done before. She told the officers that she did not write the note and was confused about their questions.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=theage.com.au/>
==Arrest and trial== For two years, investigators had collected evidence against Castor for the deaths of her husbands. In 2007, she was arrested for second-degree murder in David's death and for attempting to murder and frame Ashley.<ref name=theage.com.au/><ref name="news10now.com">{{cite news|first=Joleene|last=Des Rosiers |title=One step closer?|publisher=news10now.com|date=2009-04-25|accessdate=2009-04-26|url=http://news10now.com/default.aspx?ArID=138098}}</ref>
Prosecutors argued that Ashley's computer-written "suicide note" had actually been written by Castor.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=theage.com.au/> Ashley was 12 at the time of her father Wallace's death.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=Abcnews.go.com/> When brought on the stand, she testified that she did not murder either her father or her stepfather nor did she write the suicide note.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick and Chief Assistant District Attorney Christine Garvey<ref name="PostStandard">{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Dupras |title=Stacey Castor case: The players|publisher=syracuse.com|date=2009-01-13|accessdate=2010-01-27|url=http://blog.syracuse.com/indepth/2009/01/stacy_castor_case_the_players.html}}</ref> argued that David's "suicide" had never made sense given the lack of his fingerprints on the glass or container tainted with ethylene glycol, a toxic substance found in antifreeze, and the turkey baster found in the kitchen garbage bearing both ethylene glycol and his DNA.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=theage.com.au/> They felt that this suggested he was force-fed the antifreeze.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=theage.com.au/> Given evidence of the evolution of David's illness, they concluded that Castor had fed her husband antifreeze through the baster before trying to make it look like a suicide.<ref name="www.foxnews.com">{{cite news|title=Woman Convicted of Poisoning Husband, Harming Daughter|publisher=Fox News Channel|date=2009-02-05|access-date=2009-04-25|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/woman-convicted-of-poisoning-husband-harming-daughter}}</ref> She had said that her husband got the idea to kill himself with antifreeze while both were watching a news report about Lynn Turner, who murdered two past lovers by using the poison.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/>
Prosecutors presented evidence showing how antifreeze poisoning can be identified from the growth of calcium oxalate crystals in the kidneys, and that this was seen in Wallace and David's autopsies.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> In addition, they noted money as one of the main reasons Castor murdered her husbands. She had wanted to collect on their life insurance and estates,<ref name="www.nydailynews.com">{{cite news|title=Woman gets 50 years in antifreeze murder of husband; Stacy Castor of upstate tried to blame daughter|publisher=The Associated Press|date=2009-03-06|accessdate=2009-04-26|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/03/06/2009-03-06_woman_gets_50_years_in_antifreeze_murder.html|archive-date=2009-03-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090311052333/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/03/06/2009-03-06_woman_gets_50_years_in_antifreeze_murder.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> and had changed David's will to exclude his son by a previous marriage from the money left to him by David.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> {{dubious|date=July 2023}}
"In 2005, people started to put it together," Cayuga County Sheriff Dave Gould said. "If Mr. Wallace had been cremated, or if Mr. Castor had not died, we would never have known we had a homicide."<ref name=theage.com.au/>
{{Quote box |quote = If there is a ceiling in terms of evil, she (Castor) is at the ceiling.<ref name=www.foxnews.com/> |author = — District Attorney William Fitzpatrick |width = 30% |align = right }}
Having searched Castor's computer, prosecutors had found several drafts of the purported suicide note. Forensic investigators found that based on the timestamps, it had been written while Ashley was in school, proving she couldn't have been its author.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> They argued that the "suicide attempt" had actually been a premeditated murder attempt.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> On the stand, Ashley retold how her mother had convinced her to drink before her near-death. She repeated that she only drank the "nasty-tasting" beverage because she trusted her mother.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> She maintained her innocence in the murders and denied writing of the suicide note.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/>
Castor's defense team—attorneys Charles Keller and Todd Smith<ref name=PostStandard/>—was set on creating reasonable doubt about Castor's role in the murders.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> They wanted to "poke holes" in Ashley's version of events and prove that she could have been capable of murdering Wallace when she was 11 years old.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> They noted Wallace showed favoritism toward Bree rather than Ashley and cited jealousy as a possible motive for Ashley having murdered at such a young age.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> For David, they noted his and Ashley's tumultuous relationship.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Castor's mother believed her granddaughter to be guilty.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> In a final attempt to convince the jury that she was not guilty, Castor took the stand.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/>
On cross-examination, Fitzpatrick pointed out what he felt were flaws in Castor's version of that night. She maintained that it was Ashley who murdered Wallace and David although she would not speculate about motives beyond implying that her daughter was mentally ill.<ref name="NY Post">{{cite news|title=NY MOTHER SAYS DAUGHTER KILLED FATHER, STEPFATHER|publisher=NY Post|date=2009-01-30|accessdate=2009-04-27|url=http://www.nypost.com/seven/01302009/news/regionalnews/ny_mother_says_daughter_killed_father__s_152795.htmurl-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203060110/http://www.nypost.com/seven/01302009/news/regionalnews/ny_mother_says_daughter_killed_father__s_152795.htm |archive-date=2009-02-03}}</ref> Fitzpatrick pointed out that Castor had never sought therapy for Ashley and that Ashley had never exhibited signs of mental illness.
Fitzpatrick asserted that Castor's behavior during David's and Ashley's illnesses made no sense, given the years she had worked for an ambulance company. She did not seek care for Ashley for seventeen hours and indicated that David, who was staggering and vomiting and unable to stand, "looked OK".<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Likewise, he questioned how a woman who had lost two husbands to poisoning would not seek help for a daughter in Ashley's state. Fitzpatrick frequently shouted at Castor, causing Keller to frequently object and even request a mistrial. <ref name="NY Post"/>
Prosecutors brought up another piece of damaging evidence when they cited "typing sounds" on police wiretaps.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> During one of the recordings presented, typing sounds can be heard while Castor talks to a friend although she denied memory of using the computer that day. Prosecutors argued that these typing sounds were those of one of the several drafts Castor had written of the suicide note.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Ashley had already testified to having witnessed her mother working on the computer, which Castor had hidden to prevent Ashley's seeing it.<ref name=Syracuse.com>{{cite news|first=Jim|last=O'Hara|title=Stacey Castor's daughter, Ashley Wallace, testifies during antifreeze murder trial. Ashley Wallace also testifies for the prosecution that she did not write or know anything about a suicide note.|publisher=syracuse.com|date=2009-01-15|access-date=2009-04-27|url=http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf?/base/policeblotter-1/1232013467318700.xml&coll=1|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090117000124/http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf?%2Fbase%2Fpoliceblotter-1%2F1232013467318700.xml&coll=1|archive-date=2009-01-17}}</ref>
Fitzpatrick claimed this was the day Castor wrote the note, which had her fingerprints but not Ashley's, to frame her daughter.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> He told the jury about the word antifreeze being written as "anti-free" in four places within the note and noted that Castor had also said "anti-free" during an interview.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> Castor said she had cut herself off while saying "antifreeze" because she had intended to say something else.
Castor's defense team presented a pharmaceutical expert in an attempt to cast doubt on the prosecution's claim that Castor had drugged Ashley seventeen hours prior to being taken to the hospital.<ref name="cnycentral.com">{{cite news|first=Jim|last=Kenyon|title=The trial of Stacey Castor recessed Thursday afternoon as Castor testified in her own defense.|publisher=cnycentral.com|date=2009-01-29|access-date=2009-04-26|url=http://www.cnycentral.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=252790|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719062429/http://www.cnycentral.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=252790|archive-date=2011-07-19}}</ref>
On February 5, 2009, Castor was found guilty of second-degree murder in the poisoning death of David and of attempted second degree murder for overdosing Ashley.<ref name=www.foxnews.com/> Castor had her eyes closed as the verdicts were read.<ref name="www.9wsyr.com">{{cite news|title=It's a story that not only riveted many of us here in central New York, but has also captured the attention of the nation.|publisher=9wsyr.com|date=2009-04-24|accessdate=2009-04-25|url=http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/In-unaired-comments-Castor-talks-of-trial-s/LYY-MfLNuUmm9GJoG5Bbdg.cspx}}</ref> Keller announced that she would appeal the verdict, including challenging the inclusion of evidence regarding the death of Wallace, for which Castor had not been charged.<ref name=www.foxnews.com/>
On March 5, 2009, at Castor's sentencing, Garvey asked Judge Fahey to impose the maximum consecutive sentences because of the brutality of David's death.<ref name="syracuse.com">{{cite news|first=Jim|last=O'Hara|title=Stacey Castor gets 51 1/3 years to life in prison (videos, gallery)|publisher=syracuse.com|date=2009-03-05|accessdate=2009-04-26|url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/03/judge_to_sentence_murderer_sta.html}}</ref> Further, she criticized how Castor had "partied in her backyard with friends like nothing was happening" as Ashley was comatose in her room.<ref name=syracuse.com/> "She is cold, calculating and without any emotion for what she has done," she stated.<ref name=syracuse.com/> "Human life is sacred. Stacey Castor places no value on human life, not even her own flesh and blood. To Stacey Castor, human beings are disposable."<ref name=syracuse.com/> David's son, whom Castor had cheated out of his inheritance, pleaded with Judge Fahey for Castor to be severely punished. "Your honor, [Castor] is a monster and a threat to society," he said.<ref name="syracuse.com"/> "She has created so much pain and death with this, creating multiples of pain and death, in the families of those she has hurt."<ref name=syracuse.com/>
Judge Fahey told Castor that he had never seen a parent attempt to murder their child in order to set their child up for a crime they themselves committed, and declared Castor "in a class all by [her]self".<ref name=www.nydailynews.com/> He sentenced her to the maximum of twenty-five years to life for the murder of David, and to an additional twenty-five years for the attempt to kill Ashley.<ref name=www.nydailynews.com/><ref name="www.msnbc.msn.com">{{cite news|title=Woman sentenced in 2nd husband's poisoning N.Y. mother killed him with antifreeze, tried to frame her daughter|publisher=Associated Press|date=2009-03-05|access-date=2009-04-27|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29535515}}</ref> For forging David's will, he ordered Castor to serve an additional 1{{frac|1|3}} to four years in prison.<ref name=www.nydailynews.com/>
The trial had lasted for four weeks.<ref name=syracuse.com/> An emotional Ashley told the judge she hated her mother "for ruining so many people's lives", but still loved her for the bond she had originally had with her.<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/><ref name=www.nydailynews.com/><ref name=syracuse.com/>
{{blockquote|text=I never knew what hate was until now. Even though I do hate her, I still love her at the same time. That bothers me, it is so confusing. How can you hate someone and love them at the same time? I just wish that she would say sorry for everything she did, including all the lies. As horrible as it makes me feel, this is goodbye mom. As hard as you tried, I survived and I will survive because now I'm surrounded by people that love me. I'm going to do good things in this world despite making me in every sense of the word an orphan.<ref>{{cite news|title=Stacey Castor found guilty of murdering husband |publisher=syracuse.com |date=2009-03-05 |access-date=2009-04-26 |url=http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Stacey-Castor-found-guilty-of-murdering-husband/yUV7UZWKp0iSQr5BY8F0-w.cspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425044148/http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Stacey-Castor-found-guilty-of-murdering-husband/yUV7UZWKp0iSQr5BY8F0-w.cspx |archive-date=April 25, 2009 }}</ref>|author=Ashley Wallace}}
Fitzpatrick said that under New York sentencing guidelines, Castor would have to serve just over 51 years before she became eligible for parole—at her age, effectively a life sentence.<ref name=www.nydailynews.com/>
==Aftermath== Castor, New York Department of Corrections inmate number 09G0209, was placed in Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women in Bedford Hills, New York. Even with credit for time served, her earliest possible release date was June 15, 2055—slightly over a month shy of her 88th birthday.
On April 24, 2009, ABC News aired a two-hour ''20/20'' special about Castor's trial. During the trial, Castor had been dubbed "The Black Widow" by media outlets,<ref name=abcnews.go.com/> a title previously given to Lynn Turner.<ref name="www.cnn.com">{{cite news|first=Emanuella|last=Grinberg|title=Black Widow's' antifreeze murder trial to start|publisher=CNN|date=2008-01-30|accessdate=2009-04-26|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/01/05/black.widow/index.html}}</ref> Ashley said that she does not know how her mother, or any mother, could try to kill her own child,<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> a question that the public has also pondered.<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/> Castor, who professed to being shocked at the verdict, maintained her innocence during the ''20/20'' special,<ref name=ABCnews.go.com/> as well as in unaired parts of the program. She said that "Ashley brought this on" and insists that she and Ashley know what really happened.<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/> She did express sympathy for her daughter Bree.<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/> She indicated that her mother, stepfather and some other relatives still supported her.<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/>
Bree, like Ashley, never spoke to Castor after the trial. She said that though losing her mother was hard, "I was happy that they said she was guilty because we all know that she's guilty."<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/> Ashley said, "I would have done anything for her. But she tried to kill me instead."<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/> Both of Castor's daughters expressed concern that their mother had not yet apologized to them.<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/> Castor maintained that she was innocent of the crimes.<ref name=www.9wsyr.com/>
ABC interviewed forensic psychiatrist Dr. James Knoll about the case, and he answered viewers' questions via video on April 23, 2009, and via site comments on April 27, 2009.<ref name="ABCNEWS.go.com">{{cite news|title=Your Questions Answered About Black Widow Case. Forensic Psychiatrist Dr. James Knoll Answers Viewers' Questions About Stacey Castor|publisher=ABC|date=2009-04-27|accessdate=2009-04-27|url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=7438161&page=1}}</ref> He stated that while most suicide notes focus on themes of remorse and the person not being able to go on with life, the note supposedly written by Ashley was focused on taking the blame off Castor.<ref name=ABCNEWS.go.com/> He said that this theme had been repeated fourteen times within the note and that he believed Castor would never admit guilt. The code of murderers such as these, he said, is "deny, deny, deny" until the bitter end.<ref name=ABCNEWS.go.com/> When asked if Castor's behavior and body language on the stand showed any sort of clue about her mental state and guilt, Knoll said that body language and behavior can be affected by events during a trial and that their interpretation is not always reliable.<ref name=ABCNEWS.go.com/>
Though Castor was not officially defined as a serial killer, it is likely that she would have killed again.<ref name=ABCNEWS.go.com/> Knoll said that killers may have many different motivations. He described Castor as a "black widow" type rather than a typical serial killer.<ref name=ABCNEWS.go.com/> He stated that "psychopathic traits and histories of childhood abuse have been consistently reported in these women" and suggested that if Castor were guilty of the crimes of which she had been convicted and accused, then she would be demonstrating psychopathic traits, including regarding even her own child as an object to be used for her convenience.<ref name=ABCNEWS.go.com/>
In addition to the Turner and Castor antifreeze murder cases, similar cases were reported in 2008.<ref name="www.timesonline.co.uk">{{cite news|first=Russell|last=Jenkins|title=Wife convicted of attempting to murder husband with antifreeze|newspaper=The Times|date=2008-01-30|accessdate=2009-04-26|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article3272994.ece}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="wbztv.com">{{cite news|title=Mistrial Declared In Antifreeze Murder Case|newspaper=The Times|date=2008-04-10|access-date=2009-04-26|url=http://wbztv.com/local/antifreeze.death.julie.2.696509.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108203346/http://wbztv.com/local/antifreeze.death.julie.2.696509.html|archive-date=2009-01-08}}</ref><ref name="www.guardian.co.uk">{{cite news|first=Ann|last=O'Neil|title=Wife guilty of trying to kill husband with anti-freeze curry|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2008-01-29|accessdate=2009-04-26|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/jan/29/ukcrime.haroonsiddique}}</ref> In 2002, a man was convicted for the 1998 murder of his wife by antifreeze. A letter she had written before her death incriminated him as the murderer if she were to die eventually; the letter led to his prosecution.<ref name="cnn.com">{{cite news|title=Husband guilty of murder in 'letter from grave' case|publisher=CNN|date=2008-01-29|accessdate=2009-04-26|url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/21/jensen.verdict/}}</ref> Series Sex Lies and Murder, series 2 episode 3, in addition to describing the events leading to the trial, included an interview with the district attorney in the case. The DA pointed out that Castor may have murdered her own father, Jerry Daniels, who died February 22, 2002, shortly after his daughter visited him in the hospital where he had a minor lung complaint. Castor's first husband's family believes Castor may have killed her father by bringing in an open can of soda for her father to drink. She was the executor of his estate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnycentral.com/news/local/did-stacey-castor-murder-her-own-father|title=Did Stacey Castor murder her own father?|first=Jim|last=Kenyon|date=February 1, 2010|website=WSTM}}</ref>
==Death== Castor was found dead in her cell on the morning of June 11, 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/06/da_notorious_antifreeze_murderer_stacey_castor_who_poisoned_husband_dead_at_48.html|title=DA: Antifreeze murderer Stacey Castor, who poisoned husband, dead at 48|date=2016-06-11|accessdate=2016-06-11}}</ref> It was not immediately apparent how she died and the manner of her death was listed as undetermined;<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/06/no_obvious_cause_of_death_for_killer_stacey_castor_lab_tests_could_take_months.html | title=No obvious cause of death for killer Stacey Castor; lab tests could take months | work=Syracuse Media Group | date=2016-06-13 | agency=Advance Digital | accessdate=2016-07-14 | author=Dowty, Douglas}}</ref> it was later determined by the D.A.'s office that she died of a heart attack, with no evidence of suicide or foul play.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dowty |first=Douglas |url=http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index.ssf/2016/12/da_anti-freeze_murderer_stacey_castor_died_of_heart_attack_no_foul_play_suspecte.html |title=DA: Anti-freeze murderer Stacey Castor died of heart attack, no foul play suspected |work=Syracuse Media Group |date=2016-12-09 |agency=Advance Digital |accessdate=2017-01-06}}</ref>
==Television film== Stacey Castor's story was adapted into the Lifetime film, ''Poisoned Love: The Stacey Castor Story'', as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature-film series; this made-for-television film was first transmitted on February 1, 2020. The film starred Nia Vardalos as Castor.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://deadline.com/2019/11/more-ripped-from-the-headlines-pics-set-at-lifetime-nia-vardalos-lyndsy-fonseca-kirstie-alley-jamie-lynn-sigler-among-stars-1202789124/|title=More 'Ripped From The Headlines' Pics Set At Lifetime With Nia Vardalos, Lyndsy Fonseca, Kirstie Alley, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jenn Lyon|last=Pederson|first=Erik|work=Deadline|access-date=2019-12-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191215182750/https://deadline.com/2019/11/more-ripped-from-the-headlines-pics-set-at-lifetime-nia-vardalos-lyndsy-fonseca-kirstie-alley-jamie-lynn-sigler-among-stars-1202789124/|archive-date=December 15, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VHs2ma4Mfk "Tragic End for 'Black Widow's' First Love" - Official ABC ''20/20 ''YouTube clip] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdF8tuiNC2Y "Did 'Black Widow' Kill Two Husbands?" - Official ABC ''20/20'' YouTube clip] * [http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/01/daughter_testifies_in_stacey_c.html Daughter testifies in Stacey Castor murder trial (Video)] * [http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/verdict_reached_in_stacey_cast.html Update: Jurors talk on video about Stacey Castor guilty verdict]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Castor, Stacey}} Category:1967 births Category:2016 deaths Category:20th-century American murderers Category:21st-century American murderers Category:American female murderers Category:American people convicted of attempted murder Category:American people convicted of murder Category:American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Category:Criminals from New York (state) Category:Perpetrators of mariticide Category:People convicted of forgery Category:People convicted of murder by New York (state) Category:People from Bedford Hills, New York Category:People from Clay, New York Category:American female serial killers Category:Poisoners Category:Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by New York (state) Category:Prisoners who died in New York (state) detention