An investigation into three deaths with a sinister tie | Forensic Files

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[Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at
anytime you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website in 1942 at nine years old Blanche Taylor
Moore born Blanche Kaiser left the small town of Tarheel North Carolina with her
family in search of opportunity in the growing city of Burlington Burlington had sprung almost a century before when
in the mid-1800s that became a small village built around the office for the North Carolina Railroad a small
community of simple shops servicing the comings and goings of the train network by the 1900's the rail offices had moved
elsewhere in Burlington in order to prosper moved with the taurons small textile mills opened up and these
factories drew more people to Burlington as work grew scarce through the Great Depression as the Second World War
approached the army started a military tank rebuilding program in Burlington and the federal government purchased
land to construct an aircraft factory where they built military planes after the war the company Western Electric
arrived adding electronics to the growing military industry they built radar equipment and guidance systems for
missiles with the addition of these new jobs the years between 1940 and 1950 saw the
city's population doubled from around 12,000 people to around 25,000 people Burlington had shown its ability to
adapt and prosper through economic change its people were hard workers who battled on through the ups and downs
post-war the flatland and rolling hills were dotted with large dairy grain and tobacco farms which would become a
source of huge income for the area many families from outer areas moved to Burlington and neighboring towns in
search of work in the textile mills or on the farms that's exactly why the cause of Henle moved to Burlington in
search of opportunity to start a new life [Music] blends Tyler Moore was born on February
17th 1933 she was the fifth of seven children when the family arrived in Burlington in 1942 her parents Parker
Davis Kaiser and fawni Blanche Kaiser both gained employment in the local mills they were fairly poor but so was
everyone else in tellin the kids felt no different to anyone else who lived the same way they did side-by-side in
identical housing when he wasn't working in the local sawmill Blanche's father Parker was a self-taught minister a
gambler and an alcoholic Blanche's mother flan II worked full time in the mills as a yarn spinner bringing home
$40 per week she handed over half of her salary to Parker who she knew would go out and spend it on gambling and other
women Parker was strict and often abusive he didn't allow his children any life outside of the house apart from
school and church he often took to the pulpit at local churches and community meetings to preach in a style that he
himself called primitive his alcoholism had stemmed from the Great Depression and of caused his family to feed he was
known to be physically abusive and there are also reports that he sexually abused
his daughter Blanche on top of that Parker began using Blanche as a means to gain money from
around the time Blanche turned to nine he sold her to older men so he could repay his gambling debts he can to his
own daughter over to pedophiles this went on well into Blanche's teen years that's understood that her mother Flemmi
knew what was going on but didn't intervene Blanche found solace in her Christian
Church the gospel music gave her a sense of peace and comfort throughout her traumatic childhood when Blanche was a
teenager she became aware that her father was living a double life he had a completely separate family with
four other children funny knew but did nothing there was no change to their family situation and Parker remained in
the house it didn't change much for Blanche she already resented her father that
seed of hate sprouted long before Blanche's escaped from her abusive home came in 1952 when at age 19 she met and
married 24-year old James Napoleon Taylor James was the furniture maker and restorer by trade and had just returned
home after fighting in the Korean War he was stocky and had a short fuse a trait Blanche knew well Blanche had a
new lease on life after she married James she was known for her outgoing personality and was often described as
the life of the party she was also known to have a quirky side she could go from
quoting Bible scripture to talking about sexually explicit topics in the one conversation the year after they married
1953 their first thought of Vanessa was born there would be another five years before their second daughter Cynthia
arrived in October 1953 the supermarket chain Kroger's opened in Burlington the late 1940s had seen the rise of
consolidated grocery stores rolling out across America and when Kroger's opened on South Church Street that brought with
it a new era of sophistication and prestige it was the new way of shopping where staff continued the friendly local
feel of the old fashion grocery store but on a much bigger scale the new wave of
supermarkets sets up by sight to the bowling alleys and diners of the day Wayans began working at Kroger's as a
cashier in 1954 age 21 with a long black hair and eyes so dark they almost seemed
black blends was well known and well liked a church-going mother with a bright smile she was energetic and had a
fun side despite her troubled younger years and her home life which was already starting to show cracks her
husband James had taken up the drink after the war and much like blends his father Parker he would disappear for
sometimes weeks on end without explanation James too was a gambler and just as Blanchard witnessed her mother
dude years before she also gave her husband part of her paycheck so he could pay off his gambling debts in 1956
Blanche's father Parker left funny and moved in with his other family it took flan in almost three years to
file the divorce papers on which she wrote Parker had left her to take up with younger women she didn't mention
the second family even though she knew that was the real reason he left by 1959 Blanche had worked her way up to head
cashier which was the highest job possible for a female employee at Kroger's at the time she had a high
self-esteem and flourished in her role she even had use of the company car which was an unheard of privilege at the
time rumors started a circle that she was cheating on her husband James with a few of her co-workers and even some
customers at glanced annoyed them she had just given birth to her second daughter Cynthia and being a new mother
and spending more time at home she joined the Tupperware craze which had boomed during the 50s
Blaine's put on top aware parties which enabled her to have a social life and sometimes Tupperware parties would
become a cover story for when she was cheating on James it turned out the rumors were true
Blanton James's sex life had become non-existent Blanche said his alcoholism gambling and impotence carved a wedge in
their marriage which they would never recover from there were many physical altercations
between them and not all were behind closed doors on one occasion James confronted Blanche in plain view
of onlookers about having an affair with one of her customers and on another occasion people looked on as James
dragged Blaine's behind their car during an argument in 1962 Kroger's got a new assistant manager 27 year-old Raymond
Reed he was married with two boys Blanche took an instant liking to Raymond and pursued him never hiding her
flirtations from anyone else even though she was still married to James eventually after three years of
persistence Raymond fell for Blanche and the two began an intense affair in September 1966 Blanche decided to
reconcile her relationship with her father Parker who at age 62 was still with his second wife and four other
children Blanche reconciled with him just in time as his health quickly began deteriorating he became gravely ill
Blanche remained at his bedside and acted as his nurse throughout he became delirious and suffered excruciating pain
with stomach cramps diarrhea and vomiting a few weeks after becoming ill he turned a shade of blue before
suffering a heart attack which killed him Blanche's husband James Taylor also suffered a heart attack around at this
time but he survived and actually turned his life around he gave up drinking and became heavily
involved in the church he became focused on his family and spent more time with his daughters his spare time was spent
at the Glen Hope Baptist Church helping to edit recordings of the sermons to send overseas to missionary workers as
he started to get his life back on track his mother isla Taylor became ill although Blanche continued her
long-running affair with her assistant manager Raymond Reed she remained at home as a mother to her children a wife
to James and as a nurse to her mother-in-law Ola as her health deteriorated she nursed Isla when she
became bedridden just like she had nursed her sick father Blanche hadn't been that close to Allah
but in those months she became the doting nursemaid she cooked for Allah and often spoon fed her elderly mother
in-law to give her strength but it didn't help and Allah died shortly after in early
1971 after a five-year affair Raymond found it impossible to keep hiding their relationship and he left his wife and
family but Blanche remained at home with James and her girls Raymond didn't mind neither he nor
Blanche stayed faithful to each other during their affair the end of Raymond's first marriage became official in 1973
when he divorced his wife in September of that year James Taylor became ill he had debilitating flu-like symptoms and
deteriorated quickly he lost his hair and suffered bloody stools in urine he got painful blisters on his hands and
feet and by the time he was on his deathbed he had such bad stomach issues that he could no longer eat the meals
his wife Blanche had carefully prepared for him Blanche was experienced in nursing someone so will James was the
third person on their deathbed cheered cared for she knew exactly what someone peelings her Warfel needed and she
brought him ice cream she had to feed it to him because he was so weak and only a
few hours later he took his last breath it was October 2nd 1971 James was 45 years old
Blanche a widow at 40 wasn't surprised when their doctor who came explained he had
suffered a heart attack she recognized the same blue tint to his face she'd seen on her father before his death
James left her with little money even the small amount they had received after Euler died was gone and there was barely
enough cash to pay for his burial but after selling their house Blanche had enough to buy a better place in
Burlington and as she was officially widowed there was no need to hide her relationship with Raymond Reed anymore
according to Blanche's thought as a Vanessa and Cynthia Raymond read was a good father figure and a good man
meanwhile Blanche had become notorious or Kroger's not just because of her high level position and rumored dalliance
--is but she was always smartly dressed and had something about her that drew that many Anton in turn some women away
she seemed to have the ability to flirt and frighten in the same look in the years 1979 and a 1980 Raymond was
transferred several times around the greater area whether he's and Blanche's relationship was the catalyst is unknown
but Raymond eventually settled on a position as the manager of a store in nearby winston-salem
it was hot gossip amongst Kroger employees that Blanche had begun a relationship with Kroger's regional
manager Kevin Denton there was talk of others she was seeing as well by that time she had lost her affection for
Raymond she had been with him for over a decade and after straying into the arms
of her regional manager Kevin she got a taste for life beyond Raymond on January
23rd 1995 Blanche's home in Burlington burnt down when the fire brigade confirmed it was likely arson she told
them there had been a strange man loitering around her property she called him a pervert and insinuated he had been
watching her the police were unable to identify him Blanche received an insurance check
shortly after and purchased a trailer home nearby a month later that burnt down as well
she said it was the work of the same man as before the perfect she received another insurance check but relied
heavily on Raymond for financial support despite her other relationships Raymond
was still in the picture and he always looked after her at age 52 plants was thought of by many
as friendly and kind and by most men's accounts she was very attractive she seemed to always have someone interested
in it her love life so far had been a long stretch of men often won in current favor and someone else say the fading in
or fading out she was still seeing Raymond and if gossip was to be believed she was still seeing her regional
manager Kevin Denton as well but she didn't want to be tied down with either of them Blanche had been very involved
in church her whole life but she was said to have lost her faith after the fires that didn't last long though just
two months later on Easter Sunday Blanche went with a relative to the sunrise service at the Carolina United
Church of Christ the small quiet community Church was just outside Burlington and was one she had never
attended before the service was delivered by handsome recently divorced pastor the Reverend Dwight Moore Dwight
had two children and was very popular within his community he noticed Blanche in the congregation and at the
conclusion of the service Blanche introduced herself to the Reverend Blanche left having made a
strong impression on him she started visiting him regularly at the church and they began meeting for meals Reverend
Moore would call Blanche often and stop by her house unannounced if she wasn't home he would leave cards on her
doorstep Plante enjoyed the courtship but said they were never physical during this
time the Reverend never hid his affections but Blanche kept him at a distance she was interested but she
didn't want anyone else to know one of Reverend Moore's letters written on his personal stationery was a page filled
with the word Blanche did handwritten her name over 50 times before finishing off with the following message
you are without question the most caring giving thoughtful considerate tender-hearted loving selfless
responsible charitable benevolent merciful patient just virtuous faithful sincere trustworthy and decent person I
have ever known you are also quite attractive and I'd like you by this time Blanche and worked at Kroger's for over
30 years everyone in the community knew her by name and many admired her many customers picked her checkout line just
so they could chat to her but something was going on behind the scenes at Kroger's not everyone who worked with
Blanche liked her they felt there was another more disingenuous side to her some called have been victim and
two-faced the affairs with other staff members and customers were also becoming a problem it wasn't as secretive as
Blanche would have liked in October 1985 Blanche went to work an evening shift at
Kroger's during her shift she was called upstairs for a chat by Roger J Hutton the Mid Atlantic marketing area zone
manager Blanche said that Hutton grabbed her from behind when she walked into the
room and he was naked from the waist down he said to Blanche are you ready for this
Blanche looked down at the desk and saw Hutton's clothes folded neatly in appalled she picked up his clothes
walked out of the room and then ran from the store leaving Hutton to walk out in a
butcher's apron Blanche never returned to Kroger's things with Raymond became difficult after this not because she was
seeing Reverend Moore it's assumed that Raymond knew that already but because of Raymond's role within the
Kroger company and he's a loyalty to his job Blanche turned to Reverend Moore for
comfort and three months later she followed a thirteen point eight million dollar lawsuit against Roger Hutton and
Kroger's for sexual harassment on the job Raymond paid her legal bills quaint claimed that this wasn't the
first attack she had suffered she said Hutton often made suggestive comments and had also made numerous attempts to
fondle her and other female clerks on one occasion he reached up her skirt and exposed himself the lawsuit cited four
counts of assault three counts of inflicting emotional distress and one count of invasion of privacy she sued
for negligence alleging that company officials were aware of Hutton's harassment as they had received numerous
complaints from other female employees but they failed to do anything about it Hutton was forced to resign Blaine saw a
psychiatrist whose notes described a woman angry and resentful of men one no read she could no longer stand the sight
of men has resentment of men needs to go out with good men to cannabis the psychiatrist was able to illustrate the
huge impact the harassment had on her life the lawsuit had warned Blanche down and contributed heavily to her becoming
depressed and suicidal another note from her psychiatrist read completely alienated and antagonistic toward men
and has not been able to maintain any meaningful social contacts with members of the opposite sex having a new
romantic relationship with Reverend Dwight Moore was not the sort of thing Blanche wanted to be known especially
since it was a happy one in order to win her lawsuit she needed to maintain that
she was suffering and unable to move on so as 1985 drew to a close Blanche continued to keep her
relationship with Reverend Morris secret according to Reverend Moore's sister he
wasn't aware that Blanche was still romantically involved with Raymond Reid at the time
on Year's Eve 1995 plans was with Raymond Reed at his home in nearby winston-salem blench make potato soup as
the pair celebrated the new year the following day Raymond woke up with terrible stomach
pains this soon turned into severe nausea vomiting and diarrhea just as Raymond started to feel well
again the symptoms returned and he was unable to go to work this continued on and off for the next few months and
during that time Raymond took four weeks off work something he was not known to have ever
done by April 1986 Raymond had gone completely downhill and ended up in hospital doctors believed he was
suffering from shingles Blanche who was still sharing her time between Raymond and Reverend Moore realized that
Raymond's health was getting worse and he needed her care she was after all experienced in nursing sick people she
had nursed her father her mother-in-law and her first husband as they lay on their death beds so she was well
equipped the Reverend understood the Blanche had to go to the aid of Raymond and gave His blessing she nursed Raymond
through his illness and he actually improved and was able to return to work but the following month Raymond got sick
again one night after he and Blanche ate dinner he began experiencing nausea vomiting and diarrhea this time he was
so violently ill he was unable to recover he became severely dehydrated and on May 30th 1986 he was once again
admitted to the Wesley long hospital in Greensboro he was seen by dr. Norman Garrett jr. whose admission diagnosis
was acute gastroenteritis Blaine's expected that Raymond would make a full recovery like before but his
symptoms snowboard and dr. Garrett revised his diagnosis to multiple systems failure Raymond got a skin rash
his blood tests revealed he had bone marrow damage and blood cell abnormalities he was also suffering from
progressive shortness of breath respiratory failure fast heartbeat low blood pressure kidney malfunction and
shutdown and a numbness and tingling in his hands and feet he had also gotten an infection which
meant he would require a circumcision but the doctors felt all of these issues were treatable and now a proven right
within five days Raymond's condition stabilized and dr. Garrett said he should only need up to five more days in
hospital and then he would be right to go home with Raymond improving and feeling like eating again plans began
making him home-cooked meals including jell-o and peanut butter milkshakes so he wouldn't have to eat the hospital
food after three days as the hospital staff were expecting Raymond to be rapidly improving they were all shocked
to see his condition worsen again his previous symptoms of nausea vomiting and diarrhea returned so seriously the
dr. Garrett was unable to find a satisfactory diagnosis for Raymond's multi-system failures and his condition
became a life-threatening Raymond was transferred to the North Carolina Baptist Hospital in winston-salem there
Raymond and Blanche were seen by dr. Robert Hamilton a specialist in internal medicine and nephrology dr. Hamilton
noted that upon admission Raymond had a raspy voice severe swelling in his lower
extremities a rash over his lower extremities anemia low white blood cell count white patches in his mouth very
poor bowel sounds difficulty breathing and signs of kidney failure his condition deteriorated so seriously that
it resulted in a cardiac arrest code blue emergency but doctors and nurses acted quickly and Raymond was revived
following resuscitation he required mechanical ventilators and over the days that followed he became virtually
paralyzed [Music] Raymond was diagnosed with guillain barre a syndrome also known as French
polio at the time it's an autoimmune disease where the body's immune system begins to attack the peripheral nervous
system it can be very difficult to diagnose in its early stages which is why it was initially missed by doctors
Raymond improved slightly after a procedure called plasmapheresis where they removed the blood from his body
separated the red blood cells from the plasma and returned at the red blood cells back to his body he was kept in
intensive care and to make sure his body was handling the procedure doctors kept
up toxicology screening with blood and urine tests some of the blood test results returned showing he was
progressing well but the urine tests had unopened although still needing a respirator
Raymond gradually recovered the use of his arms and legs and was able to breathe on his own the nurses thought
Blanche was a saint for her constant bedside vigils and her thoughtfulness to bring Raymond home-cooked food things
she knew he would be able to eat like banana pudding iced tea frozen yogurt milkshakes and soups two
days later Raymond felt once again into acute respiratory distress Stephen read Raymond's son was with
Blanche at the hospital Raymond became so bloated his skin was splitting his eyeballs were bulging and he was once
again no longer able to breathe on his own he was fed by a feeding tube but this time Raymond was only able to
communicate by nodding in squeezing people's hands this was helpful when Blanche realized there was time for
Raymond to sort out his will something which he hadn't done yet Blanche asked one of the nurses of the
hospital if she wouldn't mind hoping to take down some notes of what Raymond wanted she then took these notes to a
lawyer to draft up a will and power of attorney the lawyer accompanied Blanche to the
hospital to see Raymond and have the will confirmed and signed Raymond was unable to speak but nodded his head and
squeezed the nurses hand who then gave the lawyer Raymond senses the lawyer was satisfied that Raymond understood
everything and he returned the next day when the will and the power of attorney were both signed Raymond's estate would
be separated into thirds between his two sons and his lifelong friend Blanche plants also became the executor only
days after this October 7th 1986 Raymond died from complications of guillain-barre syndrome Blanche was
devastated just moments after Raymond was pronounced dead she said to the doctors quote we cannot have an autopsy
he's been through too much he wouldn't want to be cut on like this we just we cannot have one Blanche her two
daughters and Raymond's two sons mourned and prepared for the funeral Blaine's felt lucky she had the Reverend Dwight
more to help her through losing Raymond whom she had been with for 25 years the year following Raymond's death Blanche
was diagnosed with breast cancer she underwent radiation and chemotherapy and as a result lost her hair and
fingernails and the feeling in her lower legs she had to use a walking frame throughout her recovery but through it
all Reverend Moore was there forever supporting her Blanche approached Raymond's son shortly
following her treatment and told them she was undergoing reconstructive breast surgery and she needed financial help
she requested they support her with some of their own inheritance which they both
are great Blanton Reverend Moore went public with their relationship shortly after
Raymond's death also around this time Blanche's lawsuit against Kroger's settled out of court and she received
two hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars Blanche's relationship with Reverend Dwight Moore was moving fast it
wasn't long before the Reverend was standing in front of Blanche with the diamond and ruby engagement ring Blanche
said yes they planned a small intimate wedding just after Thanksgiving in 1998 which wouldn't be long after the one
year anniversary of Raymond's death Blanche had always been a devoted Christian woman and was looking forward
to her future as a pastor's wife before their wedding the Reverend decided it was time to explain to Blanche the
reason why his first marriage had failed he sat her down and confessed that he had strayed in his first marriage he had
a 16-year affair with one of his parishioners and his wife eventually found out Blanche burst into tears and ran from
his home she confided in a family friend and said she wasn't sure if her engagement could
continue she was bothered by Reverend Moore's previous affair and she couldn't move on from it but with the help of
mutual friends Blanche decided to try and make it work and the engagement went ahead just prior
to the wedding date Reverend Moore became suddenly ill he was vomiting had stomach pains and was unable to perform
his church duties the Reverend was so sick he and Blanche had to postpone their wedding Reverend Moore ended up in
hospital and doctors were unable to work out what was wrong with him he recovered
but shortly after he was violently ill again he had two intestinal operations after which he was well enough to get
married on April 19th 1989 Blanche and Reverend Dwight Moore finally married there was a
small gathering at his church witnessed by just two fellow parishioners Lance wore a white patent dress and the pair
were beaming according to one of the witnesses immediately following their wedding they spent a long weekend in New
Jersey before returning home to spend a relaxing week working around the small home that Dwight had purchased for he
and Blanche to live in just five days into their marriage so I was doing some work in the garden he was spraying
poison on some weeds which had become overgrown in their yard Blanche brought her new husband a
chicken sandwich smiling from ear to ear as he happily worked on their new home later that afternoon white wasn't
feeling well his stomach was playing up again and he started vomiting Blanche cared for him thinking it would
subside but it didn't he got worse and worse she took her husband to the emergency
room and he was admitted to Alamance County Hospital when the reverence daughter Debbie phoned the hospital
Blanche informed her that her father was merely undergoing tests there was nothing major and there was no need for
her to attend but this wasn't true the Reverend was gravely ill so ill he was soon transferred to another hospital the
North Carolina Baptist Hospital in winston-salem where Raymond had once been Reverend Moore started to improve a
little and Blanche rarely left his side when he was well enough to eat she brought him food from home that he liked
and good stomach the nurses thought she was the most thoughtful caring woman before long Dwight became extremely ill
again he was transferred to intensive care at North Carolina Memorial Hospital in Chapel Hill his heart liver and
kidneys were failing and the doctors didn't think he was going to make it his illness was baffling but when Blanche
explained that the day Reverend Moore had become ill he was spraying weed poison and then ate a chicken sandwich
the doctors immediately called for the hospital toxicologist they believed he may have had accidental herbicide
poisoning on May 13th 1989 at 56 years of age Blanche was facing the possibility of having to say goodbye to
her new husband of less than a month that day the doctors called the family in including the Reverend sister NOLA
and daughter Debbie everyone gathered around as the doctor explained to the results of the trace
and toxic metals test with the look on the doctors face they thought it must be true Reverend Moore had been poisoned by
the weight killer but they were wrong the family listened as the doctor explained that it wasn't herbicide
poisoning at all the Reverend system showed something else twenty times the lethal dose of
arsenic how the Reverend had survived the doctors didn't know believing he must have had a seriously robust body
his arsenic levels were far beyond anything they had ever seen you know living patient in the hospital's history
he would survive now that they knew what was going on although he would likely never regain the sensation he had lost
in his hands and feet Blanche confided in Reverend Moore sister NOLA that she was worried she would be looked at both
NOLA and Blanche went to their family pastor Reverend James Rosa to discuss their concerns NOLA said Blanche is
afraid they're going to think she had something to do with it to which the pastor replied Blanche that's just crazy
no one would ever think that about you the hospital of loaded police who arrived in questioned Reverend Moore as
he lay in bed which only days earlier was looking like it was going to be his deathbed he told police all he knew they
began to ask questions about his new bride and her past the Reverend explained how her former partner
Raymond Reed had died in 1986 of guillain-barre syndrome an immune system disorder and thinking back the symptoms
Raymond had possessed were very similar to those he had just experienced the police continued questioning family and
friends as well as medical staff at both hospitals Reverend Moore and Raymond had
been in they discovered a long list of similarities in their conditions when studying Raymond's medical file police
came across the urine toxicology tests Raymond had almost three years earlier they found it had been looked at by the
new resident doctor at the time but that doctor not aware of its significance didn't pass the result of the chain of
command Raymond Reed's urine in the lead up to his death showed a high level of arsenic
and no one knew about it investigators from the Alamance County Sheriff's Department notified the North Carolina
State Bureau of Investigation and they started digging into Blanche's history they re interviewed the Reverend and
asked him about poisonous household products that contained arsenic he told police that before their engagement and
possibly before Raymond became seriously ill Blanche had asked him to purchase an
Ian killer named auntie and Aunty and contained arsenic the police were yet to alert Blanche
that she was a suspect in White's poisoning but she already knew people were looking at her and she was worried
Reverend Moore was still in the hospital and she arrived one morning to give him
a haircut telling him it would be best if she cut it all off when police arrived to take hair samples from Dwight
for further testing they found his hair was all gone something Blanche clearly anticipated
but what Blanche didn't realize was that his pubic hair was just as good for testing police asked Blanche if she
would be interviewed and she agreed they were met with a friendly demure grandmother a devout Christian who
nursed the many sick lovers in her life as they lay on their death beds gasping for the last breaths of life they were
particularly interested in Raymond Reed investigators wanted to hear from Blanche how Raymond's illness came about
and how it progressed to the end Blanche wasn't aware of the medical file they had seen they asked about Raymond's
estate and were puzzled by the explanation of the humble inheritance she said she had received they had
already spoken with Raymond sons and what Blanche was saying greatly differed from their story their investigation
showed that Blanche had received around $50,000 from Raymond's estate but also an extra 46,000 dollars from his life
insurance the contents of a safety deposit box kept that the local bank was accessed an empty - or tree after
Raymond's death and the person who visited the bank was a mrs. Blanche Taylor in addition there was another
small safe Raymond kept at home when he sons accessed it they found most of the contents gone with no explanation on top
of all that police learnt that is Reverend Dwight Moore Lane hospital Blanche had tried to get his pension
changed so she would be the principal beneficiary but every question that was asked of Blanche she had an answer for
she was calm and her demeanor was cool she seemed unfazed she talked about both Raymond and Dwight
being depressed she believed they were both capable of taking arsenic to end their own lives she said she had also
tried to tell the reverence daughter Debbie that her father was depressed and suicidal but Debbie knew this to be
untrue before he got sick Reverend Moore was on top of the world planning his life with Blanche Blanche's claims were
dismissed by investigators and medical staff as the levels of arsenic was shown to rise throughout the time the Reverend
was in hospital indicating ongoing dosing of arsenic something that would be near impossible for him to do himself
investigators couldn't shake the feeling that Blanche had something to do with the death of Raymond Reed but they
needed a way to prove it so in June 1999 they obtained a court order to excuse body when news broke the
Alamance County Sheriff's Office was inundated with calls from people who knew Blanche many of them remembering
the strange circumstances surrounding James Taylor's death her first husband when investigators looked into James's
medical records alarm bells rang out his death a heart attack in his own bed after violent vomiting
and nausea was too similar to ignore and approval was granted for his body to be
exhumed as well excavators arrived at Burlington's Point Hill Cemetery and as media and some nosy locals watched on
they dug up the two men the press had a field day as locals whispered the bodies
were being dug up at quote Blanche Moore's landfill Raymond's body was exhumed first
he was taken to the medical examiner's office in Chapel Hill North Carolina and an autopsy was performed the autopsy
revealed a concentration of arsenic in Raymond's liver tissue 30 times higher than normal the concentration of arsenic
in his brain tissue was 67 times higher than normal the chief medical examiner concluded that Raymond died as a result
of the complications of arsenic poisoning not from guillain-barre syndrome the arsenic levels indicated that Raymond
was subjected to multiple injections of arsenic over a long period the doses were shown to have increased daily as he
lay on his deathbed in the hospital when James Taylor's results arrived the medical examiner concluded that he did
in fact suffer cardiac arrest but his cardiac arrest was caused by him having levels of arsenic in his system 60 times
higher than normal the Alamance County Sheriff's Office and the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation concentrated on
Raymond Reed's case as they had no doubt they had enough evidence to prove Blanche and poisoned it and if they
could prove Raymond's case in court it would be much easier to prove James Taylor was poisoned as well Reverend
Dwight Moore found it impossible to believe that Blanche had anything to do with his poisoning and he continued to
have her visit his bedside as he struggled to regain the use of his hands and feet he defended Blanche and was
devastated by the rumors but when investigators visited the Reverend and told him the results of the exclamations
he was no longer able to deny it he knew then that his new bride was not the woman he thought she was when Blanche
next visited the hospital he told her their marriage was over Blanche ran outside crying on July 18th
1999 detectives arrived at the mobile home Blanche was living in with her daughter she was arrested for the murder
of Raymond Reed in 1986 the murder of James Taylor in 1973 and for the attempted murder of Reverend Dwight
Moore all by arsenic poisoning the crimes had occurred in two different counties Raymond Ray died in Forsyth
County and James Taylor's murder and the Reverend Moore's attempted murder were both committed in Alamance County the
counties had to work together but when it came time for labor charges prosecutors opted to only charge Blanche
with murdering Raymond Reed they felt their case regarding Raymond's poisoning was much stronger and they didn't pursue
the James Taylor or Reverend Moore cases at that con when news broke everyone was
baffled it was the talk of the town and too many refused to believe it could be true
Lee and his family didn't believe for one second that she was capable of such a thing
but as the town's folk continued to discuss everything they knew about Blanche who is now being called the
Black Widow they began recalling things from her past that seemed strange the Alamance
County Sheriff's Department in particular received countless calls from members of the public and even family
members of Blanche people wanted them to investigate other deaths of people who had been close to Blanche over the years
one officer said quote there was a good bit of hysteria going on it seemed like anyone that had a family member dead who
at some point knew Blanche thought that Blanche had something to do with the death Forsythe County District Attorney
Warren Sparrow said that he would consider seeking the death penalty Blanche's attorney
Mitchell McIntyre said that Blanche denied the allegations and she wanted the public to know that she was not
guilty following Blanche's arrest investigators in the state's chief medical examiner held a meeting where
they poured over the medical records and reports of other people who knew or were
related to Blanche who had died and the conclusion of this meeting there was a long list upwards of 30 people whom the
team were concerned about it was decided that exclamations would begin for the bodies of Blanche's father
Parker Kaiser whom she reconciled with only weeks before his death her mother-in-law James Taylor's mother
viola Taylor whom she nursed and fed on her deathbed and Joe Mitchell who had worked with Blanche at Kroger's as a
butcher and died under mysterious circumstances the Year Blanche left her job the rule they came up with was when
someone was accused that didn't show signs of arsenic poisoning they would stop the exclamations altogether others
on the list who investigators were concerned about were Mable Parsons another former Kroger's coworker Fred
Vaughan a Salesman for American bakeries owner Vinson a Kroger's customer and John Reba a member of Reverend Moore's
Church they also wanted to investigate people who had become ill but survived two of those being Reverend Moore sons
[Music] investigators got to work Exuma bodies news outlets across the state of North
Carolina brought back memories of when serial poisoner Velma Barfield known as granny to her fellow inmates was
sentenced to death by poisoning her fiance as well as others her poison of choice was arsenic and her execution in
1984 made national news now in 1989 North Carolina had a new poisoner another sweet well-mannered
grandmother another deeply religious woman well thought of in the community a new black widow according to doctor
Paige Hudson a forensic expert who worked on the case the South was where most of the poisoning case
in the u.s. stemmed from at the time in particular poisonings with arsenic North
Carolina was home to many of them dr. Hudson believes this might be purely because there was public awareness of
our poisoning there was a method that had caught the public's imagination as a way of killing someone that could go
largely unnoticed the press made jokes about Blanche and companies cashed in on the hype surrounding the case local
chocolatiers made and sold Blanche's homemade chocolates with the taglines you're only one bite away from heaven
and the taste you'll die for on the packaging was a sketch drawing of Blanche with the words it's that one
secret ingredient that makes all my recipes special radio stations played a song called a ballad of Blanche more
into Blanche's family and friends and all the victims families were hounded by the press meanwhile the Black Widow sat
in jail awaiting news of the next body to be exhumed when Blanche's father Parker Kaiser was achieved from Oakwood
Cemetery the results showed evidence of arsenic poisoning her first sustained period of time although arsenic was not
deemed to be his cause of death there was a contributing factor of his heart failure just like in James Taylor's case
isla Taylor James's mother and Blanche's mother-in-law was not much different arsenic was found to be a contributing
factor in her death as well the body of Joseph Mitchell glances former coworker showed no signs of arsenic and at that
point the exhalation ceased even though there were other cases investigators had
concerns about they believed that they had enough evidence to succeed at trial for the murder of Raymond Reed but the
case wasn't with the other problems the defense was requesting all discussions regarding any other alleged
victims be suppressed and without that context the state's case would suffer the judge William Freeman ruled in a
pre-trial argument the prosecutors could discuss the arsenic poisonings of James
Taylor Reverend Dwight Moore and Parker Kaiser in the trial of Raymond Reed's murder
that decision laid the foundation for the state's case they could now show a pattern of premeditated and ongoing
poisonings Raymond's case was not an isolated incident or an accident but the state had another problem a big one no
one saw Blanche Taylor more poison anyone the evidence was purely circumstantial there was a mountain of
it but there was nothing really tangible to prove it was her it would be up to the jury to decide the trial opened in
winston-salem Forsyth County on October 21st 1990 before Judge William Freeman the prosecution confirmed they were
seeking the death penalty at the time most trials in the Forsyth County Courthouse roll out to be videoed and in
the courtroom was what was known as a pooled camera this meant that any station could go live from its feed each
day glance arrived every day of the six week troll immaculately dressed she wore
a combination of brightly colored tailored suits silk blouses and a string of pearls she always wore big reading
glasses and had perfectly set her throughout the entire trial she barely showed any emotion only buckling once or
twice when talking about her childhood the state was represented by prosecuting attorneys Janet Branch warrants Perot
and events Ray Ball as Janet Branch described the victims dying as though a spoon fed their favorite food it's by
the woman they believed to love them she broke down in tears twice Janet Branch quote Raymond Reed lay in
Baptist Hospital flood on his back bed sores on his back completely unable to move tears in his eyes on the days that
the woman who was killing him doesn't come he's crying because his murderer isn't coming to see him can you imagine
anything more pitiful in this whole world and he loves her with all his heart but she's running around on him
and she's sleeping with Dwight Moore Blanche's defense requested a mistrial due to Janet's emotional outbursts but
it was denied second prosecuting attorney Vince ray ball said quote a person who is loving
caring trustworthy and kind is exactly the kind of person who would be able to give someone a sneak laced feed brought
from home because if they weren't that way the victim wouldn't dare eat it the prosecution said Blanche had financial
motive opportunity as she had a close relationship with each victim and means as she had knowledge of and access to
Internet which contained arsenic medical evidence suggested that multiple doses of arsenic were administered to the
victims over a long period of time as opposed to one large fatal dose in each case Blanche was frequently
alone with the victims often feeding them food and drinks she had made herself medical testimony also showed
that a certain number of Blanche's visits in which she fed the victim correspondent perfectly with the onset
of symptoms characteristic of arsenic poisoning the state's star witness was Reverend
Dwight more he was slowly recovering but was still unable to have full use of his
hands and legs and was aware that use may never come back Dwight testified that during the summer
of 1985 Glenn showed him a bottle of Antonette this was while the Reverend and Blanche recording and while Blanche
was still in a relationship with Raymond Reed she wanted the Reverend to purchase
an intent for her he agreed assuming it was for eradicating ends other witnesses also
recounted times Blanche had spoken about the aunt killer Leonard wolf a former coworker who now owned a small
convenience store recalled a day when Blanche came into his store in early April 89 asking if he had any anti aunt
in stock this was confirmed as being during the timeframe Reverend Moore was ill Brenda Greene a former coworker at
Kroger's record hearing blend to recommend the Internet to a customer who enters defense attorney
Mitchell McEntire presented Blanche as a typical southern grandmother demure and
devoted to God a preacher's daughter a preacher's wife the epitome of wholesomeness he told the
jury that she had nothing to do with any of the poisonings stating there was absolutely no evidence to prove
otherwise the defense also had something up their sleeve Mitchell McIntyre explained that when
Blanche was in the Alamance County Jail awaiting trial she got support in the form of letters
from the public on May 29th 1990 she was sent a letter by a man named Garvin Thomas in the letter Thomas confessed to
the murder of Raymond Reed and the attempted murder of Reverend Moore he told her he would kill for her and
claimed he had dressed up as a minister and entered the hospital rooms with the sole purpose of poisoning the victims
the letter itself ended with my darling l would like to hold you in my arms and kiss your lips take off your clothes and
lewd sexual content followed back when the letter first arrived at the jail the police were informed and investigators
went to find a Garvin Thomas they found that the ex-con and terminally all drug addict had died just days after the
letter was dated so he couldn't be interviewed he had severe diabetes and had lost the use of 80% of his pancreas
by the time he died Carolyn Hinshaw a jailer with the Alamance County Sheriff's Department
testified that a man carrying a teddy bear and signing his name is Garvin Thomas attempted to visit Blanche in
jail he said he had done so much wrong in his life and hurt so many people that he wanted to start doing some good to
right the wrongs the man claiming to be Garvin Thomas went on to say that Blanche Moore had not done the things
she was accused of doing and he knew he had hurt her and her family and he was sorry about all that the prosecution
questioned claims that Garvin Thomas had visited Blanche no one could recall the severe speech
impediment that Thomas had something which was hard to ignore when you met him his impediment meant that his tongue
hung outside of his mouth and it made it difficult to understand his words no one
who spoke to the man who was claiming to be governed Thomas could remember this at all Garvin Thomas's half-sister Janey
stated that Garvin had told both her and her husband that he was writing letters
to Blanche in jail did mitad to being in love with her and having an obsession with her for many years even though he
didn't know her and had never met her he had also developed an ID he thought he would write her love letters and hope
she would write love letters back to him he could then sell the letters to the newspapers Janie had evidence of her
half-brothers handwriting in signature and there were stark differences between his writing and that of their confession
letter supposedly written by him Tom Curren examiner for the State Bureau of Investigation was called to the trial
to testify on the confession letter he believed that Garvin Thomas didn't write the letter at all there were some
very unique things found in Blanche's handwriting that also showed up on the confession letter apparently written by
Garvin Thomas Blanche had the habit of double-crossing her teas and doubled dotting her eyes these two unique
characteristics appeared in the confession letter likewise another thing Blanche naturally did in her own
handwriting was abbreviate the word received to re C apostrophe D this also appeared in the confession letter Tom
Curren testified there were enough similarities to suggest that Blanche wrote the confession letter herself she
used Garvin's name as he had been sending her love letters in jail and when she found out he had died she
decided he would make for the perfect scapegoat she wrote the letter and signed it in his name Blanche took the
stand in her own defense she was quiet and composed she didn't hesitate on any question asked of her she answered them
as if she had heard them before when asked whether she poisoned Raymond read her father and both of her husband's
Blanche said quote I've been in jail for 16 months I've cried myself to sleep every night I did not kill Raymond Reed
I don't know anything about auntie aunt I know there was a snake in those men but I didn't put it there
she denied having anything to do with the making of Raymond's will contradicting statements of numerous
witnesses she also denied taking food or drinks into hospital for Raymond the hospital records and the witness
testimonies of several nurses who had been on duty contradicted Blanche's story according to nurses
Blanche taking Raymond food was a daily occurrence at the conclusion of the trial the prosecution ended on the
following words quote this is about a woman who ate of the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil and who
became as a God taking upon herself the power of deciding who shall live and who
shall die when Blanche's lawyer Mitchell McIntyre gave his closing statement he reminded the jury quote even the judge
will tell you the good character a good name that's built by good character traits is to be considered by you
because the law allows that a person with good traits and a good name is less likely to engage in criminal conduct
after the six-week trial on November 14th 1990 the jury took six hours to reach a verdict with the courts pool
camera rollin the verdict was shown live with TV channels breaking from their regular schedules the broadcaster
as the court was about to begin the doors were locked something that was always done during a
death penalty case 12 guards with guns find the rows of seats and the doors as the unanimous guilty verdict for the
first-degree murder of Raymond Reed was ready up Blanche Taylor more sad expressionless the jury gave their
recommendation for sentencing and the judge agreed with him On January 18th 1991 Blanche Tyler Moore
was sentenced to death by lethal injection as the words echoed across the courtroom the camera focused firmly on
one person branch closed their eyes tilted her head back slightly and mouth something to herself one jury member
stated afterwards quote I don't see how anybody could have sat in that courtroom
saw the evidence given heard the defense and come up with anything different than
we did I don't care if it was us 12 the next 12 or a hundred and twelve people down the road I think the decision would
have been the same Blanche never stood trial for the deaths of her father Parker Kaiser her first husband James
Taylor her mother-in-law oiler Taylor offered the attempted murder of her second husband Reverend Dwight more
authorities decided not to try her because they felt it wasn't worth the effort to win more verdicts against
someone orally sentenced to death what role she played if any in the deaths of several other speculated
victims is unknown blintz was sent to the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women she appealed
numerous times she argued that the judge was wrong to allow evidence pertaining to the other cases to be heard in the
trial for Raymond's murder it was also alleged that Judge Freeman socialized inappropriately with jurors
she lost a chipiya but the appeals process held off her execution date almost three decades later
Blanche still remains on death row one of Blanche's brothers Sam Kaiser stood by her during her arrest and trial of
his sister's guilt or innocence Sam said quote I know some people believe she's guilty and got what she deserved
I understand how they feel we had a family member extreme - it's easy to form opinions on what we read when all
those bodies were being exceeded I've told her I want the truth in my natural experiences with her she couldn't have
done it I've never had her hesitate when I asked her if she did it she tabhi if I
did it and kept covering it up that's us him - and I won't get on that gurney with a lie on my lips
in a 2010 interview with wXII 12 T V in winston-salem Reverend Dwight Moore who went on to
remarry said he still suffered tremors in his hands and weakness in his legs he also said he had no objection to his
ex-wife seeking to have a death sentence overturned Reverend Dwight Moore died of
natural causes in 2013 Blanche Taylor Moore is now 84 years old she still maintains her innocence to this day the
people of burlington were left wondering if there was more to Blanche Taylor more
than they ever knew questions of those other suspicious deaths still haunt family members even all these years
later [Music] thank you to Rockstar Games and LA noire the sponsoring today's episode LA noire
is a dark detective crime thriller set amongst the glamour and corruption of 1940s Los Angeles scalar crime scenes
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Case 66: The Black Widow

“Even the judge will tell you that good character, a good name that’s built by good character traits, is to be considered by you because the law allows that a person with good traits and a good name is less likely to engage in criminal conduct…"

CREDITS

Narration – Anonymous Host Research and writing – Anna Priestland Production, scoring – Mike Migas Additional scoring – Andrew Joslyn

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RESOURCES

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Brief Summary

Blanche Taylor Moore's life of abuse, relationships, and murders leads to her conviction for poisoning her husbands.

Key points

Blanche's Troubled Childhood. Blanche's father was abusive and sold her to older men for gambling debts.
The Affair with Raymond Reed. Blanche began an intense affair with her assistant manager, Raymond Reed.
Sexual Harassment Lawsuit. Blanche sued Kroger's for sexual harassment after a shocking incident with a manager.
Blanche's Heartbreaking Decision. After Raymond's death, Blanche refuses an autopsy, believing he wouldn't want it.
A Troubling Confession. Reverend Moore reveals his past infidelity, causing Blanche to question their engagement.
The Shocking Autopsy Results. Raymond's autopsy reveals lethal levels of arsenic, contradicting previous diagnoses.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

You are without question the most caring, giving, thoughtful person I have ever known.

Reverend Moore's heartfelt letter to Blanche.

18:13WatchNov 20, 2018

Tension

85/ 100High tension

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