On the 30th of March 1998, inside a Florida state prison, a 54 year old woman shuffled into the execution chamber where she was greeted by the electric chair. Known as the black widow, she had fear and terror in her eyes, and she had been convicted of the murders of her husband and her son, as well as other horrific crimes.
Judy Bueno approached the electric chair and witnesses claimed that she was white with horror as she knew what was going to greet her. She became the first woman to be executed in Florida since 1848. But what did she do that led to her own execution and what were the nature of her crimes? Judy Buenaneo was born in April 1943 in Texas and her mother died when she was 4 years old.
Her father remarried and Judy went to live with him. She was allegedly abused by her father and stepmother who forced her to work as a slave and starved her. She later spent two months in prison for attacking her family members with hot grease. She went to reform school and then became a nursing assistant and she gave birth to a son named Michael.
It was not a great early life for Judy and this probably impacted her later on. She first married a man named James Goodyear, a sergeant in the United States Air Force. And in September 1971, he died and his death was initially believed to be from natural causes. 2 years after this, she moved in with a man named Bobby Joe Morris. He in 1978 died from poisoning.
But then around the year 1980, Judy’s son Michael became severely ill and he experienced terrible symptoms such as paraplegia. Rather than care for him, Judy took him out in a canoe and then when the canoe rolled, Michael with no life jacket was weighed down and he drowned. She then using the life insurance payout opened a beauty salon where she worked.
In 1983, Judy entered the relationship with a businessman, but he was very badly injured when his car exploded. When he was recovering, police found a number of links about the history of Judy, and this invoked suspicion. The police investigated and they found that certain pills that she was giving him were actually laced with arsenic and were intended to kill him.
With this, examations of her son, her first husband, and Bobby Morris were done to see if they could determine whether they had a female serial killer on their hands. One man who witnessed the examation of her first husband claimed, “I was present when James Goodyear’s body was exumed. When it was cracked open, the crypt emitted a visible cloud and the strangest odor I have ever smelled in my life.
I did not expect Goodyear to be recognizable after 15 years in a wet casket, but his body was well intact from the arsenic. Arsenic was found in the bodies of her first husband and Bobby Morris, showing they had been killed and murdered, with Judy then receiving substantial life insurance payouts after their deaths. She was then in 1983 arrested.
A year later, Judy Bueno was convicted for the murder of her son and the attempted murder of others. She was also then convicted of the murder of her first husband. She was linked to other crimes of arson and was sentenced to death. Judy remained on death row inside of Florida Department of Corrections Broward Correctional Institution.
During this time, condemned women were allowed appeals, but these were all rejected for Judy. She spent her time confined to her small cell and was served free meals a day. She was allowed visitors at the weekend and also received mail from people all around the world who had heard about her crimes. She also was allowed snacks and a black and white television.
But Judy was not allowed to fratonize with the other women on death row. She would have worn orange t-shirts and blue colored trousers, and she was escorted everywhere in handcuffs, but was permitted exercise time in the yard and to shower. For the rest of her time, she was confined to her cell, and she spent most of her time crocheting blankets and baby clothes and also writing letters.
Judy also taught Bible study to the other inmates, and a former death row inmate claimed that she was like a mother to me. Her execution was scheduled for the 30th of March 1998. For her last meal, Judy requested steamed broccoli, strawberries, and tomatoes, as well as asparagus. She also had hot tea and lemon.
She spent her final hours with her adult children who visited her, as well as did her religious advisers. A cousin who saw her claimed that she had no fear at all. She’s mostly afraid of leaving her children and how upset they will be. She also claimed days before that, I would like to clear the record for my grandson.
I would like for him to know that his grandmother was not a murderer. She awoke at 4:30 a.m. on the day of her execution, and she showered and dressed, and she also had her head shaved to ensure that there would be good electrical conduction to her head, and so that her hair would not catch fire during the execution.
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She was taken from her prison cell to the execution chamber and she entered at 7:02 a.m. She was frail and 54 years old and she was faced with the electric chair for the first time. It was said she had no final words and she squeezed her eyes shut and kept them shut, not looking at the witnesses. 6 minutes later, after being strapped to the electric chair, the power was turned on at 7:08 a.m.
Smoke was witnessed curling up from her right leg and the electricity was turned on for 38 seconds. One witness claimed that it was the first time I saw Judy Brenano express emotion. Paralyzed by fear, she had to be carried in by the guards. Her eyes were closed and her hands clenched as she was strapped into the electric chair.
Another witness claimed that she was very solemn. She stared straight ahead and made no visible expression. After her death, she was removed from the electric chair and then placed inside of a coffin. The witnesses did not see this as the curtains in the viewing gallery were then closed, but her remains were then cremated. Judy Bueno was the first woman in America to be executed on the electric chair since 1976 and was Florida’s first executed woman since 1848.
But she is remembered in history for her crimes and the fact she murdered her husband, her partner, and her son in order to claim the life insurance money. She for this became known as the Black Widow. Thanks for watching. To support our channel, please make sure to subscribe and once again, thank you so much for watching.
