Sandra Bridewell biography

Synopsis

Early Life

Con artist. Sandra Camille (Powers) Bridewell. Born April 4, 1944, and adopted as an infant by Arthur and Camille Powers of Sedalia, Missouri. Over the course of more than three decades the woman known as the "Black Widow," tricked lovers and friends out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. She is also suspected of having a hand in the death of at least one husband as well as a close friend.

It all began with a troubled childhood. According to reports, at the age of three her adoptive mother, Camille, was killed in an auto accident. Her father, Arthur, who managed and ran a Dr. Pepper bottling plant, eventually remarried and relocated his family to Oak Cliff, Texas, a Dallas suburb. There he found new work as a cemetery plot salesman.

While Sandra adjusted to her new surroundings, learned to adjust to her stepmother Doris was another matter. The two fought regularly, with Sandra claiming that her stepmother regularly locked her in a closet, refused to send out birthday party invitations, and liked to tell her that nobody wanted her.

After graduating high school in 1962, Sandra, who rarely dated as a student, began seeing a series of men. Many of them became smitten with what one friend would later describe as her "ladylike, 'poor helpless me' routine." She attended one year of junior college, but it seems Sandra had her sights set on marrying into money.

First Marriage

The course she followed to make that happen was one filled with half truths. Lies were commonplace in Sandra's life. Some friends were told that both of her adoptive parents had been killed. Others were informed that were mother and father were Irish aristocrats. Many heard about the West Point boyfriend who, she claimed, had shot himself while he sat in the car with her.

Still, there were plenty of believers—especially men. "She had a way," recalled one friend of Sandra, who in the course of her life would use a number of different aliases. "Men just sort of...were fascinated with her.

That included David Stegall, a upshot dentist who had gone to school in Los Angeles and had Hollywood-caliber clients. He had a thing for Cadillacs, big houses, and pretty women. Sandra had thing for him. In 1967 Sandra and David married. Within a few short years the couple had three daughters—Britt, Kathryn, and Emily?and were raising their family in an upscale Dallas neighborhood.

Despite his salary and reputation, Stegall couldn't keep up with his wife's lavish tastes. Sandra had even more of a passion for fine things than her husband. She loved good art, especially, and expensive furniture. By 1974, the couple's marriage was in turmoil and the family was in severe debt, forcing David to borrow a substantial sum of money from his father to pay down some of the bills.

In February 1975 the situation had grown so dire that David tried to kill himself. As the story goes, Sandra had found him in a closet with a gun pointed to his head. Apparently, she