TL;DR: This month, we’re celebrating women’s history with profiles of five notorious female outlaws. Today, we meet one Blanche Taylor Moore, whose commitment to crime has made strides for both women and the elderly.
Over the centuries, women have done much to prove they are just as capable as men, and that includes committing some heinous AF crimes. As part of Women’s History Month, let’s recognize these infamous females!
In part one, we met America’s first female serial killer, Jane Toppan. In part two, we reviewed the horrifying history of Martha Place, the first woman to be executed in the electric chair. Today, we’re meeting a woman who’s still in the land of the living—though presumably, not for much longer.
Blanche Taylor Moore: Oldest Woman on Death Row
At age 89, Blanche Taylor Moore is currently awaiting execution for the fatal 1986 poisoning of her boyfriend. Though she was convicted for only one murder, she is suspected to have several other victims.
Her Backstory
Blanche was raised in North Carolina by a Baptist minister who pimped her out to pay for his gambling debts. To escape the abuse, she got married at age 19 to a man who ended up being only slightly better than her father: He too was an alcoholic who often gambled away the family’s grocery money.
To retaliate, Blanche instigated a series of affairs with coworkers, which often led to violent arguments at home—and, eventually, death. Somehow, however, she was seen by the community at large as a sweet, polite, religious Southern woman whose cooking was to die for…
Her Weapons of Choice: Arsenic, Sex, & Fire
In an attempt to mend fences with her father, Blanche returned to her childhood home in her 30s. Sadly, her father became violently ill, and he died shortly after her arrival. Official cause of death: Heart attack. But the violent stomach cramps, diarrhea, projectile vomiting, delirium, and blue-tinged skin he experienced during his brief illness hinted at screamed arsenic poisoning.
A few years later, she graciously went to care for her bed-ridden, dying mother, who soon passed away from natural causes. Once again, doctors ignored the oh-so-subtle signs of poisoning—like the undigested arsenic in her stomach.
A few years after surviving a near-fatal heart attack, Blanche’s husband came down with a nasty case of the flu and had to be hospitalized. Being the loving wife she was, Blanche brought him some ice cream from home. Not an hour later, he was dead. The kicker? Blanche’s lover had just divorced his wife.
Once she was free to be with her lover out in the open, Blanche grew bored with him and took on a new man from work. When things went south, she cried rape and eventually won a sizable settlement. Between this award and her late husband’s estate, she got a taste for wealth, and soon thereafter, two suspicious fires at her home garnered Blanche a couple of nice insurance payouts.
How Karma Got Her
Blanche wasn’t done yet: She eventually knocked off her long-time boyfriend and nearly killed her second husband before authorities caught on. Having grown cocky after literally getting away with murder for a quarter of a century, Blanche finally went too far.
While in the hospital, her husband underwent a battery of treatments and tests. After Blanche informed them that he’d been working with herbicides in the garden, doctors ordered a toxicology screen. Ironically, it was this test that revealed he had 20 times the lethal dose of arsenic in his system—though some sources say it was 100 times. Either way, it was precisely a shit-ton. (Spoiler: He eventually recovered from the illness. He was also a reverend. Coincidence?)
The report made its way to law enforcement, who questioned Blanche. She claimed he was depressed and probably poisoned himself. Finally, they exhumed the bodies of her first husband, boyfriend, and parents to confirm their suspicions: This lady wasn’t bad luck. She was a black widow.
“In her own twisted way, it was easier for her to dispose of people rather than to end the relationship.”
–Rev. Dwight W. Moore
Blanche’s 2nd husband
Although they found arsenic in all her victims, they were only able to charge her with the murder of her long-time boyfriend. At trial, Blanche was convicted, and after three days of deliberation, the jury recommended the death penalty. In January 1991, the judge sentenced her to death by lethal injection, and at age 89, Blanche is still awaiting her lonely walk down the green mile (or whatever color it is).
Over the last 30+ years, she has maintained her innocence.
North Carolina hasn’t executed a prisoner since 2006, and many believe Blanche will die in prison—not from a fatal cocktail, but from old age. However, she hasn’t escaped karma: During her time behind bars, her petition to overturn her death sentence was denied, denied, denied, and she has undergone numerous rounds of chemotherapy and radiation for cancer.
One way or another, that bitch gonna die.
Sources: Blanche Taylor Moore (Murderpedia); Blanche Taylor Moore (Wikipedia); North Carolina Reverend’s Wife Investigated For 3 Suspicious Arsenic Poisonings (Oxygen)
Be sure to come back for trailblazer #4, whose body count far outweighs all three of our infamous women—combined!
Cover photo by Ksenia Chernaya from Pexels
