Getting pregnant with a wealthy man, the beautiful widow dreamed of being elevated to the status of a legal wife by forcing her lover to divorce his wife. Unexpectedly, the man only saw her as a plaything, brushing off all responsibilities. Unable to accept rejection, the widow, enraged, plotted to murder her lover’s wife, thus revealing even more horrific crimes of this woman to the police.
The Seductive Wife
In the criminal history of the United States, it’s not difficult to encounter cold-blooded murderers, who skillfully conceal their crimes to evade the police. Some crimes seem like they’ll never be uncovered, with the perpetrators never seeing the light of justice. However, there will come a day when the criminal will surely pay for their deeds. This holds entirely true in the case of Sharon Elizabeth Hall, a female convict not only famous for her seductive appearance in the 1970s but also for terrifying and wicked schemes that shook an era of America. Sharon’s crimes were even adapted into a documentary film, attracting the attention of hundreds of thousands when it aired.
Sharon Elizabeth Hall was born on November 30, 1939, in Missouri, USA. From the age of 16, Sharon was a beautiful young woman, with allure and charm surpassing her peers. Conscious of the advantage her looks provided, Sharon knew how to exploit them to court wealthy young men, making them infatuated, doting, and obedient to her every whim.
Having experienced fleeting romances in her youth, in the summer of 1956, while participating in charity work at a church in Missouri with friends, Sharon fell into a love affair with Brigham University student James Arthur Kinne (22 years old). Aware of James’s affluent background, Sharon spent the entire summer getting close to him, hoping he would notice her. And indeed, James fell in love with the beautiful 16-year-old schoolgirl after just a few days of being courted by her.
Throughout that summer, Sharon and James frequently spent nights together, openly affectionate in front of all the volunteers. Consequently, when autumn arrived and Sharon had to return to school, James received a letter from her announcing her pregnancy and demanding he take responsibility. According to his girlfriend, James quickly sought permission from his parents to marry, and the young couple’s grand wedding took place on September 18, 1956.
After their marriage, James resumed his studies at the university. Meanwhile, Sharon, citing her pregnancy and desire to raise the child, decided to quit school and enjoy a luxurious life supported by her husband’s family wealth. However, their bliss was short-lived, as just four years later, a horrifying tragedy occurred, claiming the life of young heir James Arthur Kinne.
The cruel shot
In 1960, four years into their marriage, James had graduated and taken over his family’s business. Sharon, on the other hand, was living the life she had dreamed of, enjoying wealth and spending lavishly. However, gossip from those around them continued to surround the young couple’s life. After their marriage in 1956, Sharon announced that she had miscarried. Many people believe that the 16-year-old female student intentionally “trapped” young Master James into getting pregnant so she could become his wife. It wasn’t until more than a year later that Sharon actually became pregnant and gave birth to a beautiful, adorable daughter named Danna.
Despite his wife being scrutinized and criticized by many, James still loved and was proud of his beautiful, charming wife. He worked tirelessly to fulfill all of Sharon’s material desires, no matter how extravagant. However, the unfortunate young heir had to depart permanently on March 19, 1960.
That evening, the Missouri state’s 911 rescue center received a distress call from Sharon. Through tearful sobs, Sharon reported that her husband had been seriously shot and pleaded for emergency assistance. When the police and ambulance arrived at the scene, the luxurious mansion of the couple, they found their daughter Danna (3 years old) sitting on her parents’ bed. Next to the innocent face of the little girl lay the lifeless body of James, shot from behind.
Crying inconsolably, Sharon confessed that her daughter, while playing with her father’s gun, accidentally fired and killed James. And before investigators could inquire further, Sharon, overwhelmed with grief, fainted…
Rumors of Infidelity
After regaining her composure, Sharon recounted the incident to the police as follows. At the time of the incident, Sharon was relaxing in the bathroom. She heard her daughter Danna’s curious voice outside asking her father, “How does this shoot, daddy?” Shortly after, a gunshot rang out from the couple’s bedroom. Fearful, Sharon hurriedly wrapped herself in a towel and rushed out to find James lying motionless, blood soaking the bedsheets. Meanwhile, Danna still held the gun in her hand, looking bewildered at her father.
To verify whether Danna was capable of pulling the trigger and killing her father, the police searched for fingerprints on the gun. However, since the gun had recently been oiled, no fingerprints were left on the handle.
According to Sharon’s statement, James often let their daughter play with guns. Both James’s parents and relatives confirmed that they often saw James let his daughter play with guns and had warned him several times not to engage in such dangerous behavior. Additionally, the police conducted a test with the gun involving Danna and showed that the little girl was fully capable of pulling the trigger. Due to the lack of suspicion surrounding James’s death, the police quickly concluded that the young heir died because his daughter accidentally pulled the trigger while playing. Thus, the case was closed, and Sharon received a $29,000 insurance payout for her husband’s tragic death.
Perhaps, the family tragedy of James and Sharon would have ended there if rumors about Sharon in the neighborhood hadn’t reached the ears of investigators.
For a long time, in the eyes of everyone, Sharon, inherently beautiful, was someone who sought wealth and prosperity, marrying solely out of laziness and her husband’s substantial family fortune. Many believed that recently, James’s business ventures were struggling, and Sharon no longer had the same financial freedom as before, often showing signs of irritation. James also began to notice his wife’s extravagant spending and felt the need to tighten their finances. Consequently, the young couple’s relationship seemed to be deteriorating.
Furthermore, there were rumors that at the beginning of 1960, James discovered his wife’s affair with John Boldizs, an old school friend, while he was facing difficulties. Angered by the betrayal, James demanded a divorce, and Sharon agreed, on the condition that he give her their shared mansion and provide her with a monthly allowance of $1,000 to support their child. Indeed, this rumor was true, and James had mentioned his intention to divorce to his parents.
However, just a few days after he informed his parents, the bloodied body of the young heir was discovered on the bed. Nevertheless, despite further suspicions from Sharon, the police had no evidence to charge the young wife.
Planning for a New Husband
Just a few months after her husband’s death, Sharon continued to meet another man in hopes that he would be her “safe harbor,” her second husband. That man was Walter Jones, a wealthy car dealership owner in the city. Despite being married, Walter was still quite flirtatious, often frequenting nightclubs to find new “pleasures.” From their first meeting at his car dealership, Walter quickly noticed the beautiful, charming girl, Sharon. The two immediately developed feelings for each other and became secret lovers.
Although captivated by Sharon’s seductive appearance, Walter never had any intention of serious commitment. However, Sharon was different. She believed she had a certain significance to him and would make him leave his wife for her. Despite receiving a large sum from her late husband’s death, Sharon remained haunted by the need to find a new “catch” to help her return to a life of luxury and wealth.
After a few months of interaction, Sharon informed Walter that she was pregnant and demanded he take responsibility. She frequently urged her lover to divorce his wife soon to take care of her and the baby in her womb. However, Sharon did not expect that Walter was not as “naive” as she thought. He immediately turned cold, telling Sharon she was just a passing pleasure and that he would never leave his wife and children for her. Coldly, Walter gave money to Sharon and instructed her to have an abortion, as well as forbidding her from disclosing this to anyone.
Feeling deceived and abandoned by her lover, Sharon couldn’t bear the humiliation. Thus, she devised a cunning plan to force Walter to marry her…
Horrendous Discovery
On the night of November 26th, Walter called the police to report his wife, Patricia Jones, suddenly missing, not returning home after a day’s work. Before reporting, Walter contacted all of his wife’s friends and colleagues, but no one knew where she was. Fortunately, a colleague of Patricia’s mentioned that on the same afternoon, she overheard rumors that Patricia was talking on the phone with a woman. The woman was unfamiliar with Patricia beforehand, but she arranged to meet Patricia after work to discuss something important.
Cross-referencing with the colleague’s statement, some people working below Patricia’s office building also said they saw Walter’s wife getting into a car with a woman. However, because the woman wore large sunglasses, and covered her face with a scarf and a coat, no one knew what she looked like.
With only scant descriptions to go on, Walter immediately thought the woman who arranged to meet his wife was Sharon. When Walter was summoned to the police station for questioning, he also confessed to his affair with Sharon and told the police that Sharon might be involved in his wife’s disappearance. However, when he went to confront his mistress at her home, Sharon evasively denied having made plans to meet Patricia or knowing where she was. Furthermore, Sharon even offered to help Walter search for his wife.
Just one day after Walter reported his wife missing, the police found Patricia’s body in an abandoned building near her workplace. From preliminary observations, Patricia had been shot multiple times in the head and abdomen at close range, and she might have been shot elsewhere before her body was dumped here.
However, an extremely unexpected clue was that the forensic examination at the crime scene revealed that the gun used to kill Patricia was a .22 caliber gun, matching the gun that Sharon’s ex-husband was shot and killed with by their daughter Danna. Was this just a random coincidence or the unraveling of a double crime?
Malicious Widow
After Sharon became the prime suspect in Patricia’s death, an emergency search warrant was executed at Sharon and James’s mansion. There, investigators found an empty gun box that Sharon claimed had once contained the gun used to kill her husband.
While the search for evidence was intensifying, a man who had worked for Sharon came to the police station to confess that Sharon had given him money to buy a .22 caliber gun in his name. Knowing that the police were investigating his employer, he decided to come forward out of fear of future implications.
Thanks to the man’s statement, Sharon was once again caught lying to the police when she claimed she had lost the gun while on vacation in Seattle. Because, at that time, the police found a .22 caliber gun buried underground not far from where Patricia’s body was found. More importantly, the gun bore fingerprints that matched Sharon’s.
From there, everything became clear. Sharon, wanting to become Walter’s legal wife, had murdered Patricia. In addition, investigators reopened the case of James Kinne, suspecting Sharon of passion for luxury, unwilling to endure hardship because of her husband’s failed business, so she ruthlessly killed her husband and blamed it on her daughter.
Faced with solid evidence, the court sentenced Sharon Elizabeth Hall to death. However, because Sharon was pregnant at the time, her sentence was reduced to life imprisonment.
Although Sharon’s case had many surprising aspects, what made this beautiful widow the most mysterious criminal in America was that five years after serving her sentence in Mexico, Sharon suddenly disappeared from Ixtapalapa Women’s Prison. Since then, despite numerous manhunts, her whereabouts remain unknown. Investigators must admit that the cold-blooded murderer is still out there, and the pursuit of her has yet to conclude.
