Question of the Day - 15 February 2022

It certainly was, back in 1994 when Rudin's charred remains were discovered by a fisherman at Nelson’s Landing near Lake Mojave around 60 miles from Las Vegas.

Two murders were also big stories when they happened shortly thereafter: the killing of Tupac Shakur (1996) and the murder of Ted Binion (1998). We'd say the Rudin and Binion murders were equally sensational, given that both revolved around a lot of money, infidelity, and trials that were covered not just all over the U.S., but internationally as well.

Ron Rudin was a multi-millionaire Las Vegas developer with four divorces under his belt (so to speak) when he married Margaret Lee Frost; she'd also been married four times previously. Margaret was what has been politely called a "socialite" and an antique-shop owner. 

They fell hard and fast for each other and were married quickly; the first years were happy, until they weren't. Then, among other problems, they started accusing each other of infidelity and the relationship turned violent. 

To make a long (and ugly) story short, Ron Rudin was shot in the back of the head several times. Most fingers pointed at Margaret, whom police claimed had an accomplice (never identified) to help her dispose of the body; investigators found blood and other bodily fluids on the floor in the Rudin's bedroom. 

Margaret was charged with, then tried and convicted of, her husband's murder. It's unclear where the nickname came from, but somewhere along the line, the media started calling her the “Black Widow.”

From the very beginning, she denied having anything to do with the murder, but the fact that she disappeared shortly before her indictment, moving to Mexico and then Massachusetts, implicated her further.

In 2001, she was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 20 years. Numerous appeals and legal machinations failed along the way and Rudin served the full 20 years until being paroled from the Florence McClure Women’s Correctional Center in North Las Vegas in January 2020 at the age of 76.

The murder was big news, yet again, at the time of her release and she continued, and continues to this day, to insist that her conviction will be overturned at some point.