In most true crime stories, a person faces charges for one crime. Thomas Randolph’s case is unusual because he was tried for two different crimes, many years apart. The new Investigation Discovery docuseries, “The Black Widower: The Six Wives of Thomas Randolph,” looks into these cases and asks whether Randolph is simply unlucky or a brutal murderer.
He was married six times, and four of his wives died (three under suspicious circumstances). The docuseries has three episodes, featuring interviews with Randolph in prison, his family and friends, and others who know about the cases.
Randolph often got into trouble, mainly because of his involvement in drug dealing. In the series, he talks about loving “sex, drugs, and rock and roll,” but his past is much darker. His second wife, Becky, was found with a gunshot wound to her head at their home.
Randolph said she had mental health issues, and the police made mistakes by treating her death as a suicide. However, new evidence suggested Randolph’s guilt. He was charged with Becky’s murder, and a man named Eric Tarantino testified that Randolph had asked him to kill Becky.
Surprisingly, Randolph was found not guilty in 1989. Becky’s family was shocked that he was free. Years later, they had another chance for justice when Randolph was linked to another wife’s death.
Thomas Randolph Is Currently in Prison
Randolph’s third wife escaped his harm, as did his first wife. Both of them are interviewed in the series, sharing their experiences with the dangerous man. But his fourth wife, Francis, died under mysterious circumstances. She died after heart surgery, and some of her family thought Randolph was in the room just before her death.
His fifth wife died of cancer, and his sixth wife, Sharon, was the one who led to his downfall. In 2008, Sharon was killed in what seemed like a home invasion in Las Vegas. The intruder was a handyman named Michael Miller. Randolph said he shot Miller after finding Sharon dead.
However, investigators suspected Randolph was lying and had hired Miller to kill Sharon but then killed Miller too. Randolph was charged with their murders.
The case had similarities to Becky’s murder, including Randolph taking out large insurance policies on each wife before their deaths. He had also tried to hire someone to kill his wife before each murder. Tarantino testified again, saying he had been asked to kill Randolph’s wife years ago.
The jury also found many inconsistencies in Randolph’s story about that night. In 2017, he was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder and was sentenced to death. However, Randolph’s conviction was later overturned.
The Nevada Supreme Court decided to support Randolph, saying the jury should not have heard about Becky’s death. Randolph continued to claim his innocence, saying, “I’m addicted to love, I’m a true romantic. That doesn’t make me a killer.” But the prosecutors did not give up.
A new trial in 2023 found Randolph guilty again (of two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder). This time, he was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison.
Randolph is now serving his sentence at Lovelock Correctional Center in Pershing County, Nevada. His attorney mentioned in April 2024 that Randolph has health problems and may not have much time left. Despite this, Randolph still claims he is innocent and plans to appeal.
He said, “I didn’t kill Sharon. I had nothing to do with this.” The series shows a clear pattern of Randolph’s behavior: infidelity, taking out big life insurance policies, and asking others to kill his wives. The Black Widower suggests Randolph might have earned over $1 million from his wives’ deaths.
He likes to think of himself as a romantic who just happens to be unlucky with his spouses. But the evidence shows that Randolph is where he should be.
The Black Widower: The Six Wives of Thomas Randolph is available to stream on Max in the U.S.
