Black Widow waives right to preliminary hearing
Posted Nov 22, 2012 08:01:36 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A 77-year-old woman dubbed the “Black Widow,”charged with trying to murder a man she had wed, has waived her right to a preliminary hearing.
Crown prosecutor Diane McGrath said Melissa Shephard, previously referred to as Melissa Weeks, appeared by video conference before a judge Wednesday in Sydney, N.S.
McGrath said Shephard elected a trial by judge and jury before the Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
The prosecutor said Shephard will remain in a Halifax jail and will be back before the court on Dec. 3, when a trial date will be set.
Shephard was charged last month with attempted murder and administering a noxious thing after Fred Weeks, 75, fell ill at a Sydney bed and breakfast.
McGrath said the courts have decided to use the woman’s earlier surname because the marriage to Weeks was never certified.
