Second delay in peace bond for Nova Scotia’s ‘Internet black widow’

HALIFAX – An 81-year-old woman who killed and poisoned her intimate partners has once again been given a few more days to show the Crown some evidence on why she needs changes to a two-year peace bond designed to protect the public.

Melissa Ann Shepard had originally been expected to sign the lengthy set of conditions on Oct. 31, including one provision that stipulated a weekly visit to the police.

However, the signing was delayed until Tuesday due to concerns she raised about mobility issues hampering her visits to the police station.

Shepard — who is also known as the Internet black widow — has arrived at court on several recent occasions in a wheelchair.

Shepard’s lawyer, Mark Knox, appeared on her behalf at the provincial court in Dartmouth, N.S., and told the judge hoped-for expert information had fallen through and a second expert had to be arranged, causing the lawyers to set a fresh date of Nov. 23.

Crown attorney James Giacomantonio said outside court that a second medical expert had been obtained and he was expecting the peace bond to be finalized at the next appearance.

“The doctor who was giving us information for Ms. Shepard was unable to give us the information on the timeline we needed it, so she’s trying to get a new expert to give us information,” he said.

The elderly woman was released from prison in March after serving a full sentence of just under three years for spiking newlywed husband Fred Weeks’s coffee with tranquilizers in 2012.

Under the proposed bail conditions, Shepard was required to report to police any potential relationship with a man, keep authorities aware of where she is living, report weekly to police, and inform them of any changes to her appearance.

She had initially challenged the conditions, but the Crown and defence have said on several occasions that she’s expected to sign them.

In August, Shepard pleaded not guilty to violating previous imposed court conditions by allegedly using a computer at the Halifax Central Library. Her trial on that charge has been scheduled for Feb. 1.

Giacomantonio said another peace bond clause being discussed is Shepard’s ability to be in touch with former female offenders through the Elizabeth Fry Society.

He said that may require revision of provisions in the proposed peace bond that would have restricted Shepard’s contact with any person who has a criminal record.

“(The) Elizabeth Fry (Society) will put her in contact with people for the purpose of her rehabilitation,” he said.

Shepard has a long criminal record that has extended across the continent.

In 1991, she was convicted of manslaughter and served two years of a six-year prison term after killing her husband Gordon Stewart on a deserted road near Halifax.

Stewart, from P.E.I., was heavily drugged when Shepard ran over him twice with a car.

Shortly after she was released from prison, she travelled to Florida and met Robert Friedrich at a Christian retreat. They married in Nova Scotia in 2000.

A year later, Friedrich’s family noticed his health faltering. He had mysterious fainting spells and slurred speech and was in and out of hospitals.

In 2005, Shepard was sentenced to five years in prison for a slew of charges stemming from a relationship she had with another Florida man she met online.

She pleaded guilty to seven charges, including three counts of grand theft from a person 65 years or older, two counts of forgery and two counts of using a forged document.