Betty Lou Beets was a Texas woman convicted of murdering at least three of her husbands and suspected of more killings. Deaf from a young age and raised in a traumatic environment, Beets endured abuse and hardship throughout her life. She married multiple times, with only two of her five husbands surviving. Notably, she shot her second husband twice but was acquitted after he admitted to threatening her, and she attempted to run over her third husband. Ultimately, she was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her fifth husband, a crime in which her son helped conceal the body.

After a lengthy legal battle, Beets was executed by lethal injection in 2000 at age 62, becoming the second woman executed in Texas since the death penalty’s reinstatement. Despite her conviction, many believe her execution was unjust and attributed it to poor legal representation. At the time of her death, she left behind a large family, including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.