Black Widow? Elderly Mississippi Woman Accused of Murdering Husband Years After His Death Was Ruled Suicide

An elderly Mississippi woman was arrested in connection with what was initially believed to be the suicide death of her husband, authorities said.

The Forrest County Sheriff's Office recently took Harriet Howe into custody and charged her with the 2018 murder of George Howe, WAPT reported.

The 75-year-old widow was being held in Hattiesburg on a $1 million bail.

In 2018, George Howe died from a gunshot wound, and investigators determined his death was a suicide, though officials now say they weren’t convinced foul play wasn’t involved.

George Howe of Dixie died from a single gunshot, and investigators were told he had killed himself. But Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims told WDAM-TV that detectives never entirely believed that.

“John Tryner, who is now captain over investigations, was actually the investigator on that case,” Forrest County Sheriff Charlie Sims told WDAM-TV. “He had some doubts about that story, was working that case, ran into some dead ends.”

Sims said investigators got a break when they were successful in unlocking an electronic device.

“We took the device down, they downloaded it, and sure enough, it gave us the evidence that was needed to get the warrant to substantiate the charge of murder,” Sims said. “And so she was arrested, and hopefully we are on the way to bringing closure to that family.”