Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!
Affairs Turned Deadly For These 5 Pairs Of Lethal Lovers
Before Oxygen premieres ‘Killer Affair’ on July 11, check out these shocking true stories of love gone very wrong.
This summer, Oxygen is turning up the heat and exploring love affairs gone lethally awry, with the new original series, "Killer Affair," premiering Thursday, July 11.
Get ready for Thursday's premiere with these shocking true stories of love sparking madness and murder. Some of the most infamous crimes in history were born of lust or jealousy, and Oxygen has gathered five of them here.
From sports stars to almost literally the couple next door, love and madness can strike in the hearts of anyone anywhere. Some of these lethal lovers were chosen because of the notoriety of their cases, while others shocked the nation with the sheer cruelty of their actions, taken sometimes just for the thrill of it.
If you’re left wanting more affairs turned killer, don’t forget to tune in Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/PT for the premiere of “Killer Affair,” when Oxygen dives into the case of a love triangle between a Texas oilman, a pharmaceutical heiress and a private eye — that ended with one person dead.
Jovan Belcher And Kasandra Perkins
Jovan Belcher was a linebacker for the Kansas City Chiefs, whose love life exploded in violence one fateful night. In December 2012, Belcher got into a heated argument with his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, about custody of their daughter Zoey, money and partying habits according to USA Today.
As the argument escalated, Belcher shot Perkins in the master bedroom of his house 10 times, hitting her in the neck, arms, legs, shoulders and chest. His mother, Cheryl Shepherd, was at Belcher’s house, along with his daughter when Perkins was shot. After the shooting — which killed Perkins — Belcher left the house and drove off to Arrowhead Stadium as reported by The Kansas City Star.
According to USA Today’s reporting, several people who know Belcher, including General Manager Scott Piolo, tried to talk him down while he held a gun to his head. When Belcher saw police descending on the scene, according to the report, he shot himself.
Vladimir “Spider” Sabich And Claudia Longet
In 1976, Claudia Longet moved in with her lover, American Olympic ski champion Vladimir “Spider” Sabich, in his Aspen chalet as he was recovering to full fitness from a back problem according GQ. Their relationship would come to a bloody end, however, in an incident that would be fought and speculated over for years.
In March 1976, Sabich’s body was found dead in his home. Longet was accused of shooting Sabich in the abdomen, but she claimed that the gun went off accidentally while Sabich was showing her how to use it, according to CBS News. Longet was found guilty of criminal negligence and fined along with serving a 30-day jail sentence. Sabich’s parents later filed a $1.3 million lawsuit against Longet for their son’s death; she settled out of court in 1979 for an undisclosed amount, according to the Montreal Gazette.
Samantha Bachynski And Patrick Selepak
Samantha Bachynski was a 19-year-old girl that had fallen deeply in love with Patrick Selepak — who was mistakenly released from prison after serving time for armed robbery, according to NBC News. While free, Selepak’s relationship with Bachynski took a killer turn in 2006, with the gruesome deaths of Scott and Melissa Berel — who were expecting a child — and Fred Johnson.
The first victims were the Berels. Bachynski and Selepak broke into the Berels’ home and put a plastic bag around Melissa’s head, then tied a belt around her neck and pulled on it, as reported by CNN. Scott was beaten with the butt of a gun by Selepak; then Selepak asked Bachynski to finish the job by slitting Scott Berels’ throat. Bachynski told the police that she did both actions with minimal effort because she didn’t want to kill the people — but she also didn’t want to defy Selepak’s orders.
The beating and aborted throat-cutting failed to kill Scott Berels, so the killer couple injected a mixture of bleach and water into his foot, neck and arm. When that didn’t work, they took the belt and plastic bag off Scott’s wife and use them to finish him off.
Eventually, Bachynski and Selepak drove to Flint, Michigan, where they met their final victim, Fred Johnson, at a gay bar. After sleeping at his home, they killed him, too, after he learned that the couple was wanted, according to a Wave3 report.
Both of them were sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder, home invasion, and other charges.
Richard Davis And Dena Riley
Independence, Missouri, couple Richard Davis and Dena Riley, had extreme erotic tastes, and their relationship eventually escalated to torture and murder.
In April 2006, the couple had raped, tortured, murdered and burned their first victim, Michelle Huff-Ricci. The next month they raped, tortured and murdered Marsha Spicer, according to The Kansas City Star.
After Spicer’s nude body was found in a lake by a fisherman, police followed an evidence trail to Riley and Davis. As a result, the couple went on the run, which led to an eight-day manhunt. While evading law enforcement, the couple had kidnapped and sexually assaulted Davis’ 5-year-old niece as reported by The Kansas City Star.
Authorities had searched the couple’s home and found videotapes of them torturing and raping both victims. After catching the couple, the police could tell from the videos that there was a second victim, and Riley and Davis ended up telling them where they could find the body.
When Riley and Davis went to trial, jurors viewed a sex-torture video that showed Davis and Riley to assaulting Spicer and Huff-Ricci as CBS News reported.
After pleading guilty for her part in the death of Spicer and her role in kidnapping her 5-year-old niece, Riley was sentenced to serve several life sentences, according to AP News. Davis received a death sentence for the murder of Spicer, according to The Kansas City Star.
Jennair Gerardot
The small town of Radnor, Pennsylvania, was shaken last year when two seemingly happy marriages erupted in violence — all because of an affair.
Jennair Gerardot knew her husband was having an affair, and in a series of texts, she told him explicitly what she was going to do about it — she was going to murder his lover.
She allegedly did just that, breaking into the other woman's house and waiting, Delaware Online reported.
Gerardot, 47, a former marketing manager, waited at Meredith Chapman's with a gun, and when Chapman got home, she immediately shot her. Then, she shot herself, Radnor Township Police in Pennsylvania said.
Mark Gerardot was going to meet Chapman, 33, an assistant vice president at Villanova University, for dinner that night and got worried when she didn't show up. That's when he went to her house, police said. When cops arrived he was outside the house and said, "My wife may be inside."
Bill Colarulo, superintendent of Radnor Township Police, told Delaware Online that the murder was not a random, heat of the moment incident.
Jennair Gerardot's actions were a well "thought-out plan" that involved a disguise and public transport, officials told Delaware Online. While searching the house, police found a wig and other clothes in a bag that didn't appear to belong to Chapman.
Jennair and Mark Gerardot were having marital problems for a while, according to reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer. She even sought marital help and advice from NextDoor - a private social neighborhood app - in February.
Oxygen, the destination for high-quality crime programming, dives deep inside the hearts and minds of scorned lovers whose overpowering desire leads them down a path of murder in the new series, “Killer Affair,” premiering on Thursday, July 11, at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
