True Crime Friday: Lowell Edwin Amos, The Black Widow Serial Killer

Lowell Edwin Amos was born January 4, 1943. He is known as the Black Widower Serial Killer. He murdered three of wives and his own mother because of greed. He was known as a charming playboy, and he had numerous affairs while he was married. It is suspected that he may have murdered other women. Amos got away with, well almost got away with killing his first wife for the insurance money. Lowell was an executive at General Motors while murdering his wives and eventually his mother. His downfall came in December 1994, when Amos and his then wife Roberta attended a company executive party at the Atheneum Hotel in Detroit, Michigan.

Roberta and Lowell were in the process of getting a divorce when she went with him to the executive party. The couple partied with Lowell’s boss Burt Crabtree and wife until around 4:30am. Hours later a panicked Amos called Bert Crabtree and another executive from the party to come to his hotel suite. Crabtree and another hotel guest named Daniel Portia went to the room. They knocked on the door where a panic Amos advised them that his wife was dead from a cocaine overdose.

Amos told the pair that he needed to clean up before the police arrived and gave David his sport coat to take with him for safekeeping. Portia, feeling suspicion of the scenario, decided while driving home to look in the pockets of the sport coat. He found a small black leather bag with a syringe without a needle. He also found a foul-smelling small towel in the case. Eventually, Amos claimed the sport coat with the contents but by the time police started their investigation the content had vanished. Portia told police about the discovery when he was interviewed.

The Early Childhood of Lowell Edwin Amos

I could not find any information regarding Lowell Amos’ childhood. I can only assume that he may not have had a decent one. I say that only because he ended up being a serial killer which the fantasizing often begins in the adolescence stage before a murder is committed. Also, during my research, I could not find his parents’ information. This is why I will be referring to his mother as Mother Amos.

The Victims of Lowell Edwin Amos

• Roberta Amos
• Carolyn Amos
• Saundra Amos
• Mother Amos

The Survivors of Lowell Amos

• Mary Zellinger
• And the many women that he drugged and may have murdered.

Amos collected over $350,000 with a policy on Saundra Amos, $800,000 on Carolyn Amos and over 1, 000,000.00 for Mother Amos. He also had a policy on Roberta Amos of which he did not get a chance to collect. Amos murdered Roberta and then days later, he spent over $1000.00 on dinner and drinks with two women with whom he proceeded to have intercourse. Once the story about his wife’s death was published in the local newspapers, several women came forward and told investigators that they thought they had been drugged by Lowell and were unconscious during intercourse. So, Lowell Amos was a rapist and murderer.

Amos called the police hours after he discovered his wife was dead. Once they arrived, he explained that he and Roberta had done cocaine together. They then proceeded to have intercourse. Amos said he fell asleep and once he woke up, he realized that she was dead. He assumed she died of an overdose. He told police that she could not snort the drug due to a sinus problem, and that instead she took it "inside" her body.

Per the investigators the victim’s body contained over fifteen times the lethal dose. An autopsy revealed that there was cocaine inside Roberta's vagina, but none externally. Police and Dr. Phyllis Goode suspected that Amos had washed the body before calling the police. Dr. Phyllis Goode found lipstick and toothmarks on a pillowcase plus makeup residue, but Roberta did not have any makeup on her when the police arrived. The bed sheets were also slightly soiled, although Roberta's body was very clean. Dr. Goode concluded that Amos had killed Roberta and smothered her with a pillow as her body slung back and forth during the cocaine overdose episode. This happens when a person is dying from an overdose. It is not a quiet death.

After Roberta’s death investigators decided to reexamine the deaths of his other wives and his mother. They found evidence that all these women had been murdered by Lowell Amos. He was convicted of their murders.

Lady Justice

This case falls under the Less Dead Theory. There is a reason that a spouse or a significant other is a prime suspect when a loved one is murdered. Most murders are committed by loved ones. Although the news media tend to focus on stranger danger, statistics show that Stanger Danger is relatively low. The real danger is living at home with most victims. The person that they love and trust the most may end up being their killers. This is what happened with Amos. Lowell Amos died in prison on January 5, 2022.

Reference

Lowell Amos - Wikipedia
3-TIME WIDOWER GETS LIFE FOR SPOUSE MURDER – Chicago Tribune
Convicted murderer Ed Amos dies in Michigan prison
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