Tennessee Woman Charged with Death of Two Husbands, Will Missing

The following is a summary of a Tennessee woman’s “trail of death,” which involves death by cattle stampede, a missing will, and multiple murder allegations:

• Raynella Dossett Leath’s first husband died in 1992 from what seemed to be an accidental domestic cattle stampede, suspicious at the time for insurance fraud reasons. 
• Mrs. Dossett Leath was later charged with attempted murder in a bizarre set of facts surrounding a love child of her first husband.  She was found guilty of lesser charges and served probation time.
• Shortly after completing the probation, Mrs. Dossett Leath’s second husband, whom she married six months after her first husband died, was found dead with a gunshot wound.
• Mrs. Dossett Leath cremated the body of her second husband the day after his death, despite allegations that he wanted to be buried and owned a burial plot near his parents. Meanwhile, a missing will and deeds meant that Mrs. Dossett Leath would inherit all his property.
• Mrs. Dossett Leath was eventually charged with murdering her second husband, whose body contained unprescribed painkillers and sedatives.  The resulting trial ended with a hung jury and a second trial began earlier this month.
• Meanwhile, the charges against Mrs. Dossett Leath prompted a re-investigation into the death of her first husband, which revealed suspiciously high morphine levels and minor injuries from the stampede.  In 2006, Mrs. Dossett Leath was charged with the murdering her first husband and a trial will start in August.

See Shaila Dewan, Tennessee Woman Accused in Trail of Death, NY Times, Jan. 23, 2010.