A Nevada jury has convicted the “Black Widower” of murdering his sixth wife and a hitman he hired to kill her a second time after the state Supreme Court ruled that a new trial was needed.
Thomas Randolph, the 68-year-old killer who was the subject of the 2021 Dateline miniseries “The Widower,” stared blankly straight ahead as jurors read out the guilty verdict last week.
During his most recent trial and that of 2017, prosecutors accused him of arranging for his friend and handyman Michael Miller, now 38, to kill his sixth wife, Sharon Causse, in what would have been a home burglary. collect over $300,000 in life insurance payouts.
Sharon died tragically in May 2008 after Miller, masked and armed, broke into Randolph’s Nevada home and fatally shot her.
But in a shocking twist, Randolph, who spent several years on death row after his initial conviction, betrayed his former friend and shot him dead.
Prosecutors say they are not going for the death penalty given Thomas Randolph’s age (pictured).
Becky Gault was found with a bullet in her head, but Randolph was never convicted of murder
Sharon Causse (pictured) tragically died after Randolph hired a friend of his to kill her and make it look like a robbery gone wrong
Gayna Allmon told jurors in Nevada she believes he tried to kill her in a shooting attempt while they were married
Kathryn Thomas (pictured) said she was abused by Randolph, whom she married in 1975
Randolph was the subject of a 2021 Dateline miniseries called ‘The Widower’
Relatives of his victims were overjoyed to learn that Randolph had been re-convicted of the murder.
Colleen Beyer, daughter of Sharon Causse, covered her mouth as the verdict was read.
She told the Las Vegan Review-Journal, “I’m so relieved, it’s unbelievable. It’s been fifteen years and it’s been a fucking nightmare.’
“I’m absolutely ecstatic, thrilled and relieved that he’s off the streets—that he can’t do this to another woman again. Because he’s a predator, he’s a serious predator,” she said through tears.
Randolph has consistently maintained his innocence since prosecutors began investigating him in connection with Sharon’s murder.
While the Nevada jury convicted him in 2017 of the murders of both Causse and Miller, the Nevada Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2020, arguing that local prosecutors should not have used “previous evidence of evil deeds.”
Juries in both the 2017 and 2023 trial heard evidence from and about several of his ex-wives, which painted a picture of a violent, abusive, and manipulative man who had a pattern of marrying and then abusing women.
Randolph hired Michael Miller (pictured) to kill his then-wife Sharon and make it look like a botched home burglary
Catherine Thomas
Thomas married his first wife in 1975 when she was only 18 years old and he was 20.
During Randolph’s first trial, Kathryn, who divorced him in 1983, told jurors that he was a controlling, manipulative, and psychologically abusive person.
She revealed an incident when he threw a bowl of oatmeal at the wall because it had no sugar on it.
After remarrying, she and her new husband reportedly moved several states to Washington to put some distance between themselves and Randolph.
Becky Gault
Prosecutors told jurors that Becky was found dead with a bullet lodged in her skull in the house she shared with Randolph just three years after she married him.
The couple married in 1983 on the same day his divorce from Kathryn Thomas was finalized.
Randolph received a $500,000 life insurance payout after her death was initially ruled a suicide.
But soon after, he was charged and later acquitted for the murder after police discovered that the ailing killer was singing songs about her murder.
He also hired a hit man to kill her, who eventually became a police officer.
Although Randolph pleaded guilty to witness tampering, he was never convicted of her murder.
Gayna Allmon
Randolph’s third wife, Gayna, told jurors at his first trial that she believes Randolph tried to kill her in a shooting attempt.
She revealed that one day when they were married, Randolph shot at her while he was cleaning his gun.
The bullet left a hole in their kitchen and she thought her life was in danger afterwards.
Randolph wouldn’t allow Francis Thomas’ daughter (pictured) to see her while she was in hospital
Francis Thomas
While Francis died in hospital in 2004 after a failed heart operation, a witness, Glen Morrison, told jurors that he was asked by Randolph to kill her and stage the crime scene as a robbery, in an eerily similar way to how his then-future wife Sharon Causse died.
Francis’s daughter was not allowed to visit her mother while she was ill.
In addition, Randolph allegedly cremated Francis’s body less than 24 hours after her death.
While he was married to Leona Stapleton, his fifth wife, there is little public knowledge about her. Her family told the court at his first trial that she had died of cancer.
District Judge Tierra Jones has scheduled Randolph’s sentencing for October 12.
Prosecutors previously said that given Randolph’s age, they are not seeking the death penalty