Page 6B

One of the
women murderers
who flourished ©

inthe —
I9th century

MAX HAINES

he 19th century has given us an !
abundance of female killers, Who can
forget Miss Borden with that
repetitious axe, Infllcting those 41
whacks? Then there was the veritable
galaxy of Victorlan women who
administered poison to their husbands
and lovers with a Scares of reckless abandon which
has not been matched since,

Somehow, one of the most cold-blooded and prolific
killers of that murderous century has never received
the notoriety she so richly deserved. \

Our Vera was born in Bucharest and would have
loved, lived and died In her native Romania had her
father not moved to the town of Berkerekul in
Yugoslavia. Daddy was loaded and Vera was his
pride and joy. When she was only 10 years old, her
mother died, precipitating the move to Yugoslavia.

Vera had all th

erited several properties in the town and.was | -
considered to be extremely wealthy. As was befitting
their station in life, he and Vera moved into a
mansion. Our girl had several governesses dnd
teachers.

As Vera matured, she developed into a rare beauty
and had no difficulty acquiring mate friends, At the
ripe old age of 15, she shocked her daddy out. of his
socks when she was found in the dormitory of a boys'
school at midnight. Was this any way for the
daughter of one of the town’s leading citizens to
behave? What saday didalt know, but was soon to
find out, was.that his Vera liked boys, Actually, she
just loved them. Can we be blunt here? Vera was a
nymphomaniac,

Daddy had the darndest time keeping track of his

Ss freq jaisons, lo escape
her father's restrictions, she would take off with one

@ good things in life, Her father had ‘

of the locals. Daddy always found her and dragged
her back home,

When Vera met and apparently fell in love with a
businessman almost twice her Dee her daddy was
pleased as punch, He encouraged the relationship.
The wedding was a gala affair, one of the grandest
social events of the season. The happy couple
honeymooned in Germany.

Upon their return, Vera and her hubby moved into
his Fuge mansion. The beautiful Vera settled down.

A message from the —
Hospital Employees’ Union
members in the Kootenays

e are your
friends, your
neighbours and
even members
of your families, We work in
hospitals and long term care
facilities:in the Kootenays.
We are proud of the work we
do and we are deeply com-
mitted to providing you the
‘best care we can. We are part
of our communities. Every
dollar we earn is spent locally
and we are vital to the
economic well-being of our
region. Mi
We are asking you to help
}us convince the provincial

Bill 82: Bad news for all of us

Every family and community in B.C. will feel the pinch if this freeze
on the spending power ofso large a sector of the B.C. population is
not repealed. More than 300,000 public sector family members includ-

‘ ing 365,000 hospital workers are short changed by Bill 82. During
these tough times, B.C, communities depend more than ever on fair
wage settlements to nourish sagging local economies.

REPEAL BILL 82

Write vr telephone.
local MLA
SEO

Over the next week we will
be contacting our local MLAs
and the candidates for the
next provincial election to let
them know that Bill 82 is bad
for our health care system
and bad for our local
economy. And that for the
good of our region they must.
work to repeal Bill 82.

Please help protect our
region from Bill 82. Write or
telephone the following
MLAs and candidates for
provincial election and let
them know you want Bill 82
gone,

‘ive Anne. Edwards, MLA

She took part in all the ritzy soclal,
events in town and, at the same time,
showered affection on her husband.
She threw several parties of her own
and proved to be a charming hostess.
Fifteen months after her wedding, Vera gave
birth to a bouncing baby boy. She and her
husband were thrilled with little Karl, For several
months she did all the things good mothers are
supposed to do, but the good times didn’t last. Vera
informed close friends that hubby had left her, baby
and all. She had no idea where the rascal was or
what he was doing, One moment he had been a
loving husband and caring father; the next he was
gone. Vera cried a lot.

What daddy and friends didn’t know was that Vera
had slipped her husband a bit of arsenic. He suffered
acute tummy pains and died. Vera lugged him down
to the vault-like cellar of her mansion. Talk about
premeditation — she had ordered a zinc-lined box,
which resembled a coffin. The body was dumped
inside. Before sealing the coffin, Vera inscribed her
husband's name on the lid.

Little Karl and Vera were inseparable for the next
year, No doubt she betleved that a fatherless bo:
required the constant care of his mother. But what's
a girl to do? Reposing on the shelf for a lengthy
period of time was not in Vera’s nature, Once again,
she took to sleeping around. To allay some of the
gossip, she let it be known that her wayward
husband had been killed in a car accident.

Vera's second more or less

Wednesday, July 17,'1991'

joyable for her lovers. But there was a catch.

” Whenever Vera's lovers’ desire waned, she killed | \**

them. Down the stone stairs to the cellar they were!) : +
delivered to those hideous zinc boxes, Each was +
honored by having his nome inscribed on the Hid.

Vera's three servants took the constant presence of,
her lovers in thelr stride. Unbellevable as it may; ::+
seem, they never suspected that all the men in af:
Vera's life ended up below stairs. 2

Busy Vera disposed of 31 lovers, whom she place
in a sort of semicircle around her two husbands. O1
monster in disguise sought new thrills. She manage
to seduce a young man who had recently married. It. :'
was a challenge to lure the bridegroom away from
bis bride. Unfortunately, the young man suffered
pangs of gullt and advised Vera that the bloom was’ ‘-*

the rose. He was Felucning to his true love. No

way, thought our Vera, A well-placed dash of poisoi
in the young man’s wine and he found himself
occupying one of those boxes which formed such
an interesting geometric design in the basement.

Vera's most recent victim had a wife, who could
believe that her husband had deserted her, She
checked at his place of employment and discovered
that his periodic out-of-town business trips were a
fabrication. She smelled'a rodent and did a littte

work, friends of her h

That's how she learned he was seeing a Forgeous
blonde number on the side. Next stop, police
headquarters,

Detectives had no trouble tracing the woman's

ib to Vera Renczi’s impressive home. Vera wa:

involved a womanizer named Josef Renczi, who had
Police found 35
zinc-lined coffins
in her cellar
eter : . “

Saas

the brains of a pea and the body of a Greek god.
Vera wasn't interested in his brains.

Josef and Vera became husband and wife, but this
time around it was Josef who tired of the union. He
sought out women of the night to satisfy his
overabundant sexual desires. Vera was furious. You
can guess what she fed Josef. I don’t know when she
purchased the zinc box, but it was waiting and ready
when Vera lugged his body down to the basement to
repose beside hubby number one,

irs. Renczi told friends that Josef had gone away
on a long trip and she didn’t much care if he ever
returned. He never did. Vera was once again
footloose and fancy free. A few months later, she was
playing the field, fetting friends know that Josef had
dropped her a line advising her that he was never
coming back.

Lover after lover shared Vera's bed. It was great
fun for Vera and, we can only assume, quite

‘* questioned and cani¢ up with a pretty good story.
. She-told police, “Yes, he was.my lover I hada

he was married, but as he lay in my arms one night*}-
he told me he was married to a giri he hated. I =
threw him out and haven't seen him since.” att

Police were inclined to believe Vera, but not so the’
missing man’s wife, She kept digging and found out
that several men had disappeared after being seen
with Vera ezi, Once again she called on police.
This time she insisted they search the Renczi
residence.

Police found nothing until they made their way
down the stairs into the cellar. There, lined up
precisely in a semicircle were 35 zinc-lined coffins.
Two husbands, 32 lovers and son Karl were
peacefully at rest.

Vera confessed to killing them all over a period of ”
years. Her reasons — well, the husbands were a bore :
and the lovers lost their get up and go, so to speak. ..,.
Rather than imagine them in the arms of someone
else, Vera killed them. Son Karl was killed because
he had stumbled upon her secret and had threatened
to expose her. 7%

Vera revealed that on cold winter nights she often
sat in an easy chair in the midst of her victims and"
enjoyed the memories of their lovemaking and their
suffering before they died, ns

Vera ezi was tried, found guilty and sentenced .
to death. Her sentence was later commuted to life
imprisonment. She died after being incarcerated for ~
two years,

For all the local news and sports - the Castlegar Sun!

government to get rid of Bill
* 82, Bill 82 is a law which not
only keeps the wages of
public sector workers down,
but also makes it impossible
: for workers in health care to
try to improve the quality of
‘care in our health facilities.
For example, one of the
things we have been trying
“ to achieve through our con-
tract negotiations .is a com-
mitment to safe caring con-
ditions and staff-

ing levels to provide good

of this. ts

This law was introduced’

by Bill Vander Zalm’s Social: «’.

Credit government and ‘all ~~

of the Social ‘Credit: MLAs
voted in favour’ of ‘it. The
provincial government has
the power to repeal. this
Ieoeices Daly tee eh TED

care, Bill 82 gets in the way.” _son/Creston

Kootenay

“Duane Crandall, MLA
Columbia River .

_ Howards Dirks, MLA Nel-

«Christopher D'Arcy, MLA
Rossland/Trail

Jim, Doyle, NDP can-
didate, Columbia River/
‘Revelstoke

Corky Evans, NDP can-
‘Gidate, Nelson/Creston

¢ Ed-Conroy, NDP can-
didate, Rossland/Trail

HOSPITAL EMPLOYEES’ UNION

“G&G WOODWORK ~

365-3461

222-102 St.

| “Jobs of the |
Future” are .
available now:

(NC)-OTTAWA—Information on
occupations and opportunities is «
now available to young people in
a new federal government
publication called “Jobs of the
Future—a Guide for Youth.”
Produced by the Minister of

OFPER EXPER SErT 10, 1901

ee a State for Youth, the publication
Poor Boys stnteton dusrenteos files. 64 occupations asa sample
we tar ce easton metere P

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*A description of various “
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and geographical concentration ‘
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*An outline of educational and
work experience requirements of
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*An indication of the prospects
for the occupation'to 1995,°
,.! This publication can be obtained
free of charge from’ the Canada
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Enquiries and ‘Distribution, Em=
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‘| ASK A FRIEND ABOUT THE PROVEN PROFESSIONALS. |"). >

Ottawa-Hull K1A 039.) 3.3.00

Wednesday, July 17, 1994

The Castlegar Sun

Page 7B:

Advised to stay awa

Dear Ann Landers: I'm writ-
ing- regarding the letter from
“Ussure in Newark” who wants
tosknow if she should marry
“Karl,” who still lives with
Mi

{ 2Your answer was not emphatic

engqugh. Tell the’ woman ‘to get
" awéy from that man as fast as she
in; If,shie marries Earl, his moth-
avill dominate her life and make
0 Mom will always
No, 1; even if she doesn't live
inthe same house or the ‘same
town. I know.

‘My, mother-in-law has a four-
bedroom: two-bath house. We
hae ‘atwo-bedroom, ‘onc-bath
holise. We keep up her house pay-
ménts, taxes and insurance. We
pay, all her extra bills because
“she can’t make ends meet.”

iz work full time to keep our
heatls above water, but whenever
Mother needs more money, her
sop: sees that she gets it, When I
rugt short he tells me I should
manage better. I get so mad I
copld scream,

‘SE Imow there are a lot of won-
derful mother-in-laws out there,
but the others can sure make life
hell. Please, Ann, tell “Unsure” to
break the engagement and look
for someone who will “leave
father and mother,” as instructed
in the Bible, and will make her his

first, priority, —Voice ‘of Experi-
ence in Lubbock

Dear Voice: I’hear you loud
and ‘clear, and I hope Newark
docs too, Read on:

Dear Ann Landers: My!

advice to “Unsure in Newark” is
ct out as fast as you can, You are
exactly where I was 30 years ago.

never allowed to show anger while
she was live, so now he is making
up for lost time, He becomes vio-
lent over the slightest thing and the
violence is directed toward me

even though I had nothing to do.

with the provocation, The worst
part is that our grown sons are now
imitating their father’s angry
behavior toward me. I once com-
plained that their radios were too
loud, and they threatened to bum
the house down,

When I finally told my hus-
band I'd had enough and wanted a
divorce, he had a nervous break-
down and had to go to a psychi-

I married my “Earl” and things
went from bad to worse. Our
problem was not money, it, was
emotional support. No matter
what I did, it had to have his
mother’s approval.

When we had our second son, I
was made to feel like a failure for
not having a daughter, Every gift I
gave my mother-in-law was
returned to the store. Her tele-
Phone calls never failed to include
a subtle but snide remark. I sought
counseling, but without my hus-
band’s emotional support it did
little good.

My mother-in-law died three
years ago and I feel as if I’m living
with her ghost. My husband was

atric hospital for He

from ‘momma's boy’

their father. :

{Dear Ann Landers: I will uy

tomnke this as brief and simple as
possible, but there is an awful lot
to tell. I speak for a family that is
desperate,
' s/My mother-in-law inherited
more than $80,000 in 1980.'She
was 69 at the time. The woman is
now'80 years old, blind, and has
Jess than $1,000 left. My husband
ds her only child and it's up to us
take care of her, We are people of
modest means, Our family
income is under $1,500 a month.

‘When my husband took over
for his mother he had access to
her bank statements and all the

now secs a
Our lives are a lot better, but I
hope I live ling enough to enjoy
some good times after all the mis-
ery I've had.

Newark should stay away from
this mom-dominated man. I wish
someone had opened my eyes
years ago. I love my husband

she has written in the
past several years. He was
stunned to discover that almost all
her money went to TV evange-
lists. Jim and Tammy Faye
Bakker received the lion’s share.

_ Is there any way we can recov-
er some of this money? Can we
d

dearly but I wouldn’t wish my life
on my worst enemy. —My Time
is Coming in Fort Lauderdale
Dear Fort Lauderdale: You told
her and in language that left noth-
ing to the imagination. I also wish
you all the best with your “Earl.”
It sounds as if he is shaping up—
at last. P.S. Urge your sons to get
some help before they end up like

id ing from the
recipients as to where the money
went? How can we get her name
off the lists of the TV preachers?
Please give us some answers,
Ann. We don’t know where else
to'turn. —Ripped Off in Kansas

Dear Kansas: There is no way
you are going to get your mother-
in-law’s money back, and chances
of receiving an accounting are

slim. As for Jim Bakker, he has
been serving time in a federal
prison in Minnesota. According to
Time and Newsweek, the money
Bakker reccived was spent on
“therapeutic” shopping sprees,
Invish homes, Rolls Royces, an
air-conditioned dog house and
lots of mascara,

It is, virtually impossible to get
off a mailing list once you're on it.
These lists are sold and by the
time you read this, your mother-
in-law may well be on a few more,

Dear Ann Landers: You sure
laid an egg with your response to
“Frantic in Big D,” who has been
married for three years to a man
with a 16-year-old son who lives
with them. The kid is a slob and
i rude to his
er, She and the ex-wife have start-
ed to have words and the husband
refuses to discipline his son.

You suggested counseling for
everyone in this psycho-drama
and hoped that the counselor
would make it clear that the ex-
wife’s overnight visits should
stop. This is what you SHOULD
have said.

Dear Frantic: The next time
your husband's ex-wife phones to
Say she is coming, tell her you are
out of the hotel business. When
she wants to see her son, she can
invite him to HER home. You

should then grab the kid by the
Collar and tell him to keep a civil
tongue in his head and start pick-
ing up after himself immediately,
no ifs, ands, or buts. When your
husband gets home tonight, first
tell him that you love him and that
you want your marriage to suc-
ceed. Make sure he understands
that you are fighting to preserve
your marriage and that you expect
him to cooperate. If he doesn't
come through, tell him that he and
the kid can both pack their bags.

I did this, and my husband
straightened up right away. Your
husband has had three years to get
out from under the thumb of his
ex-wife. If he doesn’t do it now,
she's going to be a thorn in your
side forever. —Been There in
Detroit

Dear Detroit: You sound like a
Pretty tough cookie but I can’t
argue with success. The brass
knuckles approach worked for you.

In defense of my advice, which
you obviously thought was lousy,
you might consider the possibility
that sometimes it takes different
strokes for different folks. Thanks
for your letter. :

Gem of the day: We now
know why Moses wandered in the
desert for 40 days. Like most men
he was too stubborn to ask for
directions,

t he

current compilation of
the most iar thi
people do, edited by Chuck
Shepherd.
Proof that true stories are
weirder than made-up
stories.

In March, Florence Schreiber
Power, 44, a Ewing, N.J., admin-
istrative law judge on trial for
shoplifting two watches, called
her psychiatrist to testify that
Powers was under stress at the
time of the incidents. The doctors
said Powers did not know what
she was doing “from one minute
to the next,” for the following 19
reasons: a recent auto accident; a
traffic ticket; a new-car purchase;
overwork; husband's kidney
stones; husband's asthma (and
‘breathi thine that pi
their bedroom); menopausal hot
;flashes; an “ungodly” v:
itch; a bad rash; fear of breast and
anal cancer; fear of dental
)Surgery; son’s need for an asthma
ibreathing machine, mother's and

commercial self-storage unit he
had rented,

«In April, Maryland officials
sent a shoe fetish suspect to a
hospital for treatment after he
threatened inarm to three people
unless he would let him sniff their
shoes, but while he was under
observation, another sniffer
turned up elsewhere in the state:
A man tricked a woman into
offering him her shoe, telling her
that it might contain a valuable
ticket. When she handed over the
shoe, he lifted it to his nose,
peeled back the padding, inhaled
deeply, and then asked for her
other shoe.

« Jacqueline R. Edwards was
arrested in May in Troy, N.Y., for
burglary of a bakery, after she

“broke'in and gorged herself with

several dozen liquor-flavored
cookies from a display case. At
her arraignment, she clutched her
stomach, swayed back and forth
and moaned. :

* Todd Mason, 23, former high
school football star in
Brownsville, Ind., was convicted
of attempted manslaughter in Jan-
uary. He had beaten up the father
of his former girlfriend (and set
his house on fire) after the father

ities finally pinned responsibility
for toe-sucking incidents in Jan-
uary on the celebrated Michael

wanted one.”

Wyatt (“News of the Weird,”
Aug. 17, 1990), who was released
last year for similar incidents on
the condition that he get coun-
selling. Shortly after that, authori-
tics in Conway, Ark., named him
in yet another incident.

¢ San Francisco State Universi-
ty officials took measures to
improve campus security in April
after a man who surfaced in two

“AM State University
chemistry professor claimed in
March that he was wrongfully
accused of being drunk after an
accident (which occurred while he
was on work-release for a previ-
ous drunk-driving sentence).
While a state trooper found him
“highly intoxicated,” the professor
said a chemical explosion in his
lab caused him to smell and act
drunk and that his statement to the
trooper about having consumed a
six-pack of beer was merely
“i it because of

on campus, to enter d itorie:

and lick women's toes and legs.
Said one 20-year-old victim: “I'd
like to catch him and get inside
his head. What is it with this lick-
ing thing, anyway?” Another stu-
dent, who caught glimpse of the

‘ man, said he was a “normal-look-

ing guy, pervert that he is.”

Compelling explanations

* Wanda Eads, 43 (former con-
victed robber and drug addict),
taking advantage of a new Florida
law permitting death-row inmates
to marry, said in December she'd
marry convicted killer Frank
Valdes because “Frankie satisfies
all my emotional needs.”

“A di:

ig to Montgomery,

discovered him r ing
through the daughter’s room fill-
ing a bag with her underwear.

« Lonoke County, Ark, author-

Ala., police, Samuel R. Miller,
26, shot a woman in February
because she had run out of Moon
Pies in her apartment and “he

NOTICE oy S

We will close FOREVER on August 15, 1991.
Victor's SHOE Repair

© we install new window zippers for boat tops
© we repair or replace linings é& zippers in leather jackets
“All leather goods repaired”

365-6632 -

364-2339

1120 - 4th St., Castlegar, B.C.

For services after Aug. 15: 1570 2nd Ave., Trail (across from Safeway)

aunt's illnesses; need to orgi

her parents’ 50th wedding
janniversary; need to .cook
Thanksgiving dinner for 20 rcla-
tives; purchase 200 gifts: for
Christmas and Hanukkah; attempt
to sell her house without a Real-

jtor; lawsuit against wallpap
jeleaners; purchase of furniture
ythat had to be retumed and a toilet
in her house that was constantly
‘running. She was convicted.

: Fetishes on parade
} « Wendell Ray Bryant, 35, was
jarrested in January in Spokane,
}Wash., after police (with a search
arrant) found 100 women's
{high-heeled shoes in his apart-
ment. He had been in court sever-
ial years ago regarding 662 such
:shoes—162 at home and 500 in a

& Family Picnic For: Masons, Scottish Rite,
ls! York Rite, Order Of Eastern Star, Jobs

Daughters, Shrine And Friends!

$4 2 .00 per person

i

thé trauma of the accident.

+ In March, gourmet Howard
Schaeffer, 46, received a $1.1
million award from a New York
City jury, which believed that a
traffic accident had caused him to
lose his senses of smell and taste.
Asked why he continues to weigh
over 200 pounds, Schaeffer said
he has found other ways to enjoy
food: “It’s amazing how quickly
you can get into texture.”

¢ Arkansas Secretary of State
Bill McCuen, questioned in
November for poor judgement in
taking two female employees on
what he called a “business trip”
to Las Vegas, said he took two to
avoid the appearance of impropri-
ety that would have resulted if he
had taken only one. (He justifies

the two women, also, by pointing
out that three could travel as
cheaply as one, and indeed, the
three shared one motel room en-

route, in Gallup, N.M.)

(Send your Weird News to
Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 57141,
Washington, D.C. 20037)

The Castlegar Sun - for ali the
local news and sports! -

Schedule for July 17 & £8, 1991

Wed. 6:30 pm, Thurs. 9:00 ams;
+ West Kootenay Today - program highlights for the week
Wed. 7:00 pm, Thurs. 9:30 am
* Faith Alive - non denominational Christian program
~ ~ Wed. 8:00 pm, Thurs. 10:30 am
* Kootenay Musicians - featured this week - Ray Bouliane
Wed. 8:30 pm, Thurs. 11:00 am
+ Castlegar City Council - coverage from July 16th
Sunday, July 21
6:30 pm
* West Kootenay Today - program highlights for the week
7:00 pm
* Concerts in the Park - from Castlegar's Kinsmen Park
8:00 pm
* Faith Alive - non denominational Christian program
9:00 pm
* Kootenay Musicians - featured this week - Ray Bouliane

Presented to:

Laverne Bondaroff
Maternity, Castlegar &

Wy
The Cast gar Sun
AWS

Excellence in Service Award

District Hospital

This award will be presented every
week to someone in Castlegar who shows
extraordinary service to his/her customers
or clients.

The recipients will receive an award
plaque to keep courtesy of Kats Trophies
and. a lunch for 2, value to $20.00,

Q Free Hot Dogs and Pop for the kids Q
& (Dinner, FREE for Jobies only) es
: GAMES FOR ALL AGES :
B Reservations Deadline July 21
: P Phone:

B NELSON — Al Tomlins 354-4252
4 CASTLEGAR — Dave Dudley 365-6221
SALMO -— Shorty Kinakin 357-2275
@) TRAIL — Dennis Coons 364-1211 or
ce vA 364-2870
WN le Fer! ‘PLACE:
Trail Birchbank Picnic Ground
‘TIME: 2:00.p.m. |

courtesy of the Fireside Dining Room.

We'd like everyone in Castlegar to know there is an "Excellence in
Service" in their community, and to congratulate each of them personally.

If you know of someone that offers "Excellence in Service,” call me, Jon
1 Jarrett at 365-5266, or drop a letter at the Castlegar Sun with your suggestion.

ase Re aes i