Amidst the sprawling cityscape of Dallas, where power and prosperity intersect with secrets and lies, Sandra Bridewell’s story unravels. Bridewell was a beautiful, alluring socialite in the affluent enclave of Highland Park when the television show “Dallas” and the Dallas Cowboys dominated American popular culture. Her tale, woven with deception, sex, and the dark underbelly of high society, plays out in a close-knit community known as the Beverly Hills of the Southwest.
The Enigmatic Black Widow
Sandra Bridewell, infamously known as “The Black Widow,” lived a life that reads like a script from a classic thriller. Her charm and beauty masked a sinister reality of purported suicides, murders, beatings, romance scams, religious cons, and identity theft. True Crime author John Leake peeled back the layers of Bridewell’s enigmatic persona in his book, “The Meaning of Malice: On The Trail Of The Black Widow Of Highland Park” in an extended interview with me on the True Crime Reporter® Podcast.
John Leake believes Bridewell is not only a Black Widow but a serial killer. “I believe after evaluating all of the evidence—circumstantial and physical evidence displayed in these death scene photos—that these were not self-inflicted. There was another party involved. This evidence, combined with circumstantial evidence and witness testimony, leads me to believe that Sandra Bridewell is, in fact, an officially undetected serial killer,” says Leake.
A Troubled Childhood
Sandra Bridewell arrived in Dallas in 1950 as a child after her mother had been killed in a car accident. Her father’s soft drink bottling business had fallen on hard times, and he lost his leg in a hunting accident. He remarried and sold cemetery plots. Sandra did not get along with her stepmother and had a burning desire to escape from South Oak Cliff, a working-class neighborhood across the Trinity River from downtown Dallas.
Sandra attended Kimball High School, a reputable public school. Given what is now known about Sandra’s social aspirations, it is believed that she perceived her neighborhood as humble. John Leake remarks, “Dallas culture—Neiman Marcus, the Dallas Cowboys, the affluent Hunts and Murchisons—promotes a Cinderella aspiration. This seems to have ignited Sandra’s imagination. She was a beautiful girl, talented in French cooking, culture, and interior decorating, and she aspired to find herself a wealthy man.”
The Socialite’s Rise
Sandra Bridewell took root in Highland Park by marrying David Stegall, a young, handsome dentist with aspirations of his own. They met at an apartment complex called the Spanish Trace, known for its glamorous residents. Despite the glamorous facade, Sandra’s expectations of wealth soon outstripped David’s income.
“Sandra hired John Astin Perkins, a Yale-trained art historian and interior designer, for their home in Greenway Parks. Quite quickly, David realized the interior design project, antiques, tapestries, and original oil paintings were outstripping his income,” Leake explains.
In 1975, David Stegall, the father of their three children, was driven to the brink of bankruptcy. Then suddenly, Sandra called a friend and said something terrible had happened to David. Leake recounts, “Before she called the police, she called some friends, prominent dentists, and another medical man. They rushed over to see him dead in the bedroom before the police arrived. This put a layer of insulation between her and the police, establishing her social bona fides.”
A High-Profile Romance
A year after burying her first husband, whose suspicious death was ruled a suicide, Sandra struck up a relationship with a very wealthy, high-profile restaurateur, Norman Brinker. Brinker, an Olympic equestrian and a pioneering entrepreneur in the casual dining industry, found Sandra charming when they met at a carwash.
“Sandra encountered Norm at a carwash, and he found her very charming. They had a brief, high-profile romance. Sadly for Sandra, it was not to last,” Leake notes.
The Church Warden’s Affair
After Brinker, Sandra set her sights on other wealthy men, including a churchwarden at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church. The affair and subsequent financial entanglement with this married, high-profile man led to a lawsuit, which Sandra settled by leveraging the potential scandal of their intimate relationship.
“Sandra persuaded the churchwarden to co-sign a loan, which she never paid. When he countersued, she revealed the intimate details of their relationship, leading his attorney to settle the matter quickly to avoid exposure,” says Leake.
The Allure of Sandra Bridewell
Sandra’s striking beauty and captivating presence made her irresistible to many. Leake remembers encountering Sandra multiple times in his early teenage years. “She had these big brown eyes that would hold you in her gaze as though whatever you were saying was the most fascinating thing she’d ever heard. She had this lustrous brown hair and milky white skin that contrasted with her raven hair and brown eyes.”
Sandra Bridewell had a devastating effect on men and women in the years to come. In part two of our three-episode series “Malice In Dallas The Black Widow of Highland Park,” John Leake explores more mysterious shooting deaths in Sandra Bridewell’s social web. It’s a tale of intrigue and sorrow you will not want to miss.
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