"Marriage - a death sentence!"

Marriage is supposed to be the happiest time of ones life, but for the unlucky few, the last part of the wedding vows occurs earlier than expected. Till Death Do Us Part: True Crime Stories of Australian Marriages That Ended in Murder portrays the gruesome accounts of twelve actual marriages, spanning from the 19th century to today, which ended in murder.
Boasting a writing career spanning over 30 years, Paul B. Kidd is a ‘recognised authority on Australia’s worst criminals, serial killers and unusual murders’. Till Death Do Us Part is his latest book that compiles twelve tragic stories that have both shocked and fascinated people across the country for years. From the recent ‘sex goddess’ who ordered a hit on her lover’s wife, to the ‘black widow’, to the scientist who chopped up his wife’s body and flushed her down the toilet, this book is a must have for true crime enthusiasts. Once you begin reading, the stories will shock, horrify and make you wonder how anybody could act so appalling, however you just want to keep turning each page to find out what happens next.
The story of the ‘sex goddess’ describes the most recent tragic account of the murder of Carolyn Matthews in Adelaide in 2001. Mrs Matthews met her untimely end at the hands of a hit man, David Key, who was hired by the late woman’s husband and his sex-crazed lover Michelle Burgess. Unknown to Mr Matthews at the time, Burgess was also having an affair with the hit man, causing Matthews to later deny having an affair with Burgess. It did not take long to link Burgess, Key and Matthews to the murder and all were sentenced to prison. Murdered by people ‘who no longer had feelings for each other and would most likely never see each other again’ was described as being ‘such a horrible shame.’
The disturbing account of the ‘black widow’ relays the ‘horror story’ of how Katherine Knight dissected her lover ‘as she would an animal … then cooked his head and slices from his buttocks and served them up as meals.’ Kidd draws upon stories of cannibalism from across the globe are briefly described ‘in an attempt to draw any sort of comparison to this extraordinary crime.’ While it was clear Knight, an abattoir worker, slaughtered her husband, John Price, the police were unable to determine if cannibalism actually occurred, but evidence indicated that such an event may have happened.
Each of the twelve riveting stories trace the case from the beginning to the end. All provided an insight into the planning of and the carrying out of the murder, some of the police investigations into the case, the trial and the final sentencing that the perpetrators received. The author describes his book as being ‘about the callous, unusual, barbaric and bizarre side of murder in marriage.’ Till Death Do Us Part a truly remarkable and memorable read, one you will not be able to easily forget about.