Why Women Kill: Truth, Lies and Labels

She killed her husband for his insurance payout. Then she killed her next husband. And the next. And the next. Eventually, Belle Gunness received the label "Black Widow," a name given to a woman driven to kill her lovers for financial gain. But to what extent does the "Black Widow" archetype capture the bloody details of the Gunness story?

The song goes, "Lizzie Borden took an ax, gave her mother 40 whacks," but how much truth is behind the tune? Although she was never convicted, Borden's alleged crimes - murdering her stepmother and father - continue to haunt us. Was she an ordinary girl caught in an extraordinary situation? Or was she what society labeled her: a "Woman Who Snapped"?

Amy Archer-Gilligan ran a nursing home - or as it came to be known, a murder factory. Those under her care rarely made it out alive. Today, we'd label Gilligan an "Angel of Death." But does a label like that truly explain away her motivations?

Mary Pearcey was deeply in love with her flame Frank Hogg. But Frank? He ended up marrying his steady girlfriend, Phoebe. Mary's jealousy overcame her. Before long, Mary killed Frank's wife and child. Stories of "Jealous Lovers" occupy pop culture, but what does this story archetype tell us about the real crimes that occur by women in love triangles?

Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck are suspected of murdering up to 20 people. It's tempting to compare lethal couples with Bonnie and Clyde, but does that truly explain their dynamic?

Elizabeth Bathory murdered 600 servants and bathed in their blood. Or is that just a story? In the final episode, Tori Telfer investigates "Bloodthirsty Babes," women who kill just for the thrill of it.