The Complete Story of Thomas Randolph: The “Black Widower”
Introduction
Thomas William Randolph became known as the “Black Widower” after the killing of his sixth wife exposed a complicated history of marriages, insurance payments, and an earlier murder prosecution. On May 8, 2008, Sharon Causse Randolph and Michael James Miller were shot dead at the Las Vegas home Randolph shared with Sharon. Randolph told police that he had discovered his wife shot and then killed the masked intruder responsible.
Prosecutors argued that the home invasion was staged. Their case was that Randolph recruited Miller to kill Sharon so that he could collect life-insurance proceeds, then killed Miller to eliminate the person who could expose the arrangement. Two juries convicted Randolph of conspiracy and murder, although the first judgment was overturned because of improperly admitted evidence.
Following his second conviction in 2023, Randolph received a sentence of 60 years to life in prison. The Nevada Supreme Court upheld that judgment on August 31, 2026. His convictions concern the deaths of Sharon and Miller-not the deaths of all four former wives whose names became associated with his notoriety.
Background and First Marriage
Kathryn “Kathy” Thomas
Randolph’s publicly documented history is dominated by his adult relationships rather than a detailed account of his childhood. He married his first wife, Kathryn “Kathy” Thomas, in August 1975, when he was 20 and she was 18. They had two children.
In later documentary interviews, Kathy described him as intelligent, charming, and witty when they met. She also alleged that he became controlling, restricted her contact with friends, repeatedly cheated, and frightened her. These descriptions are her reported experiences, not separate criminal findings.
Kathy said that his possession of guns and a life-insurance policy on her contributed to her fear of leaving. The marriage ended in divorce in 1983. Randolph later acknowledged selling drugs during this period in a documentary interview.
Becky Gault and the Utah Murder Prosecution
A Second Marriage
Randolph’s relationship with Rebecca “Becky” Gault began before his first marriage ended. He married Becky on the day his divorce from Kathy was finalized. Relatives later described Becky as outgoing before the relationship and alleged that Randolph isolated her from friends and family.
By November 1986, Becky had left Randolph and was staying with relatives. She returned to his home to collect belongings and was later found dead from a gunshot wound. A gun and suicide note were present, and her death was classified as suicide.
Eric Tarantino’s Allegations
Authorities later investigated information from Randolph’s former friend Eric Tarantino. Tarantino said Randolph had discussed killing Becky in exchange for a share of the insurance proceeds. The allegations led to a murder prosecution.
Randolph denied murdering Becky. In 1989, a Utah jury acquitted him. That outcome remains essential to the record: he was prosecuted over her death but was not convicted of killing her.
The Witness-Tampering Conviction
While awaiting trial, Randolph tried to arrange Tarantino’s killing through a man who was actually an undercover officer. Randolph pleaded guilty to felony witness tampering and served approximately 18 months in prison.
The witness-tampering offense was separate from the murder allegation. It did not overturn the acquittal, but it became a significant part of Randolph’s criminal history. Reporting also describes his receipt of insurance proceeds following Becky’s death.
Later Marriages
Leona Stapleton
Randolph married his third wife, Leona Stapleton, in March 1994. They lived together in Utah and Indiana, but the marriage lasted little more than a year. They divorced in 1995.
Leona died of cancer in 2006, years after their divorce. Her death is sometimes included in the statement that four of Randolph’s wives died, but it should not be presented as an established suspicious killing or a crime committed by him.
Gayna Allmon
Randolph met his fourth wife, Gayna Allmon, through a personal advertisement. They married in October 1995. She later described an initially attentive courtship involving flowers and jewelry, followed by concerns about his controlling behavior.
Gayna said she learned about the earlier Utah murder allegations and became frightened after Randolph discharged a firearm near her while cleaning guns. She subsequently left and went into hiding. Their divorce was finalized in July 1997.
Her account is an allegation about conduct during their marriage, not a conviction for attempting to kill her. It is relevant to the relationship history, but it should not be turned into a proven additional homicide plot.
Francis Randolph
Randolph met his fifth wife, Francis, while they worked at a nursing home. They married in August 1997. He later described her as the love of his life and said that the relationship changed him.
Francis had a longstanding heart condition and underwent surgery in April 2004. She died afterward. Her daughter later expressed suspicions about Randolph, while he attributed the death to medical malpractice. He pursued a claim against the hospital and received a settlement.
Her death was not investigated as a homicide at the time, and Randolph was not convicted of killing her. The family’s suspicions and his explanation should be identified as competing accounts rather than resolved facts.
Sharon Causse: The Sixth Marriage
A Rapid Courtship
Sharon Causse was a divorced hairstylist with an adult daughter when she met Randolph through an online dating service in 2006. Her daughter, Colleen Beyer, later described a relationship that moved quickly. The couple married on a cruise ship within months of their first date.
Following the marriage, Sharon changed her estate arrangements to benefit Randolph. Life-insurance policies on her became central to the later prosecution, which alleged that he stood to collect more than $300,000 after her death.
Concerns From Friends
Sharon’s friend Deirdra Marley later described Randolph as possessive and alleged that he repeatedly called the salon where Sharon worked. She also reported concerns about bruises Sharon showed her and the insurance policies.
Friends and relatives testified during the Nevada proceedings. Their accounts supplied background to the marriage, but the murder case also depended on the physical scene, Randolph’s relationship with Miller, and communications before the shootings.
The Killings on May 8, 2008
Randolph’s Account
On May 8, Randolph and Sharon returned to their Las Vegas home after an evening out. He told authorities that Sharon entered first and that he discovered she had been shot. He said a masked man was inside and that he retrieved a firearm and killed the intruder during a confrontation.
The dead man was Michael James Miller, 38, a handyman Randolph knew. His body was found in the garage area near a ski mask and bags containing property. Randolph maintained that Miller had acted as an intruder rather than as part of an arrangement with him.
The Murder-for-Hire Case
Prosecutors argued that Randolph and Miller had planned a staged burglary. Miller would kill Sharon, and Randolph would collect the insurance proceeds. Randolph then killed Miller, prosecutors said, to prevent him from exposing the plot.
That theory accounted for both deaths: Sharon as the intended victim and Miller as the recruited participant who was subsequently silenced. Randolph denied the arrangement and continued to insist that he had confronted a gunman after his wife was shot.
Investigation and Arrest
Randolph’s Connection to Miller
Investigators learned that Randolph had hired Miller for odd jobs, lent him money, and maintained frequent telephone contact with him. Evidence showed near-daily communication in the months before Sharon’s death and that the men had been together only hours before the killings.
Miller’s relatives testified that he expected to receive money from Randolph and leave the state. That evidence challenged the picture of an unknown burglar who independently chose the house.
The Physical Scene
Police found no signs of forced entry. Keys to the house and costume jewelry were recovered near Miller’s body, and a ring was found in his pocket. Investigators examined whether the apparent theft and the location of the evidence were consistent with the account Randolph gave.
Prosecutors also questioned the shooting sequence and the ski mask found near Miller. The defense challenged the investigation and argued that the evidence could be explained by Miller committing the crime on his own.
The Recorded Walkthrough
Shortly after the killings, Randolph participated in a videotaped walkthrough of the house with detectives. He described and reenacted his movements, allowing investigators to compare the account with the scene.
Randolph later challenged the admission of the recording, arguing that medication and police pressure affected his participation. The Nevada Supreme Court ultimately concluded that the walkthrough was voluntary and that he had supplied clear, detailed descriptions.
He was arrested in January 2009 and charged with conspiracy and the murders of Sharon and Miller. The first trial did not begin until 2017.
The First Trial and Reversal
The 2017 Convictions
At the first Nevada trial, prosecutors presented their murder-for-hire case and extensive evidence concerning Becky’s death and the Utah allegations. A jury convicted Randolph of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of murder with a deadly weapon. He received a death sentence.
Why a New Trial Was Ordered
In 2020, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed the judgment because of the erroneous admission of propensity evidence concerning the earlier case. The court ordered a new trial.
The ruling did not acquit Randolph of the Nevada killings. It required the charges to be tried again without the same improper reliance on the Utah allegations. His acquittal in Becky’s death and his later prosecution over Sharon’s death remained separate legal matters.
Retrial and Sentencing
The 2023 Verdict
At the retrial, prosecutors focused on the Nevada deaths, the insurance motive, the relationship between Randolph and Miller, and the evidence from the house. The defense maintained that Miller acted alone and challenged the investigators’ interpretation of the scene.
On August 24, 2023, the second jury convicted Randolph of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of first-degree murder with a deadly weapon. The new verdict replaced the overturned judgment.
Sixty Years to Life
On April 4, 2024, District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced Randolph to an aggregate term of 60 years to life. Prosecutors did not seek the death penalty at the retrial.
Randolph spoke about his love for Sharon and continued to deny killing her. He appealed again, challenging several aspects of the proceedings.
The 2026 Appeal
On August 31, 2026, the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the judgment. It rejected seven appellate issues, including arguments concerning the right to a speedy trial, the recorded walkthrough, attorney-client privilege, and jury instructions.
Randolph remained incarcerated at Nevada’s Lovelock Correctional Center following the decision.
Psychological Profile: Control, Exploitation, and Self-Protection
Considered behaviorally, the convicted Nevada crime reflects instrumental violence: killing used to obtain a practical outcome. The prosecution identified insurance proceeds as the financial objective. Miller’s involvement provided a way to carry out the attack, while his subsequent death removed a person who could expose the arrangement.
The accounts of former partners also raise questions about control within relationships. Kathy and Gayna described an initially charming man who later frightened them, while Sharon’s friend reported possessiveness and repeated monitoring through telephone calls. These are attributed accounts rather than clinical findings, but they suggest a contrast between courtship behavior and the experience of living within the relationship.
The strongest interpretation of the murder scheme is exploitative and transactional. Sharon’s life was subordinated to a financial benefit, and Miller’s usefulness ended when his knowledge became a threat. This does not establish that every relationship Randolph formed was fraudulent; it describes how he treated the people involved in this crime.
The intruder account also served a protective function. It cast Randolph as a bereaved husband who had confronted an attacker rather than as the organizer of the killing. That attempt to control the explanation connects concealment of the crime with preservation of his own position. The separate witness-tampering conviction supplies another documented instance of trying to neutralize someone whose information threatened him.
These patterns support discussion of manipulation, exploitation, and self-protection, but they do not establish psychopathy or a specific personality disorder. His demeanor in interviews and his decision to pursue appeals are not diagnostic evidence. The psychological interpretation should remain anchored in the conduct and distinguish the Nevada convictions from earlier allegations that did not result in murder convictions.
Media Coverage and Legacy
The “Black Widower” Label
Randolph’s six marriages and the deaths of four former wives attracted extensive television and documentary coverage, including The Widower. The nickname helped make the case recognizable but encouraged a broader story of repeated wife killing than the convictions establish.
Leona died of cancer years after her divorce. Francis died following heart surgery, with family suspicions never becoming a homicide conviction. Becky’s death resulted in a murder prosecution and acquittal. Sharon’s death resulted in a murder conviction. Those outcomes should not be collapsed into one category.
The Families Behind the Case
Sharon’s daughter, Colleen Beyer, described her mother as loving and generous and spoke about the long wait for the legal proceedings to conclude. The first conviction, reversal, retrial, and appeals extended that process for years.
Miller’s participation in the plot did not erase his status as a murder victim. His relatives provided information important to the investigation. The case involved both the killing of a wife and the betrayal and killing of the person recruited to carry it out.
Conclusion
Thomas Randolph was convicted of conspiring with Michael Miller to murder Sharon Causse Randolph and of killing both Sharon and Miller. After his first judgment was overturned, a second jury convicted him in 2023. He received 60 years to life in 2024, and the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed the judgment in August 2026.
His history includes six marriages, an earlier murder acquittal, and a separate witness-tampering conviction. The full account requires those events to remain distinct. The Nevada case nevertheless provides a clear example of planned violence for financial gain, exploitation of an accomplice, and an effort to conceal responsibility behind a staged explanation.
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