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Charmed to Death
Tells the story of Jill Coit who, with her boyfriend, was convicted of killing her husband, Gerry Boggs, after a long career of bigamy, embezzlement, and murder
- GenresTrue Crime
305 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 20, 1995
49 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Singular
27 books40 followersStephen Singular is the author or co-author of 22 non-fiction books, many of them about high-profile criminal cases. He’s also written sports and business biographies and social commentary. Two of the books have been “New York Times” bestsellers.
His first book, Talked to Death, set the tone for his journalistic career. Published in 1987, it chronicled the assassination of a Denver Jewish talk show host, Alan Berg, by a group of neo-Nazis known as The Order. The book was nominated for a national award — the Edgar for true crime — and became the basis for the 1989 Oliver Stone film, “Talk Radio.” Talked to Death was translated into several languages and explored the timeless American themes of racism, class, violence, and religious intolerance.
His first book, Talked to Death, set the tone for his journalistic career. Published in 1987, it chronicled the assassination of a Denver Jewish talk show host, Alan Berg, by a group of neo-Nazis known as The Order. The book was nominated for a national award — the Edgar for true crime — and became the basis for the 1989 Oliver Stone film, “Talk Radio.” Talked to Death was translated into several languages and explored the timeless American themes of racism, class, violence, and religious intolerance.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
April 26, 2025
This lady is certainly bizarre. The story was interesting, but not unusual, really. Crazy wife murders husband has been done lots of times. But it held my interesting because it was not repetitive and the courtroom proceedings were nicely condensed. A search told me that the murderess is still alive and imprisoned.
June 11, 2021
This woman was/is completely unhinged.
December 4, 2008
Billed as The True Story of Colorado’s Cold-Blooded Black Widow Murderess, Charmed to Death was made into a FOX TV movie a few years ago. I can’t say I’m sorry I missed it.
The book promises 12 pages of shocking photos! (in black and white) that include a shot of the front of a Steamboat Springs hardware store (gasp!) and the DA and ADA on the case (hide the children!). Not that I buy books for the gory pictures, but that’s false advertising, if you ask me. And I don’t blame the author, who probably had nothing to do with the cover text, but sheesh, this story isn’t really about a “Black Widow” — she had nine husbands, yes, but she only killed one of them, well, maybe two. William Clark Coit, an engineer for Tenneco, was murdered under mysterious circumstances eleven years before, in 1972.
Jill Coit is the criminal of the hour and nutty as they come. She told people not long after she married Gerald Boggs that the couple was expecting. She and Gerry built a fabulous nursery and bought piles of baby clothes. Seven months later, Jill was the slimmest pregnant woman anyone had ever seen.
Jill claimed she went home to New Orleans to have the baby — and returned with a tragic story about her daughter being born and then dying. Most people believed her and gave her plenty of sympathy.
Finally Gerry saw the light. He wanted an annulment.
And then word started spreading around town that Boggs was hubby number nine, that between some of those marriages Jill hadn't always been divorced, and that she’d pulled this I’ll-have-your-baby-if-you’ll-marry-me scam before. And then Boggs turned up dead. In his kitchen. Shot. And beaten with a shovel. Jill blamed Gerry’s mysterious gay lover.
Not your typically clean Black Widow technique.
Oh, did I just ruin the story?
No, not really. You’d have to read this book to get all the bizarre details of this case. And trust me, there are plenty of them.
The book promises 12 pages of shocking photos! (in black and white) that include a shot of the front of a Steamboat Springs hardware store (gasp!) and the DA and ADA on the case (hide the children!). Not that I buy books for the gory pictures, but that’s false advertising, if you ask me. And I don’t blame the author, who probably had nothing to do with the cover text, but sheesh, this story isn’t really about a “Black Widow” — she had nine husbands, yes, but she only killed one of them, well, maybe two. William Clark Coit, an engineer for Tenneco, was murdered under mysterious circumstances eleven years before, in 1972.
Jill Coit is the criminal of the hour and nutty as they come. She told people not long after she married Gerald Boggs that the couple was expecting. She and Gerry built a fabulous nursery and bought piles of baby clothes. Seven months later, Jill was the slimmest pregnant woman anyone had ever seen.
Jill claimed she went home to New Orleans to have the baby — and returned with a tragic story about her daughter being born and then dying. Most people believed her and gave her plenty of sympathy.
Finally Gerry saw the light. He wanted an annulment.
And then word started spreading around town that Boggs was hubby number nine, that between some of those marriages Jill hadn't always been divorced, and that she’d pulled this I’ll-have-your-baby-if-you’ll-marry-me scam before. And then Boggs turned up dead. In his kitchen. Shot. And beaten with a shovel. Jill blamed Gerry’s mysterious gay lover.
Not your typically clean Black Widow technique.
Oh, did I just ruin the story?
No, not really. You’d have to read this book to get all the bizarre details of this case. And trust me, there are plenty of them.
April 25, 2017
It's kind of funny how spoiled brat Jill killed Gerry to keep him from exposing her real colors, but in the end, her secrets were exposed anyway. Now she can't hurt another man ever again.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews