7 Love Triangle Affairs That Ended in Tragedy

The Family Affair

When Robin Heidt started having an affair with her brother-in-law, Craig, she had no idea it would turn tragic. Shortly after her husband, Carey, found out about the affair, he was found gunned down in his home alongside with his parents. But as police searched the scene, they noticed right away that something wasn't right. The crime scene appeared to be staged to look like a break-in even though nothing was taken.

Friends and family grew suspicious when Craig moved into Robin's house four months after the murders. "He is livin' in his dead brother's house, sleepin' in his dead brother's bed next to his dead brother's wife," Prosecutor Michael Muldrew said during the trial. "He is taking his dead brother's children to school and he's drivin' his dead brother's truck. He has become, for all practical purposes, Carey Heidt."

Craig was later arrested and charged with the murder of his brother and father and was sentenced to life in prison. However, many locals believed Robin should've been locked up alongside him. Many weren't convinced of her innocence, even though the widower turned on Craig and even testified against him in court. "When I looked at him, I just felt disgust," she said on 48 Hours Mystery. "Disgust at the affair, disgust at just him period. I wasn't comfortable with the relationship anymore. [I realized] there is this chance that he could have done this."

In 2011, Robin was in the news again for threatening her new boyfriend's ex.

The Pastor Love Affair

When Theresa Stone and her husband Randy joined New Hope Baptist Church, they became close friends with Pastor David Love. Of course, they had no idea exactly how close this "friendship" would blossom. Later, in 2010, Randy was found shot and killed at his insurance office. Shocked family and friends showed up to New Hope Baptist Church to light candles and listen to Pastor Love's loving eulogy to his late friend. But right away, investigators were suspicious.

When both David and Theresa were called in for questioning, police were skeptical of their air-tight alibis. When a torn-up letter was found in the pastor's office, investigators learned that Theresa and David were having an affair. She had given a gun to David in hope that, with her husband out of the way, they could start a new life together.

David is currently serving a life sentence, and Theresa is serving an eight-year sentence for conspiracy to commit murder.

The Calculated Murder Affair

In 2014, Sabrina Limon's husband, Robert, was found gunned down in the train yard where he worked. “We THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for acts of random kindness that has been shown to us," Sabrina chillingly wrote in a Facebook post after her husband's death. "Flowers. Gifts. Hugs. Food. All of the love love [sic] that has come to us has been such a BEAUTIFUL tribute to the AMAZING man Robert was and will never be forgotten.” However, an investigation revealed that it was actually Sabrina who was behind the murder, along with Jonathan Hearn, her new lover.

During their trial, Jonathan testified that the two originally had planned to poison Robert by putting arsenic in banana pudding. However, fearing they'd get caught, Sabrina called her husband and told him to throw the dessert away. They then chose a gun as their murder weapon hoping it wouldn't trace back to them.

Jonathan was later convicted and got a reduced sentence for testifying against his former lover. As for Sabrina, she's currently serving 25 years in prison.

The Pamela Smart Affair

In 1990, her case shocked the world when her husband, Greggory, was found murdered. Although the public was originally sympathetic to the grieving widow, investigators quickly learned that not only was Pamela behind the murder, she sought help from her 15-year-old student and lover, William "Billy" Flynn. In order to avoid a pricey divorce and profit off her husband's life insurance policy, she asked Billy to kill her husband, threatening to withhold sex if he didn't.

The case became a media sensation, inspiring the movie To Die For starring Nicole Kidman. Today, Billy has been released from prison after serving a 25-year sentence. Pamela is serving a life sentence and still claims she's innocent.

The "Talhotblond" Affair

Feeling bored with his life, Thomas Montgomery started chatting with a teenage girl he met in a chatroom named "Talhotblond." He lied to her and said he was 18 instead of 47. Together, the two had a cyber affair that lasted until Thomas' wife found out. Realizing he could no longer pursue the relationship anymore, Thomas told the truth to Talhotblonde about his real age. Horrified, the teen turned her attention to Thomas' 22-year-old co-worker, Brian Barrett. As the two grew closer, Thomas became jealous.

In 2006, as Brian sat in his car, Thomas shot him with a sniper rifle. As investigators arrived at the scene and started questioning co-workers, they learned about the love triangle. Worried about Talhotblond's safety, police arrived at her home where they found Mary Shiele, a middle-aged mom. It turned out Mary had been pretending to be her teenage daughter, Jessi, and was catfishing the two men all along.

Thomas is currently serving a 20-year sentence, and, although Mary was never convicted of anything, her daughter and husband no longer speak to her.

The Shawna Nelson Affair

In 2007, witnesses watched in horror as a masked woman shot Heather Garraus in the parking lot of a Credit Union. "You ruined my life! Get on the ground," the gunman said before pulling the trigger. However, once officers were called on the scene, they quickly zeroed in on Shawna Nelson, a co-worker who had been having a public affair with Heather's husband, Ignacio.

Not only did Ignacio father a baby with Shawna, he also tried to break up with Shawna numerous times throughout their tumultuous three-year affair. However, when Ignacio decided to end things for good, Shawna went off the deep end, shooting Heather in an act of revenge. Shawna was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

As for Ignacio, he takes full responsibility for the tragic love triangle he helped create. "Oh yes, I loathe,” Ignacio said in a televised NBC interview. "And I got to hide it so my kid doesn’t see how bad I loathe myself. Because a beautiful woman’s dead for me having an affair, the chain of events that I had no way of foreseeing. But ultimately if I never had an affair, Heather would be alive. It’s on me."

The Parachute Murder

In 2006, Els Clottemans and Els Van Doren went skydiving with their instructor, Marcel Somers. Already there was tension amongst the threesome considering both women were vying for the instructor's affection. Clottemans really started to feel unhinged when, while hanging out with Marcel and Van Doren, she heard the pair having sex.

The following day during a skydiving expedition, Van Doren horrifically found that both her parachute and safety chute had been cut and she died. Police were instantly suspicious of Clottemans. When they called her in for questioning, she tried to commit suicide. Although the police didn't have solid evidence, they were certain she cut the cords and sentenced her to 30 years in prison in 2010. She still maintains her innocence.