‘Black Widow’ gets life in jail

A 69-YEAR-OLD former prostitute dubbed the Black Widow by the German press was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for the murder of four wealthy but frail elderly male companions.

Lydia Lassen-Berge’s accomplice, a 53-year-old man, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for carrying out the killings.

The court in Goettingen ruled that Lassen-Berge’s crimes were so serious that she will not be able to qualify for parole after 15 years in jail, as is usual under German law.

The killings happened between 1994 and 2000, but only came to light last year after the accomplice, Siegmund Schlufter, confessed the murders to police, saying he had carried them out at Lassen-Berge’s request.

The court heard that Lassen-Berge, who described herself in court as “very religious” and having no interest in sex, had lured the victims by advertising her services as a caregiver for elderly gentlemen in the local press.

In the notices, the well preserved, curly-haired woman identified herself as a widow in her mid-50s or early 60s.

She denied having anything to do with the murders, saying Schlufter, who was described in the press as simple-minded, had acted on his own accord.