‘Black widow’ denies murder as trial begins

A former driving instructor dubbed the “Black Widow” of the French Alps denied drugging her husband and then burning him to death in his car.

The case has attracted public interest because of similarities between the manner of metal worker Daniel Cano’s demise, the death of two of Manuela Gonzalez’s former partners, and two other incidents in which her lovers narrowly escaped death.

“I continue to say that I am innocent of what I have been accused and that will be shown in court,” said Gonzalez, 53, on the opening day of her trial for murder.

The charred remains of Gonzalez’s late husband, 58, were discovered in his burnt-out car near the house he shared with her in Villard-Bonnot in the Isere region of the Alps.

Police believe the fire was started deliberately and that Cano had taken a large dose of sleeping pills.

It also emerged that a month before his death, there had been a fire in Cano’s bedroom while he was sleeping alone.

The bedroom blaze was blamed on the family dog knocking over a candle, but the couple’s son testified that he had heard his father say, during an argument several days after the incident, “Manuela, don’t take me for an idiot, there was no candle in my room”.

And it also came to light after Cano’s death in 2008 that Gonzalez had, without consulting her husband, re-mortgaged their house for €165,000, and that both husband and wife were regular gamblers.

As investigators looked into Gonzalez’s past, they discovered that four of her previous partners had been poisoned in suspicious circumstances, two of whom died. In 1983, her then husband spent three months in hospital having absorbed large quantities of anti-depressants.

A year later, a jeweller with whom she had begun a relationship was hospitalised after drinking tea she had laced with morphine derivatives as part of a plot to persuade him to write her a cheque for €12,000. That episode resulted in a conviction and a two-year prison sentence.

In April 1989, another lover died in his garage as a result of what was declared a suicide caused by asphyxiation from exhaust fumes from his car.

Another partner died in 1991 as a result of fumes caused by a fire at a flat they shared. Gonzalez was accused of causing the death but the charges were dropped three years later.

Lawyers for Cano’s family say the past incidents reflect a pattern of murderous behaviour while advocates for Gonzalez are expected to argue they have all been dealt with by the authorities and should not be considered relevant to this case.

The trial is also expected to focus on whether Gonzalez, who is of Spanish heritage, suffered from a split personality and whether financial problems related to her gambling may have been a motive. A verdict is expected on Friday.

Cano’s son, Nicolas, 30, said she has “two faces”.

“I have known her since I was six. She was kind, helpful, and smiley. She educated me and supported me throughout school. She was someone I loved very much and trusted,” he told Le Parisien before the trial.

“Now I see her other face: Machiavellian, manipulating and full of hatred. I thought I knew her but I didn’t know her.”

Gonzalez’s lawyer, Ronald Gallo, argued the previous cases were not relevant.

“Either they cannot be considered on statute of limitations grounds or they have already been judged.

“From the beginning, the police have convicted her on the basis of her past. There is no proof, not even a single indirect witness.”