Teresa Lewis, a mentally challenged woman who was executed for the murder of her husband, Julian Lewis, and her stepson, will make an episode of Fatal Vows on Investigation Discovery. The episode titled “Second Chance At Death” is the season opener.
The show Fatal Vows examines marriages that have ended in tragedy. Julian Lewis’ family members will most likely appear in the episode, along with Virginia police detectives who helped solve the case.
Death Comes In
When Julian Lewis’ wife died in 2000 after 28 years of marriage, the distraught man thought that he would find love again with a woman 18 years younger. Teresa Lewis was an attractive woman and had a quality about her that enticed several men.
What Julian Lewis did not know was that his wife was looking for a cash cow, a gullible type who would support her and her children financially. She never loved him. And during their marriage, Teresa had many lovers and even engaged in threesomes.
Prosecutors believed that Teresa Lewis wasn’t just a loose woman, she was also a killer. People who knew her say that she loved men, money, and attention. When the money started running out, she came up with the perfect plan to obtain more– she would kill her husband and her stepson and cash in on the insurance money.
Teresa Michelle Lewis used two male friends to carry out her plan, and she promised them money and more sex if they would agree to the plot. Instead of walking away, Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller packed their guns and prepared themselves to kill Julian and ‘C.J.’. When they arrived, Matthew and Rodney ambushed the father and son and began firing.
‘C.J.’ and Julian didn’t die right away. Julian held on until police arrived and was able to tell them that his wife knew who had shot him.
Death For Teresa
What struck detectives from the beginning was that his wife waited two hours to call 911, according to the Daily Mail.
“Lewis offered herself and her 16-year-old daughter for sex to Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller. She stood by while they shot Lewis, 51, and his son, who was 25, in 2002. Lewis rummaged through her husband’s pockets for money while he lay dying and waited nearly an hour before calling paramedics.”
It wasn’t long before Teresa Lewis was finally arrested. She confessed to plotting the murders after failing a lie detector test. For her part in the double killings, she received the death penalty. Her co-conspirators Matthew Shallenberger and Rodney Fuller received life sentences, according to the Washington Post.
When Teresa Lewis was finally executed in 2010, her supporters came out in droves. They condemned the state of Virginia for murdering Teresa, as they called it. Her supporters believed that it was unfair for Teresa to be on death row while the men who had actually gunned down her family were allowed to live.
Looking back, Julian Lewis’ daughter, Kathy, hates that she didn’t see the signs earlier. She knew that something was wrong with Teresa, but had no idea that she was looking into the eyes of a killer.
On the day of her execution, Lewis spent the better part of the day visiting with family members and eating her last meal, which was fried chicken and peas. For months leading up to the execution, the death row inmate put on a brave face, stating that she trusted Jesus and wasn’t worried. However, when it was time to enter the death chamber, Teresa Lewis was visibly frightened and nervous, according to a report by ABC News.
Watch the new season of Fatal Vows tonight at 10 p.m. on Investigation Discovery(ID). Here read the case of a cop and former Marine, who shot and killed his beautiful wife and tried to make it look like a suicide.
[Featured Image by Steve Helber/AP Images]