Ladies of the Gun: Famed Chicago "Lady Killers"

In the early 1920s, Chicago saw a rash of "lady killers." Most were domestic violence victims who killed in self-defense and were quickly acquitted. But a few were glamorous "ladies of the gun" who were guilty, beautiful, and not one bit sorry.  Socialite Belva Gaertner shot her married lover in his car and then claimed she couldn't remember a thing. Married beauty Beulah Annan invited her secret boyfriend over while her husband was at work.  After drinking several gallons of wine, the illicit couple quarreled and Beulah shot him dead.  And the tragic Kitty Malm joined her boyfriend for an ill-fated factory robbery.

These three women were jailed alongside Sabella Nitti, an innocent immigrant accused of murdering her husband. The three gunwomen were the inspiration for the play "Chicago."  Sabella, considered the so-called ugly one, was made into a bit character.

Dr. Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, author of the book “Ugly Prey: An Innocent Woman and the Death Sentence that Scandalized Jazz Age Chicago,” tells the story of these legendary women.