According to LiveScience.com, men tend to commit murder more than women. But one of America's most notorious serial killers was a female — and she avoided capture in Colorado.

We're talking about Louise Peete, a Louisiana native who Medium author Mary Holman reports lived a comfortable but troubled life before her killing spree. Here's what happened.

The woman who put money before marriage

Peete was known for offing her lovers, but she didn't kill her first husband. CrimeScribe notes that he took his own life after she cheated on him in 1906.

Instead of mourning, she began traveling throughout various states, stealing from wealthy men and changing her name to avoid suspicion. She then met a man named Joseph Appel in Waco, Texas — a week after their meeting, she shot him to death.

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Peete evaded punishment for Appel's murder by claiming self-defense and moved to Dallas, where she married a man named Harry Faurote. Shortly after their nuptials, she stole $20,000 from his work and blamed it on him, making him Peete's second partner to take his own life (although some believe she killed him).

Peete then moved to Denver and married a salesman named Richard Peete, who gave her the name we know today.

Louise Peete tries to avoid paying for her crimes in Denver

After having a daughter named Frances Ann, Peete left Richard in 1920 — alive, thankfully.

She moved to Los Angeles and began living with another wealthy man named Jacob Denton, who agreed to rent her his local mansion while he did business in Denver. A month after she moved in, in June of 1920, he disappeared.

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Peete began using Denton's money and making increasingly wild excuses for his absence. Denton's teenage daughter became distrustful of Peete and hired a lawyer to investigate her.

Nervous, Peete rented out Denton's property and moved back in with Richard and her daughter in Denver. According to CrimeScribe, it was around that time that police discovered Denton's body in the basement of his mansion.

Denver police catch the killer

Denver police located Peete, and a California judge sentenced her to life in prison for Denton's murder. Devastated by his wife's imprisonment, Richard took his own life in 1924.

Holman reports that Peete got out of prison for good behavior in 1939, changed her name to Anna Lee, and began working housekeeping jobs. After her first employer died (no word on if she was involved with that), she began working for a woman named Margaret Logan, whom she had met previously in prison.

Unsurprisingly, Margaret disappeared in 1944. Peete put Margaret's husband, Arthur, in a state hospital, moved into their home with her latest husband, and began spending the Logans' money. The problem? Peete never learned that Arthur died in the hospital shortly after his admittance — and she had kept cashing his checks.

Police got suspicious and discovered Margaret's body in the Logan's backyard. Peete went to prison again, and her new husband, distraught over her arrest, took his own life.

The jig is up for Louise Peete

According to Last Words of the Executed, the state of California put Peete to death via gas chamber in 1947. Her final statement? "I'm ready. I've been ready for a long time."

Peete faced justice for three confirmed killings, but Murderpedia reports that she is suspected of many more.


Learn more about infamous serial killers with connections to Colorado in the gallery below.

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