Episode 18: Murderous Mother of Montgomery
Murderous Mother of Montgomery
Rhonda Belle Martin
At the death of little Mary Adelaide Garrett, friends and family grieved with parents George and Rhonda Belle. No one expressed any suspicions or concerns when their other four children died as well as George Garrett. “Poor Rhonda Belle,” they said to themselves, thinking that she must have the worst luck. And her luck kept getting worse as her fourth husband had an untimely death. When her fifth husband, Ronald Martin, ended up in the hospital, the authorities finally took notice. It wasn’t bad luck. It was poison.
Listen to this latest episode as we dive into her family tree to find some answers to why Rhonda Belle Martin would do such heinous acts.
Rhonda Belle Martin, ca 1956
Source: Shamokin News Dispatch, 11 Oct 1957
Source: The Montgomery Advertiser, 15 Mar 1956
Talmadge John Gipson, husband #3
Source: The Montgomery Advertiser, 18 Mar 1956
Claude C. Martin, husband #4
Alabama Journal, 3 Aug 1943
Source: The Montgomery Advertiser, 25 Dec 1939
Source: The Montgomery Advertiser, 28 Aug 1939
Source: The Montgomery Advertiser, 9 Apr 1939
Source: The Montgomery Advertiser, 16 May 1940
Source: The Montgomery Advertiser, 16 Jan 1934
From left to right: Rhonda Belle, Ralph Marvin, Murray, a young cousin, and Louise Kay.
The Thomley Family
Front row: William “Britt” Thomley (grandfather), Ralph Marvin Thomley (brother), Mary Grimes Thomley (mother), Ellen Luvisa Allen Thomley (grandmother)
Back row: Oscar Thomley (uncle), James Robert Thomley (father), Lula Thomley Vaughn (aunt), William Vaughn (uncle), Ozzie Thomley (uncle)
