Random Murderous Restaurant Owner Was The First White Woman Ever To Be Sentenced To Death In Georgia (12 items)

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  (#1) She Began Poisoning Her First Husband Three Years Into Their Marriage

  Ben Lyles, the owner of a family restaurant in Macon, GA, began getting sick in 1951, just about three years after he married Anjette Donovan. His symptoms included fatigue, nausea, and stomach pain.Doctors were baffled as they found no clear cause of his illness.

  On January 25th, 1952, Lyles died from the mysterious illness.
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  (#2) Poisoning Her First Husband Backfired, At First

  The motivation for Anjette Lyles’s first murder was likely marital troubles. She often fought with her husband, Ben Lyles, and this is likely why she started poisoning him. Her plan backfired, however, as the strain of his conditions forced Ben to sell the restaurant.

  For all of her frustrations with their marriage, Anjette thought the establishment would stay in her possession, and the sale reportedly shocked and infuriated her. Though it took years of work, Anjette would eventually buy back the restaurant with money she earned waitressing after Ben's death.

  Once she became the owner, she changed the name from Lyles' Restaurant to Anjette's.
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  (#3) The Town Grew Suspicious After The Death Of Her Second Husband

  Anjette began to lose favor in Macon after her second husband’s death. She remarried in 1955 to pilot Joe Neal Gabbert. Gabbert also died under mysterious circumstances. After undergoing a minor wrist surgery, he came down with a mysterious rash and fever, then died shortly after.

  In the years since Ben Lyles had died, Anjette's neighbors had warmed to the charming and charismatic lady who served them at the restaurant. However, following her second husband's passing, Anjette displayed odd behavior that raised eyebrows in Macon. 

  She spent Gabbert’s insurance money on a new car and house. Just months after becoming a widow a second time, she began dating another pilot. This made her seem cold and uncaring to Macon citizens.
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  (#4) She Pretended To Care For Her Mother-In-Law While Secretly Poisoning Her

  Julia Lyles, Anjette's mother-in-law from her first marriage, moved in with Anjette shortly after the death of her second husband. Anjette appeared to be playing the role of supportive daughter-in-law; however, she was actually poisoning Julia while pressuring her to make a will.

  In August 1957, Julia became ill. Anjette visited her in the hospital, bringing her snacks and drinks that were likely poisoned. Julia died in September, and Anjette was quick to present a possibly forged will in which Julia signed most of her savings over to Anjette's family.
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  (#5) Anjette Seemed Indifferent To Her Daughter Marcia's Death

  Anjette directed a lot of hostility towards her young daughter Marcia. She sometimes called Marcia a “Lyles-looking son of a b*tch.” She also reportedly threatened to kill the child on several occasions. When Marcia was hospitalized after getting sick in 1958, Anjette started to receive serious suspicion from her community.

  Anjette seemed certain her daughter would die, even going as far as to make funeral arrangements while Marcia was still alive. When Marcia began to have frightening hallucinations in the hospital, Anjette responded with laughter.

  When Marcia eventually died from kidney failure at age nine, Anjette​​​​​​​ seemed indifferent.
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  (#6) An Anonymous Letter Eventually Led To Justice

  An anonymous letter sent by an employee at Anjette's restaurant was what eventually led to justice. The employee mentioned that Anjette's maid told her there was poison all over the house she cleaned for the family.

  Anjette claimed this was to deal with an insect infestation at the restaurant. Knowing the restaurant was not infested with any pests and concerned with Anjette's bizarre behavior, the employee tipped off the coroner, who then test young Marcia's body for poisoning.
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  (#7) She Was A Beloved Community Member

  Anjette Lyles never would have struck anyone in Macon, GA, as a murderer. In fact, she came off as a charming, friendly woman and was generally well liked in the community. When she worked as a waitress in her husband’s restaurant – which she would later come to own herself – patrons found her charismatic and kind.

  No one would have ever expected Anjette would eventually be known across the country as a cold-hearted murderer.
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  (#8) She Had Connections To The Occult

  According to friends and family, Anjette Lyles displayed an odd affinity for the occult and witchcraft. She regularly visited fortune tellers for advice. Police reports claimed she also kept items in her home meant for voodoo and other rituals, such as roots, powders, and potions.

  She ceremonially lit candles to affect the fates of other people, and would even do so in her restaurant. Black candles were the most chilling, as she lit those in attempt to bring about the deaths of her enemies.
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  (#9) She Was Arrested For Murder In The Hospital

  Anjette Lyles's arrest was memorable. About a month after Marcia died, Anjette was hospitalized for an inflamed varicose vein. The police arrested her for murder, and since she could not walk due to her condition, she was taken to court in a wheelchair.
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  (#10) She Was Charged With Four Counts Of Murder

  Upon her arrest, Anjette Lyles was not just charged with her daughter Marcia’s murder. As both her husbands and her mother-in-law died of mysterious illnesses, there was suspicion she had poisoned them as well. Ultimately, she was charged with four counts of murder.
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  (#11) She Attempted To Deflect Suspicion By Having Her Daughter Lie

  Anjette Lyles attempted to save herself from suspicion when the coroner mentioned testing Marcia’s body for poisoning. She showed up at the office with her other young daughter, Carla, in tow. Anjette had Carla tell the coroner she had fed Marcia poison during a game of doctor with another child in the neighborhood.

  The coroner did not believe the story, yet still recommended that Anjette warn the other child about the game. Anjette allegedly proceeded to call a random number from the phone book claiming it was that child's parent.

  Later, the parent in question would reveal that not only had they not had a call from Anjette, but that their number wasn't even in the phone book to begin with.
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  (#12) She Was Saved From Execution By A Diagnosis Of Insanity

  A jury found Lyles guilty of murder and sentenced her to death in 1958, making her the first white woman to be sent to death row in the state of Georgia. However, she was found legally insane shortly after the sentencing and, instead of prison, sent to a state psychiatric ward.

  It’s likely she was granted an insanity defense due to potential controversy over executing a woman. In 1977, Anjette Lyles died at the mental hospital of a heart attack at the age of 52.

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