Dennis Murphy Correspondent • Profile

It was a cold case -- literally.  The partially frozen body of a man was found slumped inside a Bronco, shot twice.

Steve Pacheco: It's the case that I'll never forget … I wish it was solved.  I mean, it will never go away.

The suspect then is still the suspect today, more than 20 years later:  the beautiful, enigmatic widow with seductive eyes and a string of hapless men on her charm bracelet.

Dennis Murphy: So, who is this woman?

William Dear: The Black Widow. Her bite is fatal.

A black widow to some and a mystery to so many.

She's gone by several names over the decades, but most people have called her Sandra.

When they talked about the suspicious deaths and the murder, when they whispered about the coast-to-coast scams, the name on their lips was Sandra.

And right here is where the whispers started.

Dallas, Texas.

And not just plain old Dallas, but Highland Park, with its decorator magazine houses and expensive cars. Big D's answer to Beverly Hills.

And in 1984, that's where Alan Rehrig, a young Oklahoma guy new to town, found himself cruising pricey streets looking for a garage apartment.

Best old friends Phil Askew and Carl McKinney wish they could stop the movie of Alan's life right there. Fate.

Phil Askew: He's just driving down the street, on Lorraine here, where she lived and he stopped the car, she was out in the front yard.

She was Sandra Bridewell, a recently widowed mother of three. Dark-haired, helpful and to Alan, a major babe.

Carl McKinney: When he drove up and saw her, he was just mesmerized, I think, it [was] just, "Wow! Look at this lady."

Barbara Nathan: She had a way. Men just sort of … were fascinated with her. 

Barbara Nathan was one of Sandra's closest friends and she'd seen men drool that way before.

Barbara Nathan: She was a little flirty.  So were some of the men, I might add.

An old-school Southern belle with a Mercedes convertible and a home in the best zip code.

Barbara Nathan: She oozed charm.  She had a soft voice.  She had a flourish.

Now, 29-year-old Rehrig had just moved down from Edmond, Okla., where he'd been a glory-days hero, a star athlete in high school and college.

He'd made a pass at professional golf and then tried the oil business,  without having much success at either.  So his longtime buddy Phil Askew invited him to Dallas with an offer at his mortgage company.

Phil Askew: We were looking at adding a few people so I said, "Why don't you come on down here and lets give it the try."  And I think he was down here the next week.

Down checking out the possibility of renting a cheap apartment in Highland Park when he spotted that attractive woman on her front lawn.

Phil Askew: He saw her, got out of the car, went up to her, asked her if there was any garage apartments available in the area, if he knew anything.  She said she'd check.  And gave each other their name and number.

Soon the perfectly turned-out woman from Highland Park society was calling the jock from Oklahoma, inviting him to black-tie galas.

Mrs. Rehrig: He thought she was beautiful.

Gloria Rehrig is Alan's mother, and he couldn't believe that this woman was interested in him.

Back in Oklahoma, all she knew about the Dallas woman was that Sandra was 36 -- several years older than Alan.  She'd been widowed twice with three children.

Mrs. Rehrig: We felt very sorry for her, and so did Al. And he felt like he had something to offer her with his family. And she just embraced us like we were going to be her saviors.

Gloria Rehrig thought the relationship would be a passing flirtation.  But Alan's friends felt otherwise.

Carl McKinney: She was a very, very alluring woman, I have to tell you.

Dennis Murphy: And the way they acted boyfriend-girlfriendish was what?  Affectionate?

Carl McKinney: Oh, yeah. He picked me up in a Mercedes Benz that she owned.  Well, she sat on the console next to him.  And hung on to him while he drove. I thought, you know, I said, "Man, all right Al, I think you-- you've done very well here.

Sandra's beauty and apparent wealth were pluses for Alan, for sure, but so were her children.

Phil Askew: She had three kids. So he got into the family.  And he felt pretty strongly about that they needed a father figure.

NBC video 1: Sudden romance with a mysterious stranger Some call her a “Black Widow,” but to Alan Rehring she was beautiful, enigmatic and rich Dateline NBC

Soon the friend remembers, the children began showing up at work.

Phil Askew: She was having the kids come up to the office and bring flowers to Alan.  And the girls would say, "We're pulling for you Alan." So the pressure was starting to build.

It was building to a boil, as it turned out, to tie the knot.  Alan and buddy Phil were driving to a basketball game when a distraught Alan broke some big news.

Phil Askew: And he was tearing up pretty good.  And I go, "What's going on?" and he goes, "Well, she's pregnant."  And I think my conversation with him went something like this.  "Do you love her?"  and he goes, "Yes, I do."  And I go, "Well, there you have it." 

Alan and Sandra were married Dec. 8, 1984, just 6 months after Alan had moved to Dallas.

Dennis Murphy: Alan did the right thing and married her?

Mrs. Rehrig: Yes.

Dennis Murphy: And was Alan happy?

Mrs. Rehrig: He seemed very happy … and the children were just all over him. 

The odd-coupling of the society woman and the good ol’ boy seemed to work for his buddies but on Sandra's side, one close friend, Barbara Nathan, wondered what Sandra could have been thinking.

Barbara Nathan: Well, he was just a guy. Didn't think he was particularly attractive and I didn't particularly like his personality.

Dennis Murphy: What do you think was going on there?

Barbara Nathan: Well, i'm not sure.  I think she was lonely at that point probably.  And here came this young guy and I guess she found him attractive … I think he was looking for a meal ticket.

Not even two months after they were married, Sandra called Al with devastating news.  Phil Askew was with him.

Phil Askew: We got the call from Sandra saying that she'd had a miscarriage.

Mrs. Rehrig: He grieved so badly.  He really did want a family and want children.

And soon both Sandra and Alan were telling their friends that their marriage was hitting the rocks.

Phil Askew: He would talk about some of the things that went on at home.  And he thought she was getting a little weird on him.

Dennis Murphy: Weird how?

Phil Askew: She's saying, “You need to get life insurance for the benefit of the family" and you know, he wasn't making big dollars yet ... and she pushed and pushed until he got life insurance.

Less than a year after the wedding, in November, 1985, Sandra and Alan separated. He moved in with his friend Phil.

Barbara Nathan: She just said, "I think I made a mistake.  This is not working out … I think maybe I need to get a divorce.”

They'd been split for a month. No calls. No visits.

When Sandra phoned and asked Alan to come meet her at the mini-storage where they'd warehoused some stuff, they agreed to meet there late afternoon. It was a Saturday in December.

Phil Askew: I was pulling into the driveway, and he was pulling out.  And I waved at him, and he waved at me. And that's the last I saw him.

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