Robert “Bob” Samuels was a cameraman for movies like Lethal Weapon and Heaven Can Wait. His 1988 death was found to be the result of a shotgun blast by his ex-wife Mary Ellen Samuels, who discovered his body at home in Northridge, California. The murder weapon was used alongside a pillow to create a silencer, and during the investigation, nothing was found missing from the residence. The search for suspects led to connections within the film community, as well as to a former cop named James “Jim” Bernstein.

Though Bernstein at first seemed to be the prime suspect, an airtight alibi cleared him of the crime. The investigation eventually led to a drug-related trail and the discovery of Bernstein’s body, found strangled to death. Subsequent interviews and evidence linked Mary Ellen to the murder, with an exchange of $6,000 to someone who had information on the killings. In 1990, Mary Ellen was arrested in her home, and searches of her residence led to the discovery of a Polaroid photograph of her “clothed only with the blood money of her husband,” which gained her the title “Green Widow.” Paul Gaul and Darrel Edwards were paid by Mary Ellen to kill Bernstein and were arrested for his murder. Gaul and Edwards pleaded guilty in exchange for testimony against Mary Ellen.