Sante Kimes was an American criminal who was convicted of two murders, as well as robbery, violation of anti-slavery laws, forgery and numerous other crimes. Many of these crimes were committed with the assistance of her son, Kenneth Kimes Jr. They were tried and convicted together for the murder of Irene Silverman, along with 117 other charges. Kenneth made a plea deal in the murder of David Kazdin, pleading guilty and agreeing to testify against his mother in her trial for Kazdin’s murder (she was found guilty) in return for her not facing a death sentence. The pair were also suspected, but never charged, in a third murder in the Bahamas, to which Kenneth confessed.
Sante spent the better part of her life fleecing people of money, expensive merchandise, and real estate, either through elaborate con games, arson, forgery, or outright theft. She committed insurance fraud on numerous occasions, frequently by committing arson and then collecting money for property damage. She delighted in introducing her husband Kenneth Kimes as an ambassador, a ploy that even gained the couple access to a White House reception during the Ford administration, and she would sometimes even impersonate Elizabeth Taylor, whom she resembled slightly. Kent Walker [an estranged son] alleges she committed many acts of fraud not even financially necessary, such as enslaving maids when she could easily afford to pay them and burning down houses she could have easily sold.
She frequently offered young, homeless illegal immigrants housing and employment, then kept them as virtual prisoners by threatening to report them to the authorities if they didn’t follow her orders. As a result, she and her second husband, alcoholic motel tycoon Kenneth, spent years squandering his fortune on lawyers’ fees and defending themselves against charges of slavery.<1>
CITED REFERENCES
1. Wikipedia contributors, “Sante Kimes,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sante_Kimes (accessed April 4, 2019).
