Cops: Charmer Seduces Men For Money

Las Vegas homicide detectives say Amy DeChant is an expert at using her charm and her body to seduce men out of money, jewelry, and property. They say once she's gotten all they have to offer, she moves on to the next mark.

In 1996, the next mark became Bruce Weinstein. Bruce was a wealthy gambler and the biggest illegal sports bookie in Las Vegas. When DeChant met Bruce, she could smell the big money. That's why cops say she methodically seduced her way into his heart, then moved into Bruce's mansion.

Bruce's mother says she could tell from the moment she moved in that DeChant was a "rat."  She claims her son leased DeChant a Camaro convertible, and bought her a diamond necklace after just meeting, but she still wanted more. When DeChant began making requests for hundreds of thousands of dollars Bruce refused to give her the money, and things got ugly.

Cause For Concern

On the morning of July 5, 1996, Bruce's mom, Sylvia, didn't get the daily phone call from her son. Concerned for his safety, she called him. Cops say DeChant answered and told her that Bruce had suddenly left on business. His mother didn't buy the story and went over to investigate. She claims she found Dechant upstairs cleaning when she made the chilling discovery.

Sylvia told police that she felt a wet spot and looked down to see blood on the floor and knew that Bruce was dead. She says she immediately suspected DeChant had murdered her son for the huge sums of cash he kept hidden in the house.

When police arrived, DeChant allegedly told detectives that a mob of men had murdered Bruce in the house. Police say she claimed she was allowed to live to clean up the bloody crime scene with the help of an employee from her commercial cleaning company, Bobby Jones.

DeChant was not immediately charged with the murder, but a warrant was issued for Jones as a material witness in the case. That's when police say Jones took off but your tips made him capture #466.

Evidence Of A Murder

On Aug. 11, 1996, Bruce's remains were found in the Nevada desert. An autopsy revealed that he'd been shot to death and his body had been partially dissolved by industrial strength cleaning chemicals. Chemicals like the one, cops say, DeChant was using to clean the floor.

Ironically, two weeks before Bruce's body was discovered, DeChant was stopped for speeding in Baltimore. In her truck, police found $100,000, a gun cleaning kit, a shovel, and a note to a male friend signed, "Amy on the Run," but she was released because she wasn't charged with a crime.

In September, DeChant was finally indicted for murder, but shortly thereafter, police say she went on the run.

AMW Capture #500

Fugitive Found In Oddest Of Places

Over the years, we've caught fugitives who've took to the hills, hid in remote cabins, and even blended into campgrounds, but rarely have we seen how far our 500th capture went to stay on the run.

On January 3, 1998, AMW profiled Amy DeChant as the "Black Widow" and tips came pouring in from Sunnier Palms -- a nudist colony in Ft. Pierce, Fla. The tips were so revealing that detectives found it hard to believe and initially dismissed them as outrageous. It turns out it wasn't that far fetched.

Through further investigation, police learned it was her nudist friends that were calling in with news of her whereabouts. They say she was going by the name "Sandy," but she had left two weeks before the broadcast. Cops believe DeChant read that she would be featured on the show and fled, but it didn't take long to catch up with her.

For three weeks, cops say she skillfully elluded capture. Then, on the morning of January 28th, a confidential source gave police information that Dechant was hiding in St. Lucia County, one town away from the nudist camp.

When detectives approached the residence, a vehicle pulled into the driveway. The driver, Jose Cosa,  told police that there was no female by the name of Amy living in the home, but there was one by the name of Sandy.

After unlocking the door, detectives say Amy was standing in the doorway with a robe on. They say she was shocked that authorities had found her so far away from Las Vegas. When asked if she had seen the episode on AMW, she said, "Yes, from a hotel room."

Detectives say DeChant didn't have very nice things to say about the show.