Widow stabbed her ex-father-in-law to death and then posted a selfie with his body on social media

Aanda blamed her father-in-law Charles (right) for her husband Rex's suicide (far right)


Friends of Amanda Taylor were shocked to the core when they read her graphic Instagram post in April 2015. They knew Amanda, 24, had been going through a tough time since the tragic death of her estranged husband Rex, but her chilling words were truly disturbing.

"Everything I did was for the right reasons. I stabbed my father-in-law to death because he destroyed my husband…" she wrote. "I wasn’t the perfect wife but this was one last good thing I could do."

It seemed unbelievable that someone would confess to a brutal murder on social media, especially as Amanda was a mum to two young children. But the widow followed it up with a post on her Facebook page saying, "I proudly did this for Rex."

Violence fanatics

When police discovered Amanda’s father-in-law Charles Taylor, 59, stabbed to death, a massive manhunt began. Amanda was on the run and threatening to end her life to be with Rex. Through social media, Amanda was about to show the world just how dark she really was.

Amanda, from Virginia, met Rex at school. She dropped out when she fell pregnant, the couple married and had a son, followed by a daughter. But their relationship was far from conventional. Both had a fascination with violence and wrote to serial killers behind bars.



Despite their devotion to each other, Rex was battling with addictions and depression. Amanda blamed Rex’s dad Charles for introducing his son to prescription drugs when he was just 15.

Stabbed to death

As Rex’s addictions got worse, Amanda told him she didn’t want drugs around her children and the pair separated in April 2014. Rex moved back in with his dad – by the August he was dead. He’d hanged himself in a shed on his son’s seventh birthday.

Amanda was devastated. She’d had a tough upbringing; both her parents had spent time in prison, but the suicide pushed her to the edge and she decided Charles was to blame for Rex’s suicide.

Amanda and Rex were born on the same day, March 27, and on their joint birthday in 2015, Amanda went to Rex’s graveside and tried to take her life. She survived and checked herself into hospital to get help – but despite her own protests, and objection from her mum, Amanda was released on April 1.

Three days later, Amanda went to the home of Charles with her friend Sean Ball. Charles was due to give her money for the kids for Easter but instead, Amanda stabbed her former father-in-law to death as he sat on the sofa. She made sure it happened at exactly 3.27pm to symbolise the birthday she’d shared with Rex – 3/27.

Amanda and Sean fled the scene with money from Charles’ wallet. Charles was a carer for his elderly father who was left vulnerable upstairs in bed. After the killing, Amanda posted a status on Instagram under her username brunette_bomber alongside a picture of a news report alerting members of the public that she was on the run with Sean, 32.

She wrote, "I stabbed my father-in-law to death because he destroyed my husband…"

She even phoned a local reporter and gave an interview comparing the thrill of stabbing to the first time she rode a rollercoaster. The social media updates continued.

On Facebook, Amanda said, ‘I proudly did this for Rex. I love my children but Charlie killed my husband."

After killing, Amanda posted pictures on social media boasting about the murder

It was clear Amanda intended to take her own life and she wrote that Sean was now dead.

She posted a goodbye message on Instagram next to a picture of a silver revolver on her lap. "Alright… it’s about that time. I’m going to go find my husband in Hell & finally be at peace," she wrote. "I love you mom & my beautiful crazies, I know you’ll give them the life I just couldn’t after everything… I can’t apologise ’cause I’m finally going to be free."

Sean was found by the side of a road with life-threatening injuries. It’s alleged Amanda turned on her partner in crime, shot him and left him for dead. As he was rushed to hospital, police were able to throw spikes across the road in front of Amanda’s moving car. It punctured her tyres and she was arrested in North Carolina.

As Sean recovered in hospital, he was charged with second-degree murder. Amanda told investigators she’d used a knife because she wanted Charles to see who had killed him. She was charged with first-degree murder. Despite multiple confessions, Amanda chose to plead not guilty.

Sean Ball was Amanda's accomplice

At the trial in November 2015, the jury heard that Amanda had stabbed Charles 31 times with a bayonet-style knife and had aimed for his face and chest. The medical examiner said 11 of the stab wounds had the potential to be lethal on their own.

It was revealed Amanda had taken a selfie at the scene with the bloody knife and the body of Charles behind her. It was never released to the public.



Amanda smirked through the trial, even as the interview she’d given to a reporter was played admitting she’d "wanted to watch him die." "I was excited," she was heard saying. "I know it sounds bad, but I was really excited."

The prosecution said Amanda was proud of what she’d done and had used social media because she wanted the world to know she was a killer.

The defence didn’t deny that Amanda was the killer but said she’d believed the act was justified and that love is a "powerful and overwhelming motivator".

It took less than an hour for the jury to find Amanda guilty.

Amanda’s mum took the stand and claimed her daughter was ‘always angry’ growing up and that after Rex died "her eyes just went empty". Amanda was emotionless as she received life in prison. Sean Ball awaits his own trial for murder.

Amanda’s confession by social media confirmed her guilty status to the world.