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Kimberly Hricko

A bright and bubbly surgical technician, Kim Hricko led a comfortable middle-class existence with her husband, Steven. But the Hricko’s sunny, suburban image vanished in smoke and flame on Valentine’s weekend of 1998 when Steve and Kim went on a romantic getaway at a golf resort on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. As part of the special Valentine’s package, the resort staged a murder mystery play where guests watched the staged whodunit and then attempted to solve the puzzle. But after the play, the plot thickened when the couple’s room caught fire and Stephen’s charred body was discovered on the hotel room floor. Though Kim claimed her husband had gotten drunk and died from smoke inhalation, the resulting autopsy showed no signs of either alcohol or carbon monoxide anywhere in his body. At Kim’s trial, the prosecution argued that she had knocked Stephen out with Succinylcholine – a nearly untraceable muscle paralyzer used in surgery – in order to collect on his $400,000 life insurance policy. Found guilty on both charges, she’s currently serving life plus 30 years for arson and murder.