From Haber’s appeal: James Joseph Brandt was the admitted killer of Albert Haber. Brandt pled guilty to first degree murder, and pursuant to a plea bargain he received a life sentence. Brandt testified that Betty Lou Haber engaged him and her son by a previous marriage, Arnold Jefferson McEver, to kill her husband in the Haber home on the night of January 24, 1975. The plan was to make it appear as though the murder had occurred during the commission of a burglary. Brandt said that before Mrs. Haber went out for the evening, she left open a sliding glass door to facilitate the entry into the Haber residence that night. Brandt explained that he and McEver went to the residence as planned and put some fake pry marks on the door to make it look like a forceful entry had occurred. The house was placed in disarray in order to make it appear that it had been burglarized. Then Brandt and McEver lay in wait for Mr. Haber to enter the house.
When Haber came home, Brandt struck him with a rifle butt. Then Brandt and McEver beat him several times in the head. The men took some guns and other items from the house with them when they left. Brandt later decided that Mr. Haber might not be dead so he returned alone and shot him in the mouth with a revolver. An autopsy later revealed that the beating rather than the gunshot wound caused Mr. Haber’s death. While Brandt was the only witness who directly implicated the appellants in the killing, there was other substantial evidence which corroborated the fact that McEver participated in the murder and that Mrs. Haber was active in the planning of how it was to be accomplished.
The pool man with a past
Parole denied ex-socialite in 1975 murder
Tampa socialite to be paroled for 1975 murder of husband
‘Black Widow’ is freed 28 years after murder
Ex-Tampa socialite paroled after 27 years
Arnold Jefferson McEver III v State of Florida 1978
Betty Lou Haber v State of Florida 1981 (conviction and sentence affirmed)
Betty Lou Haber v Louie L. Wainwright 1985
Woman gets award for prison work: Women’s Peacepower Foundation honors Betty Lou Haber for her years of work on behalf of other inmates at Florida Correctional Institute (about 1/2 way down)
Ex-Tampa socialite paroled after 27 years habeas corpus
Movies/Documentaries
Evil Stepmothers: The Price of Greed
Defendants
Betty Lou Haber – convicted, sentenced to life in prison; released on parole 3/07/2007
Arnold Jefferson McEver – convicted, sentenced to life in prison; scheduled for parole 2020
James Joseph Brandt – pled guilty, sentenced to life in prison; killed in jail
INMATE INFORMATION
DC Number: 149904
Name: HABER, BETTY L
Race: WHITE
Sex: FEMALE
Hair Color: GRAY OR PARTIALLY GRAY
Eye Color: BROWN
Height: 5’05”
Weight: 197 lbs.
Birth Date: 10/09/1935
Custody: MINIMUM
Release Date: 03/07/2007
Stated Residence Upon Release:
21572 LANCASTER RD.
LIVE OAK, FL. 32060-5885320605885
Aliases:
BETTY HABER
BETTY L HABER
Current Prison Sentence History
Offense Date: 01/24/1975
Offense: 1ST DG MUR/PREMED. OR ATT.
Sentence Date: 07/21/1975
County: HILLSBOROUGH
Case No.: 7500518
Prison Sentence Length: SENTENCED TO LIFE
Incarceration History:
Date In-Custody: 09/29/1975
Date Out-Custody: 03/04/2003
INMATE INFORMATION
DC Number: 049487
Name: MCEVER, ARNOLD S
Race: WHITE
Sex: MALE
Hair Color: BLACK
Eye Color: BROWN
Height: 5’08”
Weight: 197 lbs.
Birth Date: 09/17/1952
Initial Receipt Date: 10/01/1975
Current Facility: UNION C.I.
Current Custody: MEDIUM
Current Release Date: SENTENCED TO LIFE
