Elizabeth Sennett, also known as Liz, was a 45-year-old woman who was brutally murdered in her home in Sheffield, Alabama, on March 18, 1988. Her death was the result of a murder-for-hire plot orchestrated by her husband, Charles Sennett Sr., a Church of Christ minister who wanted to collect the insurance money and start a new life with his mistress. The case shocked the nation and exposed the dark secrets of a seemingly devout and respectable family man.
Early Life and Marriage
Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett was born on December 10, 1942, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA. She was the daughter of Howard L. Thorne and Dosha Olean Taylor Thorne and had a sister named Sheila Lynn Thorne. She was of Caucasian ethnicity and had American nationality. Her zodiac sign was Sagittarius. She had green eyes and brown hair. She weighed 64.2 kg (161.5 lbs) and was 5’ 4″ (162.5 cm) tall.
She married Charles Sennett Sr. in 1962 when she was 19 years old. They moved to Alabama and had two sons, Chuck and Mike. Elizabeth was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, who was known for her kindness and generosity. She was deeply loved and respected by her family and friends, as well as by the members of the church where her husband served as a minister.
Elizabeth Sennett Wiki/Bio
| Name | Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett |
| Birth Date | December 10, 1942 |
| Birth Place | Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA |
| Death Date | March 18, 1988 |
| Death Place | Sheffield, Colbert County, Alabama, USA |
| Cause of Death | Murdered (Stabbed) |
| Spouse | Charles Sennett Sr. |
| Children | Chuck Sennett and Mike Sennett |
| Parents | Howard L. Thorne and Dosha Olean Taylor Thorne |
| Siblings | Sheila Lynn Thorne |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Caucasian |
| Zodiac | Sagittarius |
| Height | 5’ 4″ (162.5 cm) |
| Weight | 64.2 kg (161.5 lbs) |
| Eyes | Green |
| Hair | Brown |
| Net Worth | $80,000 – $85,000 (estimated) |
| elizabethsennett | |
| Homepage | newsunzip.com |
Murder and Investigation
On March 18, 1988, Elizabeth Sennett was found with fatal injuries in her home in Colbert County, Alabama. She had been beaten with a galvanized pipe and stabbed repeatedly in the chest, neck, face, and scalp. Her husband, Charles, claimed that he had found her lying in a pool of blood when he returned home from church. He called the emergency services, but Elizabeth died shortly after at the Helen Keller Hospital.
The crime scene looked like a home invasion gone wrong, as the glass of a medicine cabinet was shattered and a stereo and a video cassette recorder were missing from the home. However, the investigators soon realized that the scene was staged and that Charles Sennett was the prime suspect in his wife’s murder. They discovered that Charles had a history of mental illness, financial problems, and an extramarital affair. They also learned that he had recently insured his wife for $100,000 and had offered $3,000 to one of his tenants, Billy Gray Williams, to kill her.
Williams had hired two other men, Kenneth Smith and John Forrest Parker, to assist him in the murder. Smith and Parker had carried out the murder and stabbed Elizabeth Sennett to death at her home. A week after Elizabeth Sennett’s murder, Charles Sennett Sr. killed himself when he learned that he was a suspect in the murder. He confessed to his sons and their families that he had hired assassins to kill their mother and then shot himself in his truck in the church parking lot.
The investigators received a tip from Crime Stoppers that gave them the names of the suspects. Williams, Smith, and Parker were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Williams was sentenced to life without parole and died in prison in November 2020 due to an illness. Smith and Parker were both sentenced to death.
Execution and Controversy
Parker was executed by lethal injection in June 2010. Smith was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in November 2022, but the execution was stopped after the execution team was unable to connect the intravenous lines to Smith in the time available before the expiration of the death warrant issued by the Alabama Supreme Court. As part of a settlement between the state and Smith, the state agreed not to pursue Smith’s execution by lethal injection and instead use a novel method of execution, nitrogen hypoxia.
Nitrogen hypoxia is a process that involves placing the inmate in a sealed chamber filled with nitrogen gas and no oxygen, causing death by suffocation. It has never been used in the United States before and its effects are unknown. Smith’s lawyers argued that the method was cruel and unusual and violated the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. They also claimed that Smith was mentally ill and incompetent to be executed. They filed several appeals to the US Supreme Court and a federal appeals court, but they were all denied.
Smith is scheduled to be executed on January 25, 2024. If the execution goes ahead, he will be the first person to be executed using nitrogen hypoxia in the US. His case has drawn attention from human rights groups, media outlets, and the public, who have expressed concerns about the ethics and legality of the method. Elizabeth Sennett’s family, however, has supported the execution and said that they hope to finally get justice and closure for their loved one.
Net Worth
Elizabeth was a homemaker and a pastor’s wife who did not have a full-time job. Her main source of income was her husband, Charles Sennett Sr., who was a minister at the Church of Christ in Sheffield, Alabama. According to some sources, Elizabeth Sennett’s estimated net worth was between $80,000 and $85,000 at the time of her death in 1988.
However, her husband had a history of financial problems and was deeply in debt. He had recently insured his wife for $100,000 and had hired assassins to kill her to collect the insurance money and start a new life with his mistress. He also had a mental illness and an extramarital affair.
Sennett’s murder was a result of a murder-for-hire plot that involved three men: Billy Gray Williams, Kenneth Smith, and John Forrest Parker. Williams was a tenant of Charles Sennett Sr. and was offered $3,000 to kill Elizabeth. Williams then hired Smith and Parker to assist him in the murder. Smith and Parker stabbed Elizabeth to death at her home on March 18, 1988.
A week after Elizabeth Sennett’s murder, Charles Sennett Sr. killed himself when he learned that he was a suspect in the murder. He confessed to his sons and their families that he had hired assassins to kill their mother and then shot himself in his truck in the church parking lot.
Williams, Smith, and Parker were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Williams was sentenced to life without parole and died in prison in November 2020 due to an illness. Smith and Parker were both sentenced to death. Parker was executed by lethal injection in June 2010. Smith is scheduled to be executed by nitrogen hypoxia on January 25, 2024.
Physical Stats
Elizabeth Sennett was a 45-year-old woman who had green eyes and brown hair. She weighed 64.2 kg (161.5 lbs) and was 5’ 4″ (162.5 cm) tall. She was of Caucasian ethnicity and had American nationality. Her zodiac sign was Sagittarius
Parents and Siblings
Elizabeth was born on December 10, 1942, in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, USA. She was the daughter of Howard L. Thorne and Dosha Olean Taylor Thorne. She had a sister named Sheila Lynn Thorne.
Legacy and Memory
Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett’s life and death have been the subject of several documentaries, podcasts, and articles. Her story has been featured in programs such as ‘American Monster: Take Me to the River’, ‘Southern Fried True Crime’, and ‘The Murder of Elizabeth Sennett’. Her case has also been discussed in forums, blogs, and social media platforms, such as Instagram, where a hashtag #elizabethsennett has been created to honor her memory.
Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett is remembered as a loving and caring woman who was taken away too soon by a heinous crime. She is survived by her two sons, Chuck and Mike, and their families, who have been waiting for more than three decades for justice to be served. She is buried in Dempsey Cemetery, Red Bay, Franklin County, Alabama, USA, where her grave is marked with a headstone that reads: “In Loving Memory of Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett”.
