The Investigation Behind Netflix’s New True-Crime Release
The streaming release of the true-crime documentary series The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part on Netflix has brought renewed attention to one of the most convoluted murder cases in modern Nevada history. The series, which arrived on the platform on September 30, tracks the decades-long web of marriages, suspicious deaths, and legal battles surrounding 71-year-old Thomas Randolph. According to The National, the documentary follows veteran journalist Dan Slepian and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department detective Dean O’Kelley as they unravel how Randolph accumulated six wives—four of whom died before his arrest.
The core of the criminal case centers on the events of May 8, 2008, at a Las Vegas residence shared by Randolph and his sixth wife, Sharon Causse. On that night, Causse, 57, and Michael Miller, a handyman who worked for Randolph, were shot and killed. Randolph told investigators that he returned home to find his wife dead, and that he subsequently shot Miller after encountering him inside the house, believing him to be an intruder.
The Prosecution’s Case and Marital History
Investigators quickly grew suspicious of Randolph’s narrative. Detective O’Kelley examined the physical layout of the crime scene and found inconsistencies with a standard home invasion. Prosecutors subsequently built a case alleging that Randolph had hired Miller to murder Causse so that Randolph could collect upwards of $300,000 in life insurance payouts. According to trial arguments, Randolph then shot Miller to eliminate him as the sole witness to the plot.
As law enforcement expanded their inquiry, they uncovered a disturbing marital history. Randolph had married six times beginning in 1975: Kathryn Thomas (divorced in 1983); Becky Gault (who died from a gunshot wound in Utah in 1986); Gayna Allmon (divorced); Francis Randolph (who died in 2004 after heart surgery); Leona Stapleton (who died of cancer); and finally Sharon Causse. Gault’s 1986 death was initially ruled a suicide, but Randolph was later charged with her murder in 1988 after collecting a $500,000 life insurance payout. A Utah jury acquitted him in 1989 after defense attorneys successfully argued suicide, though an acquaintance testified that Randolph had previously asked him to kill Gault.
Appeals, Overturned Convictions, and Current Status
Following his arrest in January 2009, Randolph engaged in years of legal maneuvers, repeatedly hiring and firing defense counsel to delay proceedings. A Nevada jury ultimately convicted him of first-degree murder and conspiracy in June 2017, resulting in a death sentence. However, the Nevada Supreme Court overturned that conviction in December 2020, ruling that the trial court had improperly admitted prejudicial evidence regarding Becky Gault’s 1986 death.
Granted a new trial limited to the Causse and Miller homicides, a second Nevada jury found Randolph guilty again in August 2023. In April 2024, he was sentenced to 60 years to life in prison. At his sentencing hearing, Randolph maintained his innocence, stating, “I didn’t kill Sharon. I have nothing to do with this.” Now 71 years old, Randolph is serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Pershing County, Nevada. His latest appeal was dismissed by the Nevada Supreme Court in September 2026, upholding his conviction.