On Thursday evening, June 25, 2026, the whispers of one of the Gulf Coast’s darkest murder stories will return to downtown Pensacola.
Mark your calendars and grab your tickets now – especially since our May 28 Sweet Tea Murders LIVE event has already sold out!
At 6:00 PM, inside the historic Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center, retired Pensacola Police Officer, former homicide detective, and Southern Crime Historian Michael Earl Simmons will present the next chapter of Sweet Tea Murders LIVE:
“Judy Buenoano: The Black Widow of the Panhandle.”
Some crimes shock a city while others linger for generations. Some do both.
Long before national television and true crime documentaries made her infamous, Judy Buenoano moved quietly through Pensacola society as a successful businesswoman and nurse. Elegant. Intelligent. Charming. She even drove a new Corvette. But behind the polished smile, investigators would uncover a terrifying pattern of greed, poison, betrayal, and death. Insurance policies followed her everywhere…so did funerals.
The case would stretch from Pensacola to Orlando to Colorado, involving suspicious deaths, arsenic poisoning, a bombing in downtown Pensacola, and the drowning death of her own son. Detectives eventually realized they were not investigating a single crime… but what appeared to be a trail of calculated murder spanning years.
One of the most dramatic moments came on June 25, 1983, when Pensacola businessman John Gentry climbed into his vehicle downtown and turned the ignition key. The car exploded instantly. He survived — barely. Investigators quickly determined the blast was no accident.
The investigation that followed became one of the most important murder cases in modern Florida history.
This LIVE experience will go far beyond headlines and courtroom summaries. Drawing upon historical research, law enforcement insight, his personal knowledge, and the atmosphere of Pensacola in the 1980s, Simmons will guide the audience through:
- The bombing of John Gentry’s car
- The investigative breakthroughs that exposed the larger pattern
- The detectives who unraveled the case
- The chilling use of poison and manipulation
- The trial that captivated Florida
- The final chapter that ended in Florida’s electric chair
The evening will also explore the emotional impact on investigators, victims’ families, and a community stunned that such calculated evil had lived quietly among them for years.
Like all Sweet Tea Murders LIVE events, the presentation combines true Southern history, immersive storytelling, and the perspective of a veteran investigator who spent decades working violent crime in the Gulf Coast region.
The May 28 Sweet Tea Murders LIVE event sold out completely, and seating for June 25 is expected to fill quickly.
Event Information
Sweet Tea Murders LIVE: Judy Buenoano — Pensacola’s Black Widow
When: Thursday, June 25, 2026 — 6:00 PM
Where: Voices of Pensacola Multicultural Center
Host: Michael Earl Simmons
Admission: $35
Come hear the story of the woman who became known across America as The Black Widow of the Panhandle — and the investigators who finally stopped her.
Because sometimes, beneath the charm of the South… evil wears a smile.
Sweet Tea Murders LIVE: “Where the tea is sweet, but the murders – not so much.”
