Original subtitles

NARRATOR: Two years after Maurizio Gucci

was murdered, police still had no idea

who was responsible for his death.

- The case was almost going cold.

PHILIPS: Until suddenly, on January 8, 1997,

the police finally get their big break in this case.

NARRATOR: An informant revealed the outrageous details.

- Patrizia's personal astrologer

reached out to a doorman,

who then reached out to a pizzeria owner,

who also brought on a local mechanic.

And so this ragtag group

of not-professional killers

executed the murder of Maurizio Gucci.

PHILIPS: This big tip eventually leads them

to Patrizia.

PHILIPS: On January 31, 1997,

police arrive

at 38 Corso Venezia, 4:30 in the morning.

Police raid her home, and they confiscate

her diaries.

They tell Patrizia

to come with them,

but, in true Patrizia fashion,

she makes the police wait for her

as she gets ready.

As if she's going to the opera.

AZARI: She has to put her furs on.

I mean, it is just...

it's a spectacle.

[propulsive music plays]

PHILIPS: This was headline news.

This grips

all of Italy.

NEWSWOMAN: A classic soap opera,

police had always suspected Patrizia Reggiani Martinelli

had ordered the killing of her ex-husband.

- People became fascinated by her.

- Patrizia goes from Lady Gucci to the Black Widow.

[suspenseful music plays]

She is the prime suspect in her husband's murder,

and the media really took that name, "Black Widow,"

and ran with it.

AZARI: Besides Patrizia, all the accomplices

are arrested.

Pina.

Savioni.

Cicala.

Ceraulo.

Pina, almost immediately

after her arrest,

confessed her part in the murder.

NARRATOR: But Patrizia maintained her innocence,

awaiting her trial in jail.

ATTORNEY: Pina Auriemma

decided to kill Maurizio Gucci

and to blackmail Patrizia Gucci.

She is innocent.

- Patrizia maintains her innocence,

but during the trial

police raid her jail cell and find bank statements

with the exact amount that she was supposed to pay Pina

and the rest of the crew.

AZARI: The trial begins

on June 2, 1998.

As the trial progressed, Patrizia's denials

were exposed as lies.

Her image changed,

and her persona as Lady Gucci shattered.

- This is not the Patrizia that the public is used to seeing.

She is a bit unkempt.

She doesn't have jewelry on.

She's not dripping with her usual mink coats.

NARRATOR: Her diary became a source

of incriminating evidence.

AZARI: The woman was documenting the murder of her husband.

Entries such as "vendetta," which in Italian

means "revenge."

PHILIPS: She said that it was worth

every penny.

AZARI: The motive for the prosecution

was financial.

If Maurizio had gotten married to Paola,

Patrizia's annual alimony would be cut in half

to $860,000.

Even though for a lot of people that is a lot of money,

to Patrizia,

it was "a bowl of lentils."

[gavel pounding]

In November 1998...

...Patrizia is found guilty

of first-degree murder.

Under most laws, if you are

convicted of murder, it doesn't matter

what part you played in the conspiracy to murder,

you are going away for life.

NARRATOR: But not Lady Gucci.

Her sentence:

26 years,

served in relative comfort.

- She had no cellmates.

She had potted plants around her cell.

DWYER: She had a ferret named Bambi.

AZARI: This was not a maximum security prison,

by any means,

that you would expect somebody convicted

of murder to be housed in.

NARRATOR: After serving 18 years in prison,

Patrizia was released early on good behavior.

And because of an agreement her deceased husband signed

before she had him killed,

Patrizia was awarded an alimony

of over one million euros a year.

Plus back pay for her time in prison.

In the end, Patrizia Gucci got exactly what she wanted.

PHILIPS: Patrizia embodies

a woman that we don't often see

portrayed in the media or in real life.

She almost becomes

this villain that we root for

in a very dark way.

You almost want to see this woman

who is strong and unapologetic

and not the victim

kind of win

in this situation.

AZARI: She really doesn't give a shit

what people think of her and what she did.

She's still very rich,

and she continues to hold on to the Gucci name.

NARRATOR: Patrizia has never admitted her role

in Maurizio's death,

but in one of her last diary entries,

she wrote: "There is no crime that cannot be bought.