American Mom

The true story of a mother who committed five serious felonies

On 5 June 1986, the local sheriff's office in Auburn, Washington, received a 911 call from Stella Nickell: her husband, Bruce, was allegedly having a seizure. However, help arrived too late at the Nickells' mobile home. A week later, bank clerk Sue Snow died after a similar seizure. Forensic analysis proved that she had been poisoned by cyanide-laced headache pills—just like Bruce. Panic gripped the town: would there be more deaths, like the Tylenol murders in Chicago four years earlier? An American Mom is the true story of a mother and wife who was sentenced by a federal court to ninety years in prison for five serious felonies. What led this seemingly ordinary woman to decide to kill? What role did her greed play in her downfall, and what role did her daughter play?