Melissa hasn't always been a danger to men. She was born, Melissa Ann Russell, on the 16th May 1935 in New Brunswick, Canada. Melissa's first marriage, to Russel Shepard, seemed relatively normal. The marriage lasted over two decades, before eventually ending in divorce. Perhaps this experience turned Melissa cynical, because every relationship that followed was anything but normal. Melissa and Shepard had been living in Prince Edward Island for 25 years, although she had served time in jail for fraud. In fact, there were over 30 fraud convictions between 1977 and 1991. Locally, she was thought of as a small town girl who was hungry for wealth, someone who wanted to live the high life. Still, at worst she could be described as a petty criminal. No one would ever have expected what was to follow.