The Widower: 'Til Death Do Us Part Explained: The Real Case, the Verdict and Whether the Netflix Film Is Worth Your 91 Minutes

Netflix’s “The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part” is a 91-minute documentary about Thomas Randolph, the Nevada man convicted in 2023 of murdering his wife Sharon Causse and a handyman, and it suits viewers who want the investigation as it unfolded more than a full legal history. It has streamed since Wednesday, September 30, 2026, and this guide is pinned to Saturday, October 3, 2026 (U.S. Eastern).

What is the Netflix documentary The Widower: ‘Til Death Do Us Part?

It is a feature-length true-crime documentary directed by Chris Smith and produced by Library Films and NBC News Studios. The runtime is 91 minutes. Dateline NBC producer Dan Slepian, who covered the case for well over a decade, narrates and is an executive producer.

Much of the footage was shot for Dateline from 2008 onward, including embedded access to the police investigation and Slepian’s phone and prison interviews with Randolph. It is a different project from Dateline’s three-part series also titled “The Widower” (February 2021) and from the 2024 docuseries “Black Widower: The Six Wives of Thomas Randolph.”

Who is Thomas Randolph, and what is the real case?

Thomas Randolph, 71, nicknamed the “Black Widower,” was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and two counts of murder in the May 8, 2008, deaths of his wife Sharon Causse, 57, and handyman Michael Miller, 38, at their Las Vegas home. He was married six times, and four of his wives have died.

Randolph called 911 that night and said an intruder had shot Causse and that he had shot the intruder, who turned out to be Miller. Prosecutors said instead that Randolph hired Miller to kill Causse for life-insurance money, with policies worth more than $300,000, and then killed Miller to remove a witness. That “hit man” account is the prosecution’s theory: at the 2023 retrial, the defense argued Miller alone planned the burglary and that Randolph shot him out of fear. According to coverage of the film, Randolph denies wrongdoing in all of the deaths.

What was the verdict, and is the case over?

A Las Vegas jury found Randolph guilty on all counts on August 24, 2023, after about five hours, and District Judge Tierra Jones sentenced him on April 4, 2024, to 60 years to life; the Nevada Supreme Court affirmed his convictions on August 31, 2026. His first trial ended in a 2017 conviction and death sentence, which the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously reversed in 2020 because jurors had heard evidence about the death of a previous wife in Utah. The retrial began August 11, 2023, and the state did not seek death again.

In the 2026 decision (No. 88625), the court rejected his arguments, including that his speedy-trial right was violated and that the filmed police walk-through was coerced. Randolph is held at Lovelock Correctional Center in Pershing County, according to state corrections records cited in coverage, and maintains his innocence. As of October 3, 2026, we found no report of further filings.

What happened to Randolph’s other wives?

Three other wives besides Sharon Causse have died, but only one of those deaths ever went to trial, and a Utah jury acquitted Randolph. Sources disagree on the order of the marriages, so we do not number them.

• Becky Gault died in 1986 in Clearfield, Utah, of a gunshot wound, and the death was initially ruled a suicide. Randolph was tried for murder and acquitted. He was convicted of witness tampering involving a friend whose account to authorities had helped bring the charge; coverage says that conviction was later expunged.
• Francis Randolph died in 2004 after heart surgery. Randolph was never charged in connection with her death.
• Leona Stapleton died of cancer. Randolph was never charged in connection with her death.
• Gayna Allmon and Kathryn Thomas are the two surviving former wives. Allmon testified at the 2017 penalty phase that Randolph’s gun fired while he was cleaning it in front of her and that she believed he was trying to kill her. That testimony was separate from the killings he was convicted of.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the U.S. Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

What does the documentary cover, and what does it leave out?

It follows the Causse and Miller investigation in close to real time, through archive footage and interviews, then moves quickly through the courtroom years. Participants named in coverage include retired Las Vegas Metro detective Dean O’Kelley, Causse’s daughter Colleen Beyer, and Randolph’s former friend Eric Tarantino. Randolph appears in interviews and archive footage, including a recorded police walk-through of his account.

What reviews say is thin: the 2023 retrial is covered briefly with no prosecution or defense voices, and the deaths of Francis Randolph and Leona Stapleton get little room. The film is built around a Dateline reporter’s footage and was co-produced by NBC News Studios, the news division behind Dateline, so it is one telling of the case, from the journalist’s and detective’s side.

Is the film worth your 91 minutes?

It depends on what you want: reviews broadly agree it is credible and tightly paced, with real access to the investigation, but that it feels like an extended Dateline episode and rushes the legal endgame. We read seven independent reviews in full and summarize the common ground without attributing verdicts; this is our synthesis, not a screening report.

Praised: footage shot as events unfolded, no dramatized recreations, witness and family testimony, Randolph’s ease on camera, the film’s account of insurance policies recurring across the marriages, and brisk pacing. Criticized: recycled television packaging, the rushed retrial, little room for two of the deaths, a sensational tone in places, and, from one reviewer, a bland, low-suspense feel. Scores, where given, ran from lukewarm to strong.

It is worth the time if you are new to the case and like investigative true crime. It matters less if you have already seen Dateline’s 2021 series, whose footage the film partly reuses, or the 2024 docuseries, which one reviewer called more comprehensive, or if you want a full account of the retrial or the uncharged deaths.

As of midday Saturday, October 3, 2026 (U.S. Eastern), Rotten Tomatoes listed five critic reviews, all counted positive, with no Tomatometer percentage displayed and fewer than 50 audience ratings. A business-press report on October 2 said the film debuted at No. 1 on Netflix, but Netflix’s official weekly Top 10 for September 28 to October 4 is not due until Tuesday, October 6, 2026.

What should you know before you press play?

Expect strong language, descriptions of shootings and police evidence photos. A family-media nonprofit lists the film as not rated and suggests ages 14 and up. Review counts, chart position and legal status can change after October 3, 2026. For more to watch, see our guide to the best movies on Netflix right now .