In the 1950s, Macon, Georgia, was a sleepy little town where doors remained unlocked and murder was something that happened in other places. Anjette Lyles was a beloved Macon restaurateur, twice widowed, a mother and was almost the first white woman electrocuted in Georgia. When Anjette Lyles was charged with poisoning two husbands, her mother-in-law and 9-year-old daughter, Macon was thrust into the national spotlight. The trial was the most sensational Macon had ever seen and newspaper accounts spiced up the allegations with references to voodoo ceremonies and black magic.

Anjette Lyles' restaurant on Mulberry Street in downtown Macon was a favorite lunch spot for the town's lawyers, judges and businesspeople in the 1950s. What puzzled Anjette's patrons was how she could remain cheerful after all the tragedy in her life. Her husband, Ben Lyles, the original owner of the restaurant, had died unexpectedly in June of 1952. In 1955, her second husband, Buddy Gabbert developed a "weeping rash" and died in agony in December. Two years later, Mrs. Julia Lyles, Anjette's mother-in-law, died after a mysterious illness. Then Anjette's daughter, Marcia suddenly became very sick and died.

Anjette's tragedies had raised the suspicion of the Bibb County coroner. He asked the medical examiner to do an autopsy on Marcia. The lab reported that Marcia died of multiple doses of arsenic. Anjette maintained her innocence, but Macon's sheriff suspected her of murder. The investigation discovered ant poison containing arsenic and a variety of voodoo objects including roots, powders and candles. The evidence all pointed to Anjette.

At her trial in October 1958, Anjette was tried for only one of the murders, that of her daughter, but the prosecution presented evidence showing that in addition to murdering her daughter Anjette had murdered the three other persons. The jury of 12 men sentenced Anjette to the electric chair. With her appeals running out, Georgia's Governor intervened. Not wanting to be the Governor who oversaw the first execution of a white woman, he appointed a sanity commission that ruled Anjette was insane. According to one of her doctors, she even "experienced hallucinations, including seeing angels flying around the room." On December 4, 1977, Anjette Lyles died of natural causes at Central State Hospital in Milledgeville, Georgia.