Margaret Rudin

But Rudin vanished shortly after becoming a suspect in the murder of her husband, millionaire real estate developer Ron Rudin. This charming socialite, using the alias "Leigh Simmons" in Massachusetts, was dubbed "The Black Widow" by America's Most Wanted.

Rudin, 57, will stand trial for the shooting death of her 64-year-old husband. Police say she shot Ron Rudin while he was sleeping in their home in Alpine Place, an affluent Las Vegas suburb. Although police speculate that Rudin had help disposing of the body, no one else has been arrested or charged.

Authorities maintain that Margaret Rudin fired the four fatal shots that killed her husband. The motive is money. Ron Rudin left an estate worth approximately $11 million. Although she stood to inherit 60 percent, his estate brought a civil action against her even before the criminal charges surfaced. The widow settled for about half a million dollars, a figure just enough to cover her legal costs.

Margaret Rudin was one of three sisters born to a barber in Memphis, Tenn. Before she graduated high school, she had already lived in 15 states and attended 22 schools. Married four times, she met Ron Rudin at church, and they married a few months later in 1987 — the fifth marriage for both. Within months, authorities say, the marriage became strained.

Ronald Rudin

Rudin was known around Las Vegas as a flashy character who made his millions in real estate.

In April 1991, he directed friends to take extraordinary investigatory steps in the event that he died a violent death. "Should said death be caused, directly or indirectly, by a beneficiary of my estate, said beneficiary shall be totally excluded from my estate and/or any trusts I may have in existence," he instructed.

On Dec. 17, 1994, Ron Rudin met with his former employee, Sue Lyles, a woman with whom he was allegedly having an affair, and told her he believed he was being poisoned. Lyles told Rudin about two anonymous letters, vulgar in content, sent to her children. The day after this meeting, Rudin disappeared.

His muddied car, with bloodstains inside, was found behind the Crazy Horse Too Gentleman's Club on Industrial Road. On Jan. 21, 1995, his burned, decapitated corpse washed up near Lake Mohave.

Stewart Bell, Gary Guymon and Chris Owens

Although not personally prosecuting the case, Clark County District Attorney Stewart Bell has figured prominently in the Rudin murder trial.

The defense filed a motion to have the district attorney disqualified from prosecuting the case, charging that Bell had represented Margaret Rudin in the mid-1980s when he was practicing divorce law and therefore had a conflict of interest. The motion was unsuccessful.

Bell, who said he had represented literally thousands, countered that he doesn't recall representing Rudin. He was first elected D.A. in 1995.

Following law school graduation, he did a short stint as a judicial clerk and a public defender. He then went on to become a successful lawyer in private practice for over 20 years.

Chris Owens

Bell has assigned two of his top prosecutors to handle the Margaret Rudin case. A graduate of the University of Pacific, Chris Owens is the deputy district attorney for Clark County and has been with the office since 1981.

Working with him is Gary Guymon, an experienced prosecutor who is the team chief for the Clark County District Attorney's Office.

Now a high-profile criminal defense lawyer, Amador is leading a defense team famous for an intensity of investigation, motion practice and trial preparation few others bring to a courtroom.

Michael Amador

Originally from Anaheim, Calif., Amador has won full scholarships to both Los Angeles' Loyola University, where he received his undergraduate degree, and the University of San Diego, where he attended law school.

Passing both California and Nevada bar exams, Amador went to work in Las Vegas, where he relocated to "crush crime and make the world safe for democracy." As a deputy district attorney, he earned his stripes with a non-stop eight-year string of convictions.

He left in January 1988 to launch his own practice for the other side and boasts a client list that ranges from celebrities to international fugitives.

Amador has taken on Rudin's defense pro bono.

Bonaventure

The 56-year old Bonaventure was born in Queens, N.Y., the youngest of eight children. His mother, a seamstress, and father, a cab driver, were Italian immigrants who traveled to the U.S. in their teens.

At the age of 17, Bonaventure joined his sister in Tucson and attended the University of Arizona, where he received both his undergraduate and law degree. Afterward, he moved to Los Angeles and took a job as a probation officer. He moved to Las Vegas a year later.

His first job in the desert oasis was trust officer for First National Bank, but he went on to become an investigator in the Clark County District Attorney's Office, and then a law clerk. Bonaventure then found his niche with the public defender's office, becoming chief deputy under the late Robert Legakes, formally a district court judge.

In 1976 he entered private practice, pursuing both civil and criminal law until 1978, when he assumed the Justice Court Bench. In 1984 the Justices of the Peace elected him the court's first chief judge. Four years later, he was elected to complete the unexpired term of the late District Court Judge Howard Babcock. He has held this position for 11 years.

Law Clerk Al Lasso

Born and raised in New Jersey, Al Lasso, the son of a firefighter, founded his own photo business right out of high school. At 26, he left to pursue a college degree. He chose to settle in Las Vegas so he could work in a casino by day and attend school full-time at night. Lasso became a casino dealer, attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, at night and even found time to intern at the Clark County Public Defenders' Office.

Lasso

Four years later, Lasso was accepted at Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey. He earned the "Best Oralist" award in his class and was elected senator of the law school. Specializing in litigation, he has represented Seton Hall on a CNN program.

When Lasso graduated in 1999, his love for the Las Vegas Valley drew him back west, where he accepted a position as Judge Joseph Bonaventure's law clerk. He continues his hobby of working as an extra in major motion pictures filmed in Las Vegas.