Songwriter Gail Collins, who became infamous for killing her rocker husband Felix Pappalardi, has died.

Collins, 72, passed away in December (13) in a remote village in Mexico where she had been living as a recluse, according to the New York Daily News.

Editors at the publication report Collins had been undergoing experimental treatments for cancer prior to her death.

Collins worked as a lyricist and contributed to songs by Mountain and Cream, but gained notoriety after she was convicted of killing her bassist/producer partner Pappalardi.

He was found shot dead in his bed at the couple's home in New York City in 1983 and Collins was later convicted of criminally negligent homicide. She spent two years in prison before being released on parole in 1985.