The son of the woman dubbed the "Black Widow", is claiming she's now hired a hit man to kill him.

Helen Milner is currently serving a life sentence for the murder of her husband.

Her son Adam Kearns testified against her during the trial but he's now in trouble with the law, appearing in court today following an armed raid in the east of Christchurch yesterday.

Police say he was caught in possession of a gun, but Kearns today told the court he was armed because his mother put a hit out on him from her jail cell.

He's been remanded in custody until another appearance on Thursday.