►1364 – Countess “Agnes” d’Orlamunde, “White Lady”; Agnes, Queen of Hungary – Neuhaus Castle, Bohemia
“the Countess Dorlamunde, responsible for the death of her
father, mother, brother, husband, three children and several friends” [“Women
Poisoners Perverse, Liars, Says Pathologist,” Atlanta Constitution (Ga.), Jan.
20, 1928, p. 2]
[The
Graphic (London, England), February 17, 1883; Issue 690 and early 20th century
online for research.]
► Early 1500s – Gila Giraldo, AKA “La Serrana de la Vera” –
Plasencia, Spain
►1519 – Lucrezia Borgia (18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) – Italy
“Lucretia
Borgia did not poison anyone and probably did not have an incestuous affair
with Pope Alexander VI, her father, art experts and historians said yesterday
[Feb. 9, 2010].” [Bruce Johnston, “Lucretia
Borgia ‘not incestuous sex-mad poisoner,”The Daily Mail (London, England), Feb.
10, 2012]
►1535 –
Anna Neumann von Wasserleonberg, “The Female Bluebeard of Noetsch” (d 1623) –
Carinthia, Austria
“In the years between her birth on November 23, 1535, and
her death on December 18, 1623, Anna, was married six times, bat she was never
divorced. She disposed of her first five husbands more simply by rubbing them
affectionately with an ointment that contained a mysterious and deadly poison.”
[William C. Mccloy. “The Wasserleonerg Ghost.
– Woman Bluebeard Of Sixteenth Century. - History Of A Honeymoon
Castle,” The Auckland Star (Australia), Jul. 10, 1937, p. 9]
►1591 –
Katheryn of Berain – Llanefydd, Denbighshire, Wales – died Aug. 27, 1591 –
Wales; legend
[Katharine Olson, “Did 16th century wealthy Welsh heiress
poison three of her four husbands?” Western Mail (Wales), Mar. 26, 2011]
►1649 – Lucida Mansi – Lucca, Italy
“Lucida Mansi (Lucca, c. 1606 – Lucca, c. February 12, 1649)
was an Italian noblewoman, and the subject of a legend in the province of Lucca,
Italy. She is of uncertain origins. Lucida was married very young to Vincenzo
Diversi, who was killed in the early years of their marriage. Made a widow
early, she was remarried to the old and very wealthy Gaspare di Nicolao Mansi.
The wealthy Mansi family was well-known earlier than the 16th century in much
of Europe thanks to their trade in silk. Their marriage was the subject of much
gossip, due to their significant age difference, and how much more attractive
Lucida was than her husband. Lucida was very vain, and is rumored to have
dedicated an entire room in the Villa Mansi to mirrors in order to admire her
own appearance. Lucida died of the plague February 12, 1649, and was laid to
rest in the chiesa dei Cappuccini a Lucca, in her family's crypt. Lucida Mansi,
the daughter of Lucchese nobles, was said to be very beautiful and very vain.
She was so cruel and concerned with the pleasures of the flesh that she killed
her husband in order to be free to enjoy her many lovers. The legend states
that she killed her lovers after sleeping with them by throwing them down a
ditch covered in sharp blades.” [Wikipedia]
►1686 – Mary MacMahon (Máire Rua MacMahon, Red Mary) –
Lemenaugh, County Clare, Ireland
“It is said that if a servant were foolish enough to
displease her, they would be hung out of one of the castle windows, the men by
their necks and the women by their hair. If the maids did not learn to bend to
her will, she would punish them by cutting off their breasts.”
“Her that murdered two husbands and dide at last of the
curse of a poor widow woman she wronged.” [archaic spelling and grammar
retained]
►1763 –
Marie-Josephte Corriveau Saint-Vallier – Quebec, Canada
“Marie-Josephte
Corriveau (1733 at Saint-Vallier, Quebec – April 18, 1763 at Quebec
City), better known as “la Corriveau”,
is one of the most popular figures in Québécois folklore. She lived in New
France, and was sentenced to death by a British court martial for the murder of
her second husband, was hanged for it and her body hanged in chains. Her story
has become legendary in Quebec, and she is the subject of numerous books and
plays.” [Wikipedia]
[Accounts
of the purported series of husband-killings: James MacPherson Le Moine, “Marie-Josephte Corriveau, A Canadian
Lafarge, Maples Leaves, 1863, p. 68-74.]
The Corriveau legend has her murdering her first husband by pouring lead
in his ear. “Ostander’s case, of an English woman who murdered six
husbands by pouring molten lead into the ear. She was detected in the
seventh attempt.” [Rudolph August Witthaus, Medical jurisprudence,
forensic medicine and toxicology, Volume 3, 1896, p. 125; based on
Ostander’s 1813 book] [Ostander [Friedrich Benjamin Osiander], Über den
Selbstmord, seine Ursachen, Arten, medicinische gerichtliche
Untersuchung und die Mittel gegen denselben. Hannover 1813, p. 395]
Some accounts describe her as English but unnamed in medical
reference books and in English newspapers; story has her murdering 6 husbands,
and attempting to kill another, by means of pouring molten lead into the ear. [English Black Widow
– 6 hubs, 7th surv (“Ostander’s case” ), 1792]
►1807
– Rebecca “Becky” Cotton – Edgefield, South Carolina, USA
The
“Devil in Petticoats”
“In
his later work, a sermon, the Rev. Weems tells the story of Rebecca Cotton,
who, in the early 1800s, murdered three of the four men she married. Her
schemed and brutal murders only ended when her brother stoned her at the county
courthouse in 1807.” [Catherine Thomas, “The Edgefield Legend of
Rebecca Cotton,” Aiken Standard (S. C.), Sep. 18, 1990, p. 7]
►1820 –
Lavinia Fisher (1793-1820) – Charleston, South Carolina, USA
“The legend of Lavinia Fisher has been told and retold since
her execution in Charleston, South Carolina in 1820 and with each telling it
has grown more extravagant and further from the truth. Today tourist pamphlets
and web sites will earnestly tell you that Lavinia was America’s first female
serial killer when, in fact, there is no hard evidence that she ever killed
anyone.” [Robert Wilhelm, “The
Legend of Lavinia Fisher,” Murder by Gaslight, Oct. 1, 2010]
Book: Bruce Orr, Six Miles to Charleston: The True Story of
John and Lavinia Fisher, 2010
►1831
– Rosa (Annie) Palmer – Rose Hall, Montego Bay, Jamaica (reportedly died, 1831)
“The basis for most of the White Witch legend seems to come from H.G. de Lisser’s 1928 novel “The White Witch of Rose Hall”. This was a popular novel telling the gripping story of an Annie Palmer that lived a very different life to that indicated by the records available from the time. [The facts about Rose Hall,” Jamaica Travel and Culture]
►1834 – Delphine Marie LaLaurie – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
“The basis for most of the White Witch legend seems to come from H.G. de Lisser’s 1928 novel “The White Witch of Rose Hall”. This was a popular novel telling the gripping story of an Annie Palmer that lived a very different life to that indicated by the records available from the time. [The facts about Rose Hall,” Jamaica Travel and Culture]
►1834 – Delphine Marie LaLaurie – New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
“The legends have grown about this house and its namesake,
twisting the real events into something almost unrecognizable. The phony body
count attributed to Delphine seems to increase with each passing year. But the
truth shows us that ‘Mad’ Madame LaLaurie was definitely not a saint, even if
she wasn’t a murderer (and it is unclear if she was). She was an accomplice and
almost certainly a participant in the slow, systematic torture of other human
beings, and demonstrated zero remorse for her misdeeds.” [James Caskey, “The
Haunted LaLaurie House in New Orleans,” James Caskey, Savannah Author, 13 Oct,
2014]
►1867 – Sarah Jane Newman “Sally Skull” –
Texas, USA
“Sally Skull may have killed two of five husbands. This is hedged with the usual caveat — she was never charged or convicted. They just disappeared.” [Murphy Givens, “Did husband No. 5 kill Sally Skull?” Corpus Christi Caller Times (Tx.), Jun 29, 2011]
►1868 – Polly Bartlett – South Pass City, Wyoming, USA
“Sally Skull may have killed two of five husbands. This is hedged with the usual caveat — she was never charged or convicted. They just disappeared.” [Murphy Givens, “Did husband No. 5 kill Sally Skull?” Corpus Christi Caller Times (Tx.), Jun 29, 2011]
►1873 – Mrs. York – Moeaqua, Illinois, USA
“The statement of Mr. Drake
certainly shows that Mrs. York could not poisoned three of the persons she is
said to have said to admitted killing, and hence it is very probable that the
confession, if made, was uttered while suffering from mental aberration.”
[“Discredited – What Mrs. E. R. Drake Knows of the Alleged Poisoning of Six
Persons Near Monmequa – Mrs. York’s Death-Bed Confession Discredited.” The
Chicago Daily Tribune (Il.), Jun. 17, 1873, p. 2]
►1889 –
“Cattle Queen Kate” Maxwell – Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA
“Ellen Liddy Watson
(July 2, 1860 – July 20, 1889) was a pioneer of Wyoming who became
erroneously known as Cattle Kate,
a post-claimed outlaw of the Old West. The “outlaw” characterization is a
dubious one, as she was not violent and was never charged with any crime during
her life. Accused of cattle rustling, she was ultimately lynched by agents of
powerful cattle ranchers as an example to what happens to those who opposed
them and whose interests she had threatened. Her life has become the subject of
an Old West legend.” [Wikipedia]
“Her husband died mysteriously. It was whispered that she
poisoned him … she played every card game well and to fleece the innocent was
only pastime for her and her husband. two men who mysteriously disappeared were
traced to this deadfall, where they were, in all probability, murdered for
their money.” [‘Cattle Queen Kate’ Maxwell,” Salina County Journal (Ks.), Aug.
1, 1889, p. 6]
►1896 – Mrs. C. M. Powell (“Powers”) –
Leonardsburg, Ohio, USA
[“Mrs.
Powell Denies Stories. - She Says She
Did Not Poison the Five Persons as Charged.” Newark Daily Advocate (Oh.), Feb.
1, 1896, p. 1]
[“Terrible
Charges. - Several Murders Laid at the Door of a Springfield Woman,” Daily
gazette, (Xenia, Oh.), Feb. 13 1896, p. 2]
►1934
– Bonnie Parker – Sailes, Bienville Parish, Louisiana,
USA (place of death)
Recent research holds that she did
not personally murder anyone
►2001 – Gisela Kandorfer – Frankfurt, Germany
(hoax article) “A black widow killer slaughtered six
husbands – then chopped up the bodies and ate them, shocked cops say.” [Cliff
Linedecker, “Black widow bride murdered six husbands,” Weekly World News, Jan.
2, 2001, p. 4]
►2012 – “Indonesian Cannibal” –
Indonesia
An
article, illustrated with several gruesome photos, was apparently a hoax. [“Female Cannibal In
Indonesia,” Aaj News (India), Jan 27, 2012]
►2013 – Miranda Barbour– Philadelphia, Pa., USA
Troy LaFerrara was a Port Trevorton, Pennsylvania man murdered
on November 11, 2013. Miranda Barbour and her husband, Elytte Barbour, were
found guilty and sentenced to life in prison in September 2014. The murder is
notable because of the claim by one of the killers, Miranda Barbour, that she
had murdered at least 22 other people, triggering worldwide news coverage of
the case.
[1605-2/13/22]
***
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