From Wikipedia:
Waneta Ethel (Nixon) Hoyt (May 13, 1946 – August 13, 1998) was
an American serial killer who was convicted of killing all five of her
biological children. She was born in Richford, New York. She dropped out of
Newark Valley High School in the 10th grade, to marry Tim Hoyt, on January 11,
1964.
~ Deaths of children ~
James Hoyt died on September 26, 1968, only 28 months after
he was born on May 31, 1966. All of her other children died before that mark:
Erik (October 17, 1964 – January 26, 1965), Julie (July 19 – September 5,
1968), Molly (March 18 – June 5, 1970), and Noah (May 9 – July 28, 1971). For
more than 20 years, it was believed that the babies had died of sudden infant
death syndrome.
Several years after the death of their last child, the Hoyts
adopted a child, Jay, who remained healthy through childhood and was 17 when
his adopted mother was arrested, in 1994.
The last two biological Hoyt children, Molly and Noah, were
subjects of pediatric research that was conducted by Dr. Alfred Steinschneider,
who published an article in 1972 in the journal Pediatrics, proposing a
connection between sleep apnea and SIDS. The article was later discredited, and
subsequent research failed to replicate the results.
~ Investigation and trial ~
In 1985, a prosecutor in a neighboring county who had been
dealing with a murder case, initially thought to involve SIDS, was told by one
of his experts, Dr. Linda Norton, a forensic pathologist from Dallas, that
there may be a serial killer in his area of New York. Norton suspected it after
reviewing Steinschneider's report on the Hoyt case in which the Hoyts were not
identified by name. When the prosecutor became the district attorney in 1992,
he tracked the case down and sent it to a forensic pathologist, Michael Baden,
for review. Baden concluded that the deaths were the result of murder.
In 1994, because of jurisdictional issues, the case was
transferred to the district attorney of the county in which the Hoyts resided.
In March 1994, Hoyt was approached at the post office by a
New York State trooper with whom she was acquainted. He asked her for help in
research he was doing on SIDS, and she agreed. She was then questioned by the
trooper and two other policemen. At the end of the interrogation, she confessed
to the murders of all five children by suffocation. Consequently, she was
arrested. The reason that she gave for the murders was that the babies were
crying and she wanted to silence them.
Hoyt later recanted her confession, and its validity was an
important issue during the trial. An expert hired by the defense, Dr. Charles
Patrick Ewing, testified, "It is my conclusion that her statement to the
police on that day was not made knowingly, and it was not made
voluntarily." He diagnosed Hoyt with dependent and avoidant personality
disorders, and he opined that she was particularly vulnerable to the tactics
used during her interrogation.
Dr. David Barry, a psychiatrist hired by the prosecution
agreed that Hoyt had been manipulated by the police tactics. Nevertheless, Hoyt
was convicted in April 1995.
On September 11, 1995, she was sentenced to 75 years to
life, 15 years for each murder, to be served consecutively. It has been
speculated since her conviction that Hoyt suffered from Münchausen syndrome by
proxy, a diagnosis that is not universally accepted in the case.
~ Aftermath ~
Hoyt died in prison of pancreatic cancer in August 1998. She
was formally exonerated under New York law because she died before her appeal.
She was buried at Highland Cemetery in Richford, Tioga County, New York.
***
May 13, 1946 – Waneta Ethel Nixon born; Richford, New York.
Jan. 11, 1964 – marries Tim Hoyt.
May 31, 1966. James Hoyt born.
Sep. 26, 1968, James Hoyt dies (28 mo).
Oct. 17, 1964 – Erik born.
Jan. 26, 1965 – Erik dies.
July 19, 1968 – Julie born.
Sep. 5, 1968 – Julie dies.
Mar. 18, 1970 – Molly born.
Jun. 5, 1970 – Molly dies.
May 9, 1971 – Noah born.
July 28, 1971 – Noah dies.
Nov. 24, 1971 – Waneta saw a psychologist; she said she was
worried she might hurt Scottie.
Sep. 20, 1976 – Tim and Waneta adopted a two-month-old boy,
Jay.
Mar. 23, 1994 – WH arrested.
Apr. 22, 1995 – found guilty to Waneta Hoyt, 48, of murder 5
of her children,
Sep. 11, 1995 – Waneta was sentenced to five minimum sentences
of fifteen to life, but she would have to serve one sentence after another.
Aug. 13, 1998– WH dies (aged 52)
Aug. 14, 1998 – Appeal hearing scheduled.
***
At one funeral, Waneta Hoyt fainted after the lowering of
the tiny, pitiful coffin and at another, her body collapsed with the great
force of her sobbing. She had to be helped away from the freshly turned soil at
the graveside. [Barry Bearak, A Mother Who Lost Five Babies, Los Angeles Times,
May 22, 1994]
FOR MORE THAN 25 YEARS, WANETA Nixon Hoyt would drive each
Memorial Day to the small cemetery beside her childhood home in Richford, N.Y.,
to lay flowers on the graves of her babies. [Cynthia Sanz, “A Mother's Fatal
Embrace,” People.com, Oct. 9, 1995]
***
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[612-1/8/21
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