An
unmarried 32-year-old maid in the parish of Vanaja in central Finland confessed
to having killed three newborns between 1784 and 1789 and was sentenced to
death for the only provable case, the last murder. The remains of the first
victim had already been found in 1784, badly savaged by wild animals. The cas
was brought to court on the evidence of an infant cranium and attributed to a
crofter’s [farmer’s] wife, but all charges against her were soon dropped as
groundless. The second infanticide was reported to the Crown by the accused’s
mother, whose only evidence consisted of suspicious marks of blood in the
sauna, […]. The father of all three illegitimate infants was the younger son of
a farmer, who later made a career as a soldier. It is clear that this couple
had no money to marry, and therefore disposed of the ‘fruits of their love.’
(Vanaja and Janakkala Court of Assizes, 23 July 1789: § 53, 54).
[Mona Rautelin, “Female Serial Killers in the early modern age? Recurrent
infanticide in Finland 1750-1896.” The History of the Family (journal), Vol.18, iss. 3, Aug. 2013, pp.
349-370]
A croft is a small fenced-in area used for farming.
[147-1/10/21]
***
No comments:
Post a Comment