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Few people think of women as serial killers. Perhaps this misconception is based on the stereotype of women being sensitive and compassionate. For these brutal killers, sometimes the guise of nurturing helped them get in the door, but these ladies are just as depraved as their male counterparts.
1. Delphine LaLaurie
Estimated Body Count: At least 10 (but possibly as many as 90)
Story: Delphine LaLaurie was the wife of a wealthy New Orleans physician in the early 1800s. With long black hair and porcelain skin, all eyes focused on her when she threw glamorous parties. Little did anyone know that the slightest mistake from a slave caused Madame LaLaurie to explode in rage. She was charged with cruelty against one of her slaves—when the slave allegedly pulled her hair while brushing it, LaLaurie beat her mercilessly in the garden. Another slave girl jumped to her death from a second floor window to escape Madame LaLaurie. In 1834, a fire ravaged the LaLaurie estate and after the firemen put out the flames, they smelled rotting bodies. Pushing open the attic door, they were startled to see dead slaves chained to the walls, a woman with her lips sewn shut, half-dead slaves in cages, a man who received a forced sex change, women without skin, eviscerated slaves, and body parts strewn about the attic.
Capture: The LaLauries escaped and were never seen again. Years later, during renovations, contractors discovered the bodies of slaves that allegedly had been buried alive.
Punishment: None, though superstitious locals claim Madame LaLaurie suffers the otherworldly punishment of haunting her home, wailing for relief in French.
2. Juana “La Mataviejitas” Barraza
Estimated Body Count: At least 10 (but possibly as many as 40)
Story: Juana Barraza ruled the Mexican women’s wrestling circuit as “The Silent Lady,” but she became infamous for another moniker, “La Mataviejitas”—the old-lady killer. Starting in the 1990s, Barraza knocked on the doors of Mexico City’s elderly women, pretending to be a social worker. Once inside, she grabbed a sock, piece of string or phone cord—whatever was handy—and strangled her victims to death (until blood oozed from their ears).
Capture: In 2006, after strangling 82-year-old Ana Maria Reyes with a stethoscope, Barraza fled from the scene, only to be captured close by. Her prints matched those at 10 of approximately 40 crime scenes attributed to La Mataviejitas. It took police a long time to find her because they were unsure if she was a man or a woman—or a man dressed as a woman, or a woman dressed as a man. Her broad shoulders and the force she used to cause blood to seep from victims’ ears made police think she was a man.
Punishment: 759 years, though she may serve less than 50 years
3. Amelia “The Baby Farmer” Dyer
Estimated Body Count: Police found 12 babies linked to Dyer, but could only confirm she killed six. They believed she murdered as many as 50.
Story: In Victorian England, when a single woman found herself in a family way, she searched for a baby farmer, who raised the child. In the late 1800s, women answered ads placed by Amelia Dyer, a married woman in her 50s who lived with her Christian husband in the Thames Valley region, and would raise the babies (no one saw her husband because they were separated). As soon as Dyer returned to her flat, she would strangle the infant. Placing the baby in a bag, she dumped her victim into the Thames.
Capture: As bargemen rowed across the river on March 30, 1896, they spotted a package. When they opened it, they discovered a dead infant girl. As the police examined the paper, they spotted a faintly written address. Fearing the murderer would run, the police organized a sting operation where a female pretended to need Dyer’s services. When Dyer opened the door for the woman, she found the police instead. The police found 12 infants in the river, many with the same string around their necks. Her house was full of baby items and as her crimes were publicized more women came forward saying they gave her their babies.
Punishment: Death. On June 10, 1896, Dyer died by hanging at the Newgate Gallows.
4. Marie Noe
Estimated Body Count: Eight—although she had 10 children, two died of natural causes
Story: In 1948, Philadelphia newlyweds Marie and Arthur Noe welcomed their first son, Richard, on March 7. On April 7, Noe rushed her newborn to the hospital—he wasn’t breathing. Doctors attributed it to sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Noe had a second child, Elizabeth, in September 1950. In February 1951, Noe returned to the hospital, clutching a dead infant. SIDS again. There weren’t any marks on the child, broken bones, or bruises, or signs of neglect. Year after year, Noe had a child and a few months later, she arrived at the hospital with a dead infant. Nurses noticed Noe never mourned her children. After the birth of one of her sons, a nurse overheard Noe threaten him while trying to feed him, “If you don’t take this, I’ll kill you.” Some suspected foul play, but no one acted. While giving birth to her last child, Arthur Joseph in 1968, Noe had an emergency hysterectomy. None of her children lived to age 2.
Capture: In 1998, a reporter from Philadelphia magazine wrote a book and said Noe should be investigated because eight children from one family couldn’t all possibly die of SIDS. When police interviewed her she admitted to smothering four of her children, but wasn’t sure what happened to the other four.
Punishment: She pleaded guilty in June 1999. She was sentenced to 20 years of probation with the first five years under house arrest.
5. Aileen Wuornos
Estimated Body count: 7
Story: By the time Aileen Wuornos was in high school in Michigan, she was working as a prostitute. After moving to Florida, she was married and divorced and spent time in jail for grand theft auto before she met Tyria Moore, a 24-year-old motel maid. Moore quit her job and Wuornos supported them by hooking. When Wuornos met with Richard Malloy in 1989, she shot him three times with a .22 caliber after he allegedly tried to rape her. A few weeks later, police discovered another naked man shot to death with a .22. In all, police found four more naked men, all murdered with a .22, and a car of a man who was never found.
Capture: Wuornos and Moore were driving in a victim’s car when they were in an accident. The duo refused treatment even though Wuornos was bleeding. After discovering the car belonged to one of the murdered men, the police circulated sketches of the women and began gathering evidence against Wuornos. Authorities found some of Malloy’s possessions in a pawnshop with Wuornos’ thumbprints on them, and after a few weeks of surveillance, the police detained Wuornos on an outstanding weapons charge. The investigators tracked down Moore, living with her sister in Pennsylvania. They offered her immunity if she could convince Wuornos to confess, which she did. Wuornos remained indignant and at her trial, she screamed belligerently. Always her own worst enemy, she shrieked at Assistant State Attorney General Ric Ridgeway, “I hope your wife and children get raped.”
Punishment: The State of Florida sentenced her to six death sentences (police never found the body of Peter Siems and didn’t charge her for the crime) and she was executed by lethal injection on October 9, 2002.
6. Belle Gunness
Estimated Body Count: 40
Story: As a 17-year-old farmhand in Norway during the late 1800s, Belle Gunness learned she was pregnant by the son of the landlord. Unwilling to marry her, he beat her until she miscarried. He died a year later of an illness that resembled poisoning, and soon Gunness left for America.
Within three years of emigrating, she married Mads Sorenson. In 1890, Mads became violently ill and died—his death occurred on the only day two life insurance policies on him overlapped, netting his wife $8,500. A physician suspected strychnine poisoning, but the family doctor claimed he treated Mads for an enlarged heart and that caused his death. Belle took the money and moved to LaPorte, Indiana, where she married Peter Gunness in April 1900 and became stepmother to his children. Soon his young son died (mostly likely caused by poisoning) while he was alone with Belle. In December 1900, an iron meat grinder fell and cracked open Peter’s skull. Soon after, suitors began arriving with money in hand to marry Belle Gunness and pay off her mortgage. Man after man arrived, always leaving Gunness in the middle of the night. When Gunness secured the money from her potential lovers, she killed them, dismembered them, and buried them in the yard. It was suspected she might have fed some to the pigs.
Capture: None. Gunness fired her handyman, Ray Lamphere—who was often seen digging holes around the house and in the pigpen. She told her lawyer that Lamphere threatened to kill her and her children and burn down her house. On April 28, 1908, fire broke out at the Gunness farm and authorities found four bodies in the basement—all decapitated. Neighbors said the body wasn’t her; Gunness was about 5’8 and 200 pounds and the headless corpse was about 5’3 and 150 pounds. Later police found a piece of bridgework, which Gunness’ dentist said was hers, but there was no conclusive evidence she died there. The police dug up the yard and found body parts from as many as 40 different people. Police confirmed the decapitated bodies were Gunness’ children and stepchildren. Soon families arrived in LaPorte, claiming their loved ones came to Gunness’ farm to marry her and never returned.
Punishment: None
7. Delfina and Maria de Jesus Gonzales
Estimated Body count: 91 (80 women and 11 men)
Story: In the early 20th century, Delfina and Maria ran Ranchero El Angel, a bordello in Guanajuato (200 miles north of Mexico City). The two recruited prostitutes with help wanted ads in the local paper. When a woman became ill, lost her looks, or was worn out, the sisters killed her, dismembered her, and buried her on the property. If a wealthy john arrived, the duo would kill him and keep his money.
Capture: In 1964, police raided what had become known as “the Bordello from Hell,” dug up the yard, and discovered the bodies.
Punishment: Each received 40 years in prison.
8. Enriqueta “The Vampire of Barcelona” Marti
Estimated Body Count: At least 12
Story: In the late 1800s and early 1900s, when wealthy Barcelona residents wanted help with love or a cure for TB or syphilis, they visited Enriqueta Marti, who sold expensive curatives. Meanwhile, Marti lured children to her home. Before killing them—she used the rendered fat, bones, skin, muscles, and hair in her elixirs—Marti often prostituted the children.
Capture: In March 1912, two young girls, Angelita and Teresita, escaped from Marti’s flat and told the police they witnessed Martin butchering a young boy. Police searched Marti’s properties and found body parts, jars of blood, fat, and recipe books written in Marti’s hand, specifying the horrific ingredients she used in her potions.
Punishment: Marti’s cellmates killed her before she went to trial.
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Comments (42)
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Oh wow.
I read a lot of things about murderers, but this is one of the best peices i’ve seen in a while.
More Please!!!
posted by lotuskid88 on 11-14-2008 at 3:38 pm
You should have mentioned Karla Hamolka. In Ontario, she would lure young men and women to her apartment(because she was damn hot) where she and her boyfriend would torture and kill them. They were caught, and convicted because they video taped themselves doing it. She has actually been released. She took a plea by testifying against her boyfriend.
posted by D Hue on 11-14-2008 at 3:59 pm
A woman kills 8 of her 10 children in modern times and gets probation? Awful!
posted by Karen on 11-14-2008 at 4:22 pm
What about Dorthea Puente? She murdered 9 people and buried 7 in her yard.
posted by Leah on 11-14-2008 at 4:26 pm
great post!
posted by s on 11-14-2008 at 4:39 pm
I can’t believe this list left out Countess Elizabeth Bathory. Convicted of killing 80 young girls, and suspected of killing far more.
posted by MW on 11-14-2008 at 4:41 pm
I can’t believe she only got probation!
posted by Amanda on 11-14-2008 at 7:01 pm
everyone writes about Elizabeth Bathory, thank you for posting about almost all people I hadn’t heard of…
posted by m on 11-14-2008 at 8:32 pm
Another interesting story is Linda Hazzard, who had a book written about her called “Starvation Heights”.
She ran a sanitarium outside of Seattle in the early 1900’s, where she practiced fasting as a medical cure-all. More than 40 died under her care – many of them having missing valuables or falsified/recently changed wills that left their estates to her.
I live close to the site of her old sanitarium, where many of the trees are supposedly planted above the graves of her unknown victims. It’s definitely a spooky place to walk around.
posted by Jake on 11-15-2008 at 2:38 am
Aileen Wuornos went to my high school…
interesting post. scary, though.
posted by Gladitatorz on 11-15-2008 at 10:19 am
Statistically, though, “few people think of women as serial killers” because they generally aren’t. These are the exceptions that prove the rule. They’re hardly men’s equals in committing violence.
I agree, though, that probation is pretty pathetic. She should have seen the inside of a jail cell for quite a long while.
posted by Southern Buddhist on 11-15-2008 at 11:16 pm
For those who don’t know:
Aileen Wuornos’ story was made into the movie ‘Monster’
posted by Luckyarcher on 11-16-2008 at 3:21 am
Some of these stories say or allude to why these women killed… although I would like to find out why Juana Barazza killed the elderly women… I just can’t see the motive if she wasn’t stealing? Horrible! These stories are fascinating but also very sad.
posted by Kelly J on 11-16-2008 at 2:00 pm
You left out an important detail of Delphine LaLaurie case. All of her rage was directed at slaves in her home, but she was actually 1/16 Haitian.
posted by Ian on 11-17-2008 at 10:16 am
An odd twist in the LaLaurie saga: Nicolas Cage now owns her house in the French Quarter, as well as a less spooky place in the Garden District.
posted by Ira on 11-21-2008 at 11:46 am
Aileen Wuornos’ was a sad story.. this woman lived a very sad life.
she never had a chance., my heart really went out to her.
posted by ginai on 11-27-2008 at 11:13 pm
wow that’s insane… all of it.
posted by heather on 11-29-2008 at 8:56 pm
I can not believe what I just read. These women should have been hung or executed the same way they did their victims. It is unbelievable what these women have done.
posted by Penny on 12-1-2008 at 12:24 am
I loved this article. I wish there were more to read. But in any case, all of it was interesting, and some I have never heard of. Great read for sure!
posted by Kelly on 12-1-2008 at 3:04 am
Regarding D Hue’s comment: As far as I know, Karla Homolka was never accused of killing men, only women. She testified against her husband, Paul Bernardo. I don’t think she was ever charged in the death of her sister, whom she drugged so that Paul could rape her (she later vomited and aspirated her vomit and died). She knew at least one of the young women whom she lured to death. Quite a piece of work.
posted by Ad on 12-1-2008 at 4:00 am
@Southern Buddhist
Keep in mind, some of the women listed here were only caught on a lucky break, and some were never caught at all. You can’t really say that “statistically” more serial killers are male than female, just that you’ve heard of more male serial killers.
The same gender bias that lends the shock factor to this interesting post is what prevents women from being considered, captured, and convicted for serial killings.
Just because you’ve heard of more male serial killers, or you’re predisposed to thinking men are more likely to commit startling acts of random cruelty, doesn’t mean that there aren’t just as many, or possibly more women who do the same, and are never caught thanks to the notion that they are incapable of it.
posted by JP on 12-1-2008 at 10:26 am
wow, this is crazy..
posted by eoJ on 12-4-2008 at 10:30 pm
Fascinating article. I’ve never heard of any of the women on this list, except for Aileen Wournos.
JP- “doesn’t mean that there aren’t just as many, or possibly more women who do the same, and are never caught thanks to the notion that they are incapable of it.”
I don’t really buy that. Biologically, women just aren’t wired to be as violent and aggressive as men, it’s not in their genes to be so. There will always be exceptions to the rule, as this list shows but to say that there are more female serial killers than male? I don’t think so.
posted by Jan on 12-10-2008 at 10:02 pm
all of this are the most intersted top serial killers and contain a lot of information wich could help u out in many ways for example a project.
posted by sanchez on 12-12-2008 at 4:01 pm
To Jan:
You are extremely sexist.
“Biologically, women just aren’t wired to be as violent and aggressive as men, it’s not in their genes to be so.”
Excuse me?
Madam, that statement is clearly unstudied on your part. Biology and genetics do not play a part in violence.
You wouldn’t be able to prove the genetic bit either. Scientists do not know as much about genetics as they say they do.
posted by Beru on 12-12-2008 at 10:19 pm
To Beru:
You are an absolute moron yourself. “Scientists do not know as much about genetics as they say they do.” What an idiot.
posted by Monso on 12-16-2008 at 1:47 pm
cool, a lot of these i haven’t heard of. it seems like a lot of them had some kind of motive, like money, or changing their life in some way. Homolka was so awful, totally narcicistic, however you spell that, and i’ll definately have to look up the slave killer, my goodness. I also felt really sorry for Aileen Wournos, even before the superb movie. The sentences are all over the place, but totally fitting the evil witch/vampire baby butcher was taken out by cellmates, i certainly couldn’t sleep in the same room with her!
posted by windy on 12-28-2008 at 10:09 pm
There are more male serial killers than female. That isn’t being sexist – that is fact. Take half a second of your time before talking nonsense and do some research. The most common serial killers is a white male in his 30s or 40s.
Believe me, you say the way they caught these women was “lucky” that is how they catch many of them – read male serial killers cases and you will see they were caught by luck too.
posted by Asha on 12-29-2008 at 2:18 am
Beru – your ignorance is showing.
Testosterone, while present in both genders, is one of the hormones responsibile for increased aggression. Surprise: it’s a male hormone!
Just because someone says there are biological differences between men and women that makes one gender more capable than another at a specific task doesn’t make them sexist. I mean, I don’t know if you know this, but men can’t have babies (regardless of what Oprah says). It’s a fact of biology. Women, conversely, aren’t going to get testicular cancer. This isn’t sexist, it’s reality.
Women aren’t going to be as agressive as men because most women do not have the high levels of aggressive hormones (like testosterone) that give rise to some of the violent crime.
posted by Liz on 12-30-2008 at 3:19 pm
Are testosterone and aggression (caused by many things) really principal to the motivations of serial killers? There are certainly more dominant factors including a lack of empathy. Read this article again and see how often “aggression” seems to be a key factor. I see it only in a few cases, but above all I see delusion and sadism.
JP made an excellent point with “The same gender bias that lends the shock factor to this interesting post is what prevents women from being considered, captured, and convicted for serial killings.”
Although, I’m skeptical that women are as likely (capable) of being serial killers as men: The evidence available overwhelmingly contradicts this.
Then again, it is the female lion that hunts in the pride. Not to mention, female bears, lions, tigers, gorillas, snakes–of course, humans are none of these–all seem to be just as violent as the males of their species. Both sexes can be territorial, the females are protective of their young, and the males, of females.
Finally, Liz, male and female are defined by the reproductive organs, so the essential argument that males have male genitalia and not females and vice versa, lacks any profundity. There are many instances of males with breast cancer and females with patterned baldness, two examples which better illustrate your point.
posted by Vacker on 1-7-2009 at 5:04 pm
@JP
This is an FBI fact (based on 3 of John Douglas’ profiling books): for every 100 serial killers caught, 1 is a woman. You wrote we really don’t know the actual number of serial killers. When you think about it, we really don’t know how many more “male” serial killers are out there roaming free. If life becomes hard and unbearable, a male will most likely hurt someone, where as a female will most likely hurt herself. That’s a fact…
posted by jackbrown on 3-17-2009 at 12:41 am
Did you know that the numbers of male domestic abuse victims has risen dramatically in the past thirty years. I’m talking about adult males being physically abused by their wives/girfriends. There may be evidence to suppost the fact that women generally have less aggression because we lack testoterone but, as Vacker pointed out, there is no reason to believe that the motive for killing someone is aggression. People kill because they are jealous, because they are mentally unstable, because they are greedy, and for many other reasons. Never assume that aggression makes people kill. People who are aggressive do not always go around killing people and those who are not aggressive are not necessarily innocent of murder. On another note, the name calling is quite rude and you should not go and insult people just because they don’t share your point of view. That is extremely immature.
posted by Elizabeth on 3-18-2009 at 9:39 pm
Well put, Elizabeth!
And I think JP had a good point as well.
posted by pam on 4-21-2009 at 8:44 pm
You should all read the book called “I” The creation of a serial killer by Jack Olsen. Its about Keith Hunter Jesperson. Very sexually graphic but extremely interesting and worht the read. Read it within 3 days. Couldnt put it down.
posted by Katie on 4-22-2009 at 10:01 am
I do think men are more likely to be serial killers than women, but, as Elizabeth says above, I’m not sure it’s down simply to aggression and women are certainly very capable of being serial killers too – the list above is merely a drop in the ocean of the number of female serial killers caught. In my opinion far more than 1% of serial killers are women, maybe a greater percentage of the female ones get away with it because they are overlooked?
Aggression is more likely to result in manslaughter than murder I would have thought? Many highly aggressive people (mostly, but not exclusively, men) suffer great remorse for their actions when they calm down/sober up. They literally have no control over their actions when they’ve lost their temper – a very scary scenario, but not one that makes them a serial killer. By definition surely a serial killer has to be somewhat psychopathic in nature and therefore not to feel remorse for their victims.
Every serial killer is a tragic story in the end. Tragic because of the lives of innocent people slain for nothing more than sick entertainment and/or personal gain. Tragic for the families and friends of these victims. But, also tragic for the serial killer themselves who are always badly damaged and dysfunctional people. Not that they shouldn’t be ‘punished’, they really do need to be locked up for the rest of their lives, or put out of their misery ASAP. I think the second choice is the more humane all round really. To ever even consider releasing them back into society is a very bad idea I think!
posted by Mike on 5-29-2009 at 7:20 pm
To all who argue for or against male/female violence and genetics, let me add that socially, men are portrayed as more violent (there aren’t too many female action heroes or characters).
As interesting as these are, I’m a little weirded out — my name is Delphine and I have seldom, if ever, heard of anyone famous with that name. Two of the women on this list are named Delphine… what is this? that’s not scary *shudders*
posted by Delphine on 9-1-2009 at 11:48 pm
Are these technically serial killers? Most of them just sound like mass murderers…. Killing more for profit, and with less defining characteristics in their victims.
posted by Aleia on 9-2-2009 at 1:57 am
Delphine, for the sake of your sanity, I think you should note that the “Delphine” and “Delfina” in the article were also both alive in the late 19th, early 20th century… probably a time when the name was much more popular. Perhaps the name lost much of its popularity in the following century at least partially due to these horrific crimes associated with women by that name. I don’t think you should be too worried that the name is the cause of the killing…
posted by Heather on 10-4-2009 at 9:00 pm
When we read of mass-murderers, we should remember that those with some responsibility for the greatest number of deaths are mostly politicians. Of the world’s few women leaders, some would condemn Cleopatra, Empress Dowager Cixi1, Madame Mao, Golda Meir, Indira Ghandi, Elena Ceauşescu & Margaret Thatcher among others.
posted by Galvo on 10-29-2009 at 1:11 am
The story of Delphine LaLaurie is legend. Most accounts of the horror cannot be traced back further than Journey Into Darkness: Ghosts and Vampires of New Orleans, a book self-published in 1998 by the proprietress of a New Orleans ghost tour business. Contemporary sources mention the death of the young slave girl who hurled herself from the roof and confirm the discovery of seven chained and maltreated slaves in quarters near Lalaurie’s kitchen, but confirm none of the more lurid allegations. The New Orleans Bee, writing less than a week after the evacuation of Lalaurie’s slave quarters, confirmed that all of the slaves found on the premises had been alive and that none had since died.
posted by Ric on 10-30-2009 at 2:03 pm
I agree with JP- but you got to laugh at the fact that all the women want more women to be serial killers and all the men furtively deny it to protect their own male dominance. Dominance over who murders more than the other gender doesn’t seem like a positive attribute to males in general.
It is how a person is raised as well as hormone balances that determine if a person grows up to be a serial killer. It’s a mind thing more than any other set of factors, emotional detachment from people, lack of empathy and psycho/socio-pathology are not generally associated with females, however it’s fact that most people would agree that men, just starting off, don’t know how to relate to people well, add on to that other layers of issues and you have a true sociopath. Creating a sociopath out of a women is just a step or two harder.
posted by THX 1138 on 11-2-2009 at 12:36 am
On another note I forgot to mention, Female serial killers make up 14%, {not a measly 1% as was stated} of convictions.
posted by THX 1138 on 11-2-2009 at 12:47 am