Jane Toppan
Massachusetts has seen its fair share of serial killers, including The Boston Strangler, which is one of the most famous, but what if we told you that back at the turn of the century there was another serial killer on the loose, and it was a woman? Jane Toppan killed at least 31 people between 1880 and 1901 when she worked as a nurse. Her main victims were elderly patients who were very vulnerable, but she also extended her list to healthy people who were not tied to the hospital she was working at. This choice was what brought about her being discovered.
Toppan used to poison her victims, and she was also known to give opiates to her patients in a reckless manner. After she was caught because she began targeting healthy adults, which were then examined and then found to be poisoned, she fought in court to be recognized as sane. Toppan insisted that she was aware of what she was doing and that she knew it was wrong, but at the same time she also claimed that there was an erotic aspect to her choices and that she wanted to “be [a serial killer] […] that made do with vulnerable people more than anyone else”.
She was found to have killed twelve people, but she confessed to having actually murdered 31. However, she was found not guilty by reason of insanity, as her plea was not heard, so she could not hope to be released and was sent to the Taunton Insane Hospital, where she remained until her death.
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