The 1800’s brought about some of the most extreme serial killers known. Names, such as Jack the Ripper, Dr. Thomas Neil Cream, were just a few of the murderers we look back on in History. The murders these killers committed were not only grotesque at times, but also more ‘motive’ orientated; sometimes even more cunning.
Poisoning was a popular way of killing. A lot of serial killers in the 1800’s took advantage of light regulations or none at all; such as the regulations on Arsenic.
Another thing that came about in the 1800’s was certain advances in Forensic Science. These advances proved troubling for serial killers of the era. It meant proving certain crimes such as poisoning, became easier. Some of these new advances in Forensic Science included:
The first use of photography in identification of a crime scene, evidence and criminals.
The first use of fingerprints in solving a crime.
The first use of arsenic detection in a jury trial. (James Marsh in 1930 developed a method for arsenic dectection and was the first one to use it in a trial basis.)
Bullet comparison to catch a murderer.
Though these new developments occurred and made things somewhat tricky for serial killers in this time, it didn’t stop them. There are well known serial killers such as Jack the Ripper, and others who killed and were never discovered. Serial killers were also not limited to one country. The killings occurred through out Europe, The United States and in other countries such as Canada.
The killings by these murderers brought shock and anger; sometimes even a mystery to the present day that is still questioned by experts and interested parties a like. The list of serial killers in the 1800’s are from any age group and from any gender as woman often killed too, poison often being their weapon of choice.
The list below is some of the recorded history and research of serial killers in that time period. Due to information that was not kept properly, or crimes not solved, some killers were never discovered and will always remain hidden to us.
1854-1885
United States
There were at least 7 women who were murdered, most were servants. The murderer would drag the victims from whatever room they were in and proceed to rape them before slashing them to death. There were several of these victims who ended up being stabbed or even spiked in the ears or face. The first victim, Mollie Smith was in 1884. The last two victims were Eula Phillips and Sue Hancock in 1885. The murders were devastating and shocking. There was no one who was convicted of the crimes.
United States
She was part of a gang that kidnapped slaves and those who were not to sell, transport them to plantation owners. Thought to have murdered at least 25 victims, many slave traded. Bodies were found on the farm that was owned by Cannon in Delaware by the tenant farmer. The bodies included an infant female, an adult male, a male child and a boy. She was indicted for the four murders in 1829. Cannon died in her cell on May 11th, 1829. Authorities at the time suspected suicide.
Approx.1865-1872
United Kingdom
Cotton killed those who were in her care. It is estimated that she had killed between 15-20 victims. Her choice of murder was poison. Cotton would extract arsenic from rat poison as the sale of it was not controlled at the time and give it to people in her care or that she wanted dead. Mary would move about in different areas marrying as she did so her name would change. The deaths were said to be contributed to gastric fever until traces of arsenic were found. She was finally caught trying to unload one of her victims into a warehouse. Arrested on July 18th, 1872 and was hung on March 24th, 1873.
1880-1892
The United States and United Kingdom
It is said he has poisoned at least 7 women; the first being his wife Flora. However, with Flora it wasn’t discovered until later where traces of poison were found in her system. It was assumed she had died of consumption in 1877.
Cream had traveled away from Canada to England where he pursued his studies in medicine. A few years after, he returned to Canada where he went into being an
abortionist..
In May 1879, patient Kate Gardener was found dead behind a woodshed smelling of chloroform. She was pregnant at the time of her death. It was later discovered the chloroform was administered by force.
In August 1879 Cream went to Chicago. Another patient, Eleen Stack he gave anti-pregnancy pills that he designed. These pills were laced with strychnine. She died soon afterwards.
Julia Slott had an affair with Cream that would later lead to his capture. After the killing of her husband by poison in the pills, Slott would later turn state’s evidence to convict Cream in 1881. However, Cream was released in July of 1891 and went back to England.
Back in England he posed as a doctor and chose the name Thomas Neil. He poisoned at least two more women while there. He was finally caught again. Cream would not be released this time, but hung on Nov 16th, 1892.
In March 1843, authorities charged Sara Dazely with murder. She had 3 husbands before who had died suspiciously. It was thought that she killed her husband just so she could marry again. Dazely was suspected of poisoning her past husbands as two of her previous husbands’ examination showed lethal doses of arsenic.
On August 5th, 1843 she was hanged after the conviction of two murders. The other corpses of the husbands were too decomposed to test for anything.
1891-1892
Australia
Deeming was noted as having more than one family and disposing of the victims he murdered.
On March 3, 1892, police caught a smell coming from a house numbered 57 Andrew Street. What happened next started the process of catching Deeming. They unearthed the body of a young woman whose throat had been slashed, Emily Williams. It was estimated she had been dead for at least 3 months. The police also found children embedded in the cement laying at the woman’s feet.
Emily Mather was thought to be his wife after the murder of Emily Williams and the children. He took her to Australia where he married her and eventually murdered her.
He was caught on March 1892 in Perth, Australia. On May 23rd 1892 he was hung.
Beginning unknown to 1896
United Kingdom
Amelia Dyer was thought to be trained as a nurse. The money she made was due to baby farming. She would advertise to adopt a baby or nurse a baby for one time payment and clothing. Dyer would then let them starve. If they did not go quickly, she would murder them and collect the fee.
In 1879, she was caught under suspicions of a doctor investigating the sudden deaths of children under her care. She was convicted and served hard labor for the crimes. Upon release she went back to her nursing duties and fell back and forth into mental hospitals.
After her last release from being in a mental hospital, Dyer went back into baby farming. She went further into disposing the bodies herself. She was eventually caught and later hung on June 10th, 1896.
United States
During the height of the civil war, Fergsuson killed union soldiers and civilian supporters. It is thought that he killed over 100 people. He had claimed it was part of his military duty.
On May 1865 he was tried for the murders of only 53 people. He was hanged on October 20, 1865
Scotland
William Burke and William Hare started acquiring bodies from graves to sell to universities for money. There were no questions asked, so it was a good deal for them. However, after awhile that proved too difficult and time consuming for them. Instead of digging up the graves of already dead people, they chose to murder. The fresh bodies got them more money and were easier for them.
They strangled their victims in such a way as to suspect no foul play. They were suspected of killing at least 16 people. It was the 16th victim that led to their arrest.
William Hare and his wife gave evidence against Burke for immunity. The evidence sent Burke to the gallows on Jan 28th, 1829. Hare was thought to have died penniless in 1859.
United States
Born in Germany, came to United States in his youth. He moved through out the country marrying illegally and killing them for their money. Hoch would poison them and afterwards remove their organs for no traceable evidence.
He was thought to have murdered 15 people. He was only convicted of the Marie Walcker's murder in which investigators found poison in her body. Hoch was later hung on Feb 23rd, 1906.
In 1955, many of his missing wife’s bones were founding a Chicago home once occupied by him.
1888–1894
United States
In 1884, he was enrolled in Michigan Medical School where he stole corpses and disfigured them under his medical experiments. After graduation he moved to Chicago to practice a more pharmaceutical tendency.
In 1893, Holmes had purchased a 3-story house. This 3-story house was later to be known as his ‘castle’. In the castle, he would lure victims in there. His office was located in the upper two floors. At times his victims would be locked in a vault by his office where he would then proceed to hear them panic, and hear them scream to eventually suffocate.
The victims would then be sent via a secret chute into the basement where at times skin would be removed, dissected or even bone skeletons made. Holmes through his connections was then able to sell organs, bones and even poisons. He also preformed illegal abortions, which in some cases the patients died and he sold their bodies as well.
It is thought that he had killed at least 20 people, possibly more. He was arrested on November 17th, 1894. On May 7th, 1896 he was hung in Philadelphia County Prison.
Australia
She was a baby farmer who got the babies from unwed mothers. She also advertised for mothers who wanted babies to contact her. If Knorr was not able to sell the babies, she was thought to have killed at least 13 of them.
There was in inquest held after 3 bodies were found in the backyard of one of her residencies. The doctor who examined one of the children found that it had been suffocated to death. Knorr denied all charges of murdering and hiding the babies.
She was convicted of 3 murders and hung on January 15, 1894.
United States
Laurie owned slaves in her Louisiana home. With these slaves, she abused them, killed them, mutilated them and often experimented on them.
In 1834, after a fire broke out at her estate, the fire brigade broke into the home to discover many horrible sightings. It was said that she had many slaves chained to the walls, some alive and in cages, some were obviously altered, such as a man who was changed into an attempt to be a woman, and some were medically experimented on. There were even some slaves who had their organs removed and reattached in other areas of their bodies or on other bodies.
After the discover of all the bodies in her home, a lynch mob was formed. However, Laurie escaped never to be found.
1840-1841
Australia
He had told police and others that ‘God’ had told him to commit the murders.
Lynch had killed whole families; including sons, fathers and mothers with a tomahawk. He always killed them from behind. The amount of killings that was thought to be done by Lynch is a total of 9 people.
He was finally caught and put to death by hanging on April 22nd, 1842.
Australia
The Makins put an advertisement out looking to adopt babies and give them a good home. They would kill the babies after a certain time, but still collect the money for fees. The mothers, often unable to take care of the babies themselves, would go to the Makins to allow them to adopt the baby. They were not allowed to see the babies, told different things that were not true to hide them from their mothers.
On October 1892, James Hanoney was digging into the ground for a clogged drain. In this ground he discovered two babies hidden in clothing that were dead. The police investigated and the property was found to be owned by the Makins. Upon removal of more ground, the police had discovered more bodies; total number of buried bodies at 12.
They were arrested and charged with murder a time later after the bodies were discovered.
The Makins tried to appeal a couple of times, but both were denied. John Makin was sentenced to the gallows and Sarah Makin was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor. She was released after 19 years.
Australia
On June 14th, 1856, William Robinson’s body was discovered with throat cut. It was thought that Martin was having an affair with Robinson’s wife. He also killed Jane Macmanamin, her body was discovered in May 1862. Later on two men from Salt Creek city bodies were discovered and attributed to Martin.
However, he was only tried for Jane’s murder and convicted. In 1862, he was hung for his crime.
United States
In 1872, was hired as a guide by a group of 20 men for a prospect trip into the Suan Juan Mountains of Southern Colorado.
Later a discovery of five missing men and strips of human flesh on the trail Packard had led these men. It was also found later that the five men had been cannibalized. The authorities tracked Packard down under a different name in 1883 to stand trail for the five missing men.
He claimed his innocence as a murderer, saying it was for self-defense and survival. Jury had found him guilty and he was charged with manslaughter. In 1901 he was released where there was nothing more documented of any crimes by him.
1888
The United Kingdom
Jack the Ripper is noted for what is considered ‘The White Chapel Murders’. He was thought to have killed only prostitutes and 5 in total ending with Mary Kelly in November 1888. He would remove organs, slash their throats and leave them there to be found without leaving a trace of who he was. The last victim was brutally mutilated which gave suspicion of motives.
The mystery behind Jack the Ripper has caused many experts to debate who the killer was. However, it has not been found who Jack the Ripper really was.
1858-1872
United States
She had poisoned 7 husbands and 3 children.
Sherman went on trail in 1872 and was convicted of second degree murder. She spent the rest of her life in prison.
1885–1901
United States
She trained as a nurse. Toppan enjoyed experimenting with combining different drugs. She liked to inject morphine first to put them in a coma state, and then used atropine to revive them which would end up killing them.
However, one victim didn’t die, Ameila Phinney who was one of her patients at the hospital she was at. Later, Toppan confessed to 31 victims. On October 29th, 1901, state police arrested her for the murder of Minnie Gibbs.
In 1902 she confessed to only 11 murders claiming she had an insatiable desire to watch death. Toppan was committed to a mental institution by not guilty by means of insanity.
1811
United Kingdom
The first attack of the ‘Ratcliff Highway Murders’ took place December 7, 1811 on Ratcliff Highway in east end of London. The victims murdered were Timothy Marr, his wife Celia and 3 month son, Timothy and James Gowan their shop boy.
On December 19th, 1811, the second murders were committed of Williams’s wife, Elizabeth and Bridget Anna Harrington.
Williams was arrested because of a grievance against Timothy Marr when they were shipmates. The full extent of the crimes remain a mystery.
1853-1862
United Kingdom
Wilson befriended people of wealth who would leave their possessions to her after they died. Her husband she had killed. The doctor wanted to do an examination, but she pleaded saying he didn’t wish to be cut up. He was buried with no further information gathered.
She killed what was thought to be 7 people after they had rewrote their wills to include her by poisoning.
Wilson was only tried for the murder of Mrs. Soames that died in 1856. On September 22nd, 1862 she was the last woman to be publicly hung.
Germany
Though she mostly committed her murders in the 1700’s, some were spread into the 1800’s.
She was employed as different judges as caregivers to their families. Anna started killing by poisoning either the judges or family members of the judges. Her one appointment with a family turned to be her downfall, as she tried to poison the servants as well, but they survived. She left that house and then wrote letters to the family saying she was so sorry about their infant’s death. It so happened she had poisoned the infant.
Judge Gebhard had the food analyzed after Anna had left and it was discovered to have poison in it. On October 18th, 1809 she was arrested. After 6 months of questioning she broke down and confessed. She was beheaded in July of 1811.
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