March 31, 1854 - Jane Toppan
Her position as a nurse gave her both access and cover, allowing her to poison patients over years before suspicion mounted enough to prompt investigation. When she finally confessed, she claimed far more victims than the twelve proven in court — a figure that, if accurate, would place her among the most prolific killers in American history. The trust inherent in caregiving made her actions particularly difficult to detect and, once revealed, particularly difficult to comprehend.
From Wikipedia
Jane Toppan (born Honora Kelley; March 31, 1854 – August 17, 1938), nicknamed Jolly Jane, was an American serial killer who murdered 12 people in Massachusetts between 1895 and 1901, although she confessed to killing 31 and is suspected of killing more than 100. The killings were carried out in Toppan's capacity as a nurse, targeting patients and their family members. Toppan, who admitted to having committed the murders to satisfy a sexual fetish, was quoted as saying that her ambition was "to have killed more people—helpless people—than any other man or woman who ever lived".
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