October 1, 1872 - Bertha Gifford
Operating under the guise of neighborly care in rural Missouri, Gifford reportedly took in ailing community members and tended to them during illness — a pattern that drew suspicion only after deaths accumulated over years. She was charged with three murders and suspected in as many as fifteen, making her one of the more quietly significant figures in the history of American female serial homicide. The rural setting and her role as a trusted caregiver likely allowed her actions to go unquestioned for as long as they did.
From Wikipedia
Bertha Alice Williams Graham Gifford (October 30, 1871 – August 20, 1951) was a farmwife in rural Catawissa, Missouri during the early 1900s who was accused of murdering three members of the local community and suspected in 15 additional deaths. Some consider her to be America's fifth solo female serial killer, behind Belle Gunness, Lydia Sherman, Jane Toppan, and Nannie Doss.
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