THE FEMALE SERIAL MURDERER

A Sociological Study of Homicide

and the "Gentler Sex"

Hannah Scott

The Edwin Meilen Press

Lewiston'Queenston'Lampeter
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword by D. Kim Rossmo i

Acknowledgments iv

Chapter One: An Introduction to Murder and Serial Murder 3

The Public Gaze, Gender, and Murder 6
Homicide Trends 7
Counting Souls: Defining Serial Murder 11
A Historical Perspective in Criminology 20
Summary 23

Chapter Two: Time, Opportunity, and Anonymity 25

The Elusive Serial Murderer... 26
Murder in Tribal Societies 27
Pre-Industrial Era Murder 30
Modern-Day Murder 32
Summary 33
Chapter Three: Black Widows and Angels of Death 35
Black Widows 36
Mary Ann Cotton 37
Belle Gunness 39
Anna Marie Hahn 42
Vera Renczi 44
Angels of Death 45
Beverly Allitt 46
Lucy De Berk 48
Genene Jones 49
Jane Toppan 51
Catherine Wilson 56
Summary 57
Chapter Four: Less Traditional Murderesses 59
Client-Based Killers 59
Velma Margie Barfield 60
Marie Alexander Becker 63
Amelia Elizabeth Dyer 64
Helene Jegado 64
Louise Vermilyea, a.k.a. Loiuse Brinknap 66
Annie Walters and Amelia Sachs 67
Family-Based Killers 68
Waneta Hoyt, a.k.a. Mrs. W 68
Marybeth Tinning 69
Jeanne Weber, a.k.a. Jeanne Moulinet, 74
Marie Lamoine, and "The Ogress"
Stranger-Based Killers 76
Countess Elisabeth Bathory 76
Aileen Carol Wuornos Pralle 79
Summary 82
Chapter Five: Some Overall Patterns of Women w ho 85
Commit Serial Murder
Discussion 106
Summary 115
Chapter Six: Some Psychological Explanations of Serial Murder 117
Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy 120
Trauma-Control Model of Serial Murder 122
Problems with the Hickey Study 124
Adding Women 126
Summary 127
Chapter Seven: Examining the Idea that Criminality is Learned 129
Edwin Sutherland's Theory of Differential Association 129
 Ronald Akers' Social Learning Theory 132
What Does This Mean for the Study of Serial Murder? 137
Women Who Learn to Kill 141
The Unlearning of Murderous Acts 146
Summary 147
Chapter Eight: Some Thoughts on Serial Murder and Leyton's 149
Proletarian Rebellion
A Gendered Application of Leyton's Work 153
Gendered Trends Serial Murdering 155
Assumptions of Leyton's Work 157
Summary 161
Chapter Nine: The Gentler Sex 163
Commonalities between Men and Women who 167
Commit Serial Murder
Defining Serial Murder 169
Common Theoretical Threads 171
A Word on the Victims of this Criminal Class 173
Why Bother with More Research in this Area? 174
Assumptions about the Gentler Sex 177
References 179
Index 187