Delphine LaLaurie was the daughter of an Irish immigrant father who settled in New

Orleans during the French colonial period. Her parents were important members of the
local community, and Delphine’s cousin was the mayor of the city from 1815-1820.
No one knew that those affairs included torturing and murdering the slaves of her
household. Although most official reports claim that she was directly responsible for the
tortuous deaths of four slaves, many people believe it may have been more than that. Her
macabre actions make her one of the most notorious female serial killers in American
History.
In the outside, 1140 Royal Street was a benign and glorious example of wealth and social
standing. It was pure New Orleans elegance and class. Madame LaLaurie purchased the
prime piece of French Quarter real estate for $33,000 in 1831.
Marie Delphine Macarty or MacCarthy (March 19, 1787 – December 7, 1849), more commonly
known as Madame Blanque, until her third marriage, when she became known as Madame
LaLaurie, was a New Orleans Creole socialite and serial killer who tortured and
murdered slaves in her household.

Born during the Spanish colonial period, Delphine Macarty married three times in Louisiana, and
was twice widowed. She maintained her position in New Orleans society until April 10, 1834, when
rescuers responded to a fire at her Royal Street mansion. They discovered bound slaves in her
attic who showed evidence of cruel, violent abuse over a long period. Lalaurie's house was
subsequently sacked by an outraged mob of New Orleans citizens. She escaped to France with her
family.

Pop culture has developed a fascination with the story of Madame LaLaurie. Most recently,
the popular repertory television program American Horror Story included Delphine’s
character in a season titled Coven.

Edith Lagos was a Peruvian activist who was a member of the Communist Party of Peru, commonly
known as the Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso). Lagos was a prominent promoter of the group's
agenda.

Lagos was born in Ayacucho to a wealthy family. She studied law at Universidad de San Martín de
Porres in Lima before dropping out to join Shining Path.

In 1980, Lagos escaped the Ayacucho jail after a Shining Path detachment blew a hole in the jail
wall. She spent the next two years promoting Shining Path and participating in their operations.

In 1982, Lagos was killed in Umaca, Peru, in a shootout with police and paramilitary forces.

El cadáver será reclamado por sus padres, que consiguieron su traslado desde Andahuaylas a
Huamanga. Inicialmente alguien cubrió el cuerpo con un hábito religioso, pero fue retirado en
Ayacucho. Sus prendas fueron conservadas para mostrar que no habría muerto en la balacera,
sino detenida y torturada antes de matarla. Ya en su féretro fue vestida con una sugerente camisa
caqui y se inscribió en la cabecera del ataúd la frase “Comandante Edith Lagos”
Gypsy Rose Blanchard is 27 years old, serving a 10-year prison sentence, and
by all accounts, doing just fine. In fact, she says she’s thriving.
Gypsy Rose never denied her involvement in the crime. In 2016, she pleaded
guilty to second-degree murder. This came as a surprise to her neighbors
and friends, who viewed her as a sweet, childlike young woman. During her
trial, Gypsy Rose's motivations for her extreme action became clear. Gypsy
Rose grew up confined to a wheelchair. She was shuttled in and out of
hospitals for tests and surgeries. Her teeth were removed. She had a strict
medicine regimen for her supposed leukemia, and ate her meals through
feeding tubes. Essentially, Gypsy Rose was sick.

Except that she wasn’t. Dee Dee had been lying to Gypsy Rose about her
supposed illness her entire life. Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen
Syndrome by Proxy, in which someone deliberately makes a person in their
care sick. Recently, Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy has also swarmed pop
culture — examples can be found in Sharp Objects, Everything Everything,
and even the movie Greta.

Gypsy Rose felt trapped. In 2012, she met Nicholas Godejohn on a Christian
dating site, and identified an escape route. Capitalizing on years of affection,
in 2015, Gypsy Rose convinced Godejohn to help her kill her mother so they
could be together. Gypsy Rose waited in the bathroom while Godejohn
carried out the murder. They fled from Missouri to Godejohn's house in Big
Bend, WI. Police caught up with them there
Gypsy Rose is serving time at Chillicothe Correctional Center in Chillicothe,
MO. Behind bars, she's closer to her true self than she could ever be with her
controlling mother.
Gypsy Rose will be up for parole in 2024, at which time she'll be 32 years old.