Women Serial Killers

by Jean Henry Mead

I decided to return to our blog's original theme, murderous musings, because Halloween is fast approaching. And I've wondered whether serial killers use costumes or disguises to lure victims to their untimely deaths.

We rarely hear about women serial killers. They usually maintain a lower profile than their male counterparts, and they’re generally more efficient, according to Sean Mactire's book, Malicious Intent. They’re also just as lethal. Mactire lists them in four categories: black widows, nurses, terrorists and assassins.

Black widows murder their own husbands and children, as well as other relatives. They’ve also been known to kill their employees and tenants. Remember the Sacramento landlady who planted her boarders instead of flowers? And the film, "Arsenic and Old Lace"?

Nurses are the most prolific serial killers because of their unlimited opportunities to murder without detection. Many consider themselves angels of mercy. Terrorists, on the other hand, kill for political reasons while assassins murder for money. The latter categories have increased in numbers at an alarming rate.

Body counts average 8-14 victims, higher than the male serial killer’s tally of 8-11, and they’ve been known to kill for as long as 30 years. The average age of women killers is 32, and they’re intelligent. In fact, most are white, middle to upper-class women. Surprisingly, they’re not only nurses but debutantes, housewives, farmers, waitresses, college students, business owners, housekeepers and career criminals.

Women murderers have been recorded throughout history, but none more frequently than during the Roman era. Prior to the advent of Christianity, women held positions of near equality with men and, in matriarchal societies, even higher because their wisdom and skills were considered superior. When emerging western societies gradually eliminated women’s influence and power, the murder rate increased. During the ninth through eleventh centuries in Normandy, poison was known as the “widow maker” because it was frequently used by disgruntled wives, who preferred widowhood to divorce. Poisons still account for half the murders committed by women in this country today. We'll never know how many.

The primary reason female killers have escaped attention is that society’s perception of women is one of caretakers and nurturers. Many find it difficult to believe that women are capable of murder, other than an impromptu domestic killing. Known women serial killers are few because they’re almost impossible to detect. They murder quietly and usually don't take part in wild killing sprees unless they’re suffering from severe psychosis.

Serial killers, regardless of gender, prefer to prey on the weak and helpless: children, elderly women, and hospitalized patients, but they’ve also been known to kill politicians, policemen, hitchhikers and landlords. Many have killed husbands for their insurance payoffs. One black widow killed a number of her husbands with stewed prunes generously seasoned with rat poison. When she ran out of husbands, she poisoned her mother, sisters, grandson and nephew. By then she apparently ran out of prunes.

Responsible Writing

By Mark W. Danielson

At first glance you see a smiling man, but then his shirt identifies him as one of millions that celebrate the 9/11 World Trade Center attack as a victory against the infidels.  Hold this image as I discuss the need to write responsibly.

Every day, images and stories of murder and destruction inspire fiction writers.  While most novels end with heroes overcoming chaos, some unknowingly prompt copycat crimes.  Adding to this, there is a troubling trend of stories and shows that capitalize on actual school shootings, murders, and abductions without regard for the victims, or any concern that such wide-spread exposure may romanticize such criminal acts.  Recently, live TV preempted local programing for hours to cover the manhunt for a “home grown” terrorist.  Apparently they failed to realize that their sensationalized filler made martyrs out of these bombers and may encourage more acts.  With bombings now the norm in large and small screen plots, it was disturbing to find a Mystery Writers of America forensics article on bombings so authors could “get it right.”  Are these writers aware that by incorporating such technical information in their novels, they may be inviting disaster?  You may cry nonsense, but no one can predict a criminal’s mind.  Anyone having doubts about how people can be affected by media input should watch Pain and Gain – a movie based on a true story of how words and images lured people into criminal activity and murder.  Authors should not only be cognizant of any potential negative effects of their work, they should also accept responsibility if a criminal acts from their prose.

Don’t get me wrong.  I love reading and writing suspense.  In fact, several years ago I was well into a terrorist book, but then realized if it was published, the information I provided could lead to serious security breaches.  At that point I deleted the story and moved on.  Unfortunately, there are far too many published cook books for terror.  Remember that our media and Google Earth were Bin Laden’s best intelligence sources.

Our freedom of expression allows us to write and publish whatever we choose.  As a result, the Internet is packed with dangerous recipes bearing Constitutional protection.  So, at what point do authors realize they went too far?  The day after a disaster, or before their work is published?  In the United States, that choice is yours.  In other countries, they make that decision for you.

While every good mystery should involve danger and risk, none should generate real harm to individuals.  Take another look at the man’s grin and then share your thoughts.