What

Emotional Layering Convey internal reactions—fear, confusion, detachment—through visceral responses, avoiding direct identifiers. Phrases like “heart pounding as footsteps echoed closer” humanize the unseen witness. In trauma-informed contexts, this respects memory distortions common in high-stress events.[crimejusticejournal]

A 2024 analysis by criminologist Enzo Yaksic highlights a surge in revenge-driven female serial killings, reaching about 50% of cases in the past decade, often linked to infidelity or abuse—contrasting with profit dominance in prior eras. Earlier research, like a 2018 Australian study of 149 homicides, found women less prone to revenge than men but noted it in intimate contexts when security felt threatened.[newsweek +1] Evidence Gaps No large-scale, peer-reviewed datasets confirm a precise “surge” with before-after metrics for 2010-2025; claims rely on qualitative reviews of known cases, where revenge blends with trauma or relational betrayal. Financial gain persists as primary (30-50%), with revenge secondary but rising in visibility amid better reporting of domestic violence links.[bps +2]

Female killers in the 21st century often exhibit motives distinct from their male counterparts, with financial gain emerging as the predominant driver.[newsweek +2] Primary Motives Financial incentives top the list, including insurance payouts, inheritance, or profiting from victims like spouses, partners, or those in their care. Women frequently target vulnerable individuals such as children, the elderly, or the ill, using subtle methods like poisoning to mimic natural deaths. Revenge has surged recently, accounting for up to 50% of cases in the last decade, often linked to infidelity or abuse.[studyfinds +4] Secondary Factors Power and control play key roles, especially in “angel of death” or caretaker scenarios where women hold authority over dependents. Perceived “love” or mercy killings occur, rationalized as acts of kindness toward suffering family members. Mental illness affects about 40% of cases, compounded by histories of trauma or abuse.[bbc +4]

Female killers in the 21st century often exhibit motives distinct from their male counterparts, with financial gain emerging as the predominant driver.[newsweek +2] Primary Motives Financial incentives top the list, including insurance payouts, inheritance, or profiting from victims like spouses, partners, or those in their care. Women frequently target vulnerable individuals such as children, the elderly, or the ill, using subtle methods like poisoning to mimic natural deaths. Revenge has surged recently, accounting for up to 50% of cases in the last decade, often linked to infidelity or abuse.[studyfinds +4] Secondary Factors Power and control play key roles, especially in “angel of death” or caretaker scenarios where women hold authority over dependents. Perceived “love” or mercy killings occur, rationalized as acts of kindness toward suffering family members. Mental illness affects about 40% of cases, compounded by histories of trauma or abuse.[bbc +4]

Marsh Test (1836) Chemist James Marsh created the most reliable method by reacting a body tissue sample—such as stomach contents, liver, or other organs—with zinc and sulfuric acid in a glass apparatus. This produced arsine gas (AsH₃), which, when heated, deposited a distinctive metallic arsenic mirror on a cold porcelain surface, visible as a shiny brown-black stain detectable in traces as small as 1/50th of a milligram. The test’s sensitivity allowed exhumations, as in Cotton’s stepson Charles’s case, where arsenic persisted in preserved tissues despite decomposition elsewhere.[sciencehistory +2]

You know she had to marry a william Born in 1832 in Low Moorsley, County Durham, England, Cotton worked as a nurse and dressmaker. She married colliery sinker William Mowbray in 1852, bearing at least four children (possibly more), most of whom died young from supposed gastric issues, allowing her insurance claims. Pattern of Crimes Cotton repeated this cycle across four marriages—to Mowbray, George Ward, James Robinson, and Frederick Cotton—killing spouses, offspring, and dependents with arsenic-laced food or tea. By 1872, exhumations, including that of her stepson Charles Edward Cotton, revealed lethal arsenic levels, shattering her cover of frequent “fevers” in impoverished mining communities.

What Mary Ann Cotton (1832–1873): Suspected of killing 21 people, including husbands, children, and her mother, using arsenic in tea or food to collect insurance payouts. She evaded suspicion by blaming “gastric fever,” a common misdiagnosis, until an exhumation revealed arsenic. • Nannie Doss (1905–1965): “Giggling Granny” poisoned at least four husbands and relatives with arsenic-laced prunes or stew in the U.S. from the 1920s–1950s. She collected pensions and insurance, feigning grief and blaming natural causes to avoid scrutiny for decades. • Elizabeth Wettlaufer (1967–): Canadian nurse who confessed in 2016 to injecting insulin into 8 elderly patients (and attempting 9 more) from 2007–2016, causing fatal overdoses. She targeted vulnerable hospital residents, falsifying records and exploiting her medical role to delay investigations.