Britain’s First Female Serial Killer: The Life and Crimes of Mary Ann Cotton | Ep. 237

Britain’s First Female Serial Killer: The Life and Crimes of Mary Ann Cotton | Ep. 237

From British Murders with Stuart Blues by Stuart Blues

March 18, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 237

About this episode

This episode explores the life and crimes of Mary Ann Cotton, Britain's first female serial killer, who was suspected of poisoning multiple relatives in the mid-1800s.

In the mid-1800s, a quiet trail of deaths began to follow a woman across the North East of England. Husbands, children, and relatives seemed to fall suddenly ill, often complaining of stomach pains before dying not long after. At the time, many of these deaths were put down to disease, something that wasn’t uncommon in Victorian Britain. But over the years, the number of deaths began to raise eyebrows. Wherever this woman went, tragedy seemed to follow. Families were torn apart, life insurance payouts appeared at just the right moment, and whispers began circulating that these deaths might not have been natural at all. Poisoning, suspicion, and greed were all in the mix. In this episode of British Murders with Stuart Blues , I take a chronological look at the life and crimes of Mary Ann Cotton, one of Britain’s earliest known female serial killers. A woman suspected of poisoning multiple husbands, children, and relatives during Britain’s Victorian era, Mary Ann Cotton remains one of the most infamous female serial killers in UK history. We’ll explore her use of arsenic, the murders that shocked North East England, her trial and execution, and the legacy of suspicion and horror…

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Host: Stuart Blues

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Places: North East of England

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