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

People in this episode

Host: Stuart Blues

Topics covered

• female serial killer
• Mary Ann Cotton
• Victorian era
• poisoning
• true crime
• historical crimes

Keywords

• Mary Ann Cotton
• serial killer
• Victorian Britain
• arsenic
• true crime
• murders
• North East England
• poisoning
• life insurance
• historical crime

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: British Murders with Stuart Blues

Places: North East of England

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