La rubrica dell'orrore: Mary Ann Cotton, l'avvelenatrice

La rubrica dell'orrore: Mary Ann Cotton, l'avvelenatrice.

Inauguriamo da oggi un nuovo appuntamento con i nostri lettori. Si tratta della rubrica degli orrori, in cui ogni giorno vi parleremo di un assassino tra i più cruenti mai esistiti, alcune volte con foto forti altre con semplici foto e con una breve descrizione di ciò che hanno fatto in vita (molti di loro sono fortunatamente passati a miglior vita).

Oggi vi parleremo di Mary Ann Cotton, nata come Mary Ann Robson, una serial killer britannica nata nel 1832 e morta per esecuzione nel 1873, nota per aver ucciso circa 20 persone o forse più avvelenandole con l'arsenico.

In 1871, 40-year-old Mary Ann Cotton and her husband, 39-year-old Frederick moved into a home in County Durham, with his two stepsons and her 7-month-old baby.  Two months later Frederick died of gastric fever and one of Mary's lovers, Joseph Natrass moved in.

In the space of a month Belle's baby, Natrass and Frederick's son all died in the house.  On the 12 July 1872 the other son of Frederick died, all the deaths caused suspicion and a neighbour went to the police.

A post mortem was carried out on the stepson and it revealed him to be poisoned with arsenic.  The bodies of the other dead were exhumed and they showed that arsenic was the cause of death.  Mary was arrested and charged with the murder of her stepson.   She went to trial in March 1873, claiming that they were accidentally killed by arsenic contained in wallpaper, but the prosecution had evidence that she had purchased arsenic.  Mary Ann Cotton was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Cotton was suspected of the murders of 14 people, in her older life twenty one people close to her died.  Her motive was gain, as she would marry, kill and collect the insurance money, then repeat it again.  She was hanged in Durham prison on March 24, 1873.