1 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:16,000 Speaker 1: Diversion audio. A note this episode contains mature content and 2 00:00:16,040 --> 00:00:19,920 Speaker 1: descriptions of violence that may be disturbing for some listeners. 3 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:35,360 Speaker 1: Please take care and listening. Today's episode is part two 4 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:39,480 Speaker 1: of our three part mini series about the first American 5 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: female serial killer. If you miss part one, I highly 6 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: recommend that you pause me here, listen to that episode, 7 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:51,559 Speaker 1: and then come back once you're caught up. You can 8 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:53,960 Speaker 1: even listen to it on warp speed. But I promise 9 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: that backstory is integral to understanding Jane Toppin's criminal escalations, 10 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: which are going to get into in this episode. Missus 11 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: Amelia Finny was thirty six years old when her husband 12 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:12,480 Speaker 1: finally convinced her to go to the hospital for her pain. 13 00:01:15,240 --> 00:01:19,840 Speaker 1: She was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital for a uterine ulcer. 14 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: In the operating theater, physicians rendered her unconscious with morphine 15 00:01:28,640 --> 00:01:35,480 Speaker 1: in front of an audience of nursing students. They demonstrated 16 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,520 Speaker 1: to the students how to treat an ulcer by burning 17 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:45,480 Speaker 1: it with silver nitrate. They closed Amelia's abdomen and returned 18 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: her to the recovery wing. Pain from the procedure woke 19 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,960 Speaker 1: Amelia in the middle of the night into her relief, 20 00:01:56,640 --> 00:02:00,360 Speaker 1: she saw a nurse immediately by her side, asking her 21 00:02:00,400 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: how she was feeling. Amelia tried to explain that she 22 00:02:05,600 --> 00:02:09,840 Speaker 1: couldn't bear the pain, and she was relieved when the 23 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,600 Speaker 1: nurse brought a cool glass of water to her lips, 24 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:22,160 Speaker 1: but it tasted bitter. Her vision fogged and the nurse 25 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:27,200 Speaker 1: blurred above her. She was surprised to feel the mattress 26 00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,600 Speaker 1: sag as the nurse sat on the bed beside her. 27 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:35,520 Speaker 1: Then the nurse's arm was under her neck and her 28 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: other hand was smoothing her hair back from her face 29 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:45,920 Speaker 1: like a lover would do. Amelia tried to say as much, 30 00:02:47,120 --> 00:02:52,639 Speaker 1: but she found herself paralyzed. The light from a lamp 31 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,320 Speaker 1: flashed first in one eye as the nurse held back 32 00:02:56,360 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: the lid, and then the other. She brought the bitter 33 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 1: water back to Amelia's lips, and Amelia willed her jaw 34 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:11,919 Speaker 1: to clamp shut, but she still couldn't move. She felt 35 00:03:11,919 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: the cup against her lips. At that moment, footsteps sounded 36 00:03:19,600 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: in the hallway and the nurse disappeared. Amelia would try 37 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: for years to remember that nightmare as only a dream, 38 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:51,120 Speaker 1: but it wasn't a dream. Welcome to the greatest true 39 00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: crime stories ever told. I'm Mary Kay McBrayer. I'm a 40 00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: writer of true crime, which means I live inside their 41 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:03,600 Speaker 1: research wormhole and I'm constantly reading about crime. But I'm 42 00:04:03,640 --> 00:04:07,800 Speaker 1: not necessarily interested in the attention grabbing elements like blood 43 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: and gore. I'm more interested in the people behind these 44 00:04:13,040 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 1: stories and what we can learn about society by looking 45 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: at their experiences. That's what I explore here every week 46 00:04:23,680 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: when I dig into crimes where a woman is not 47 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:30,479 Speaker 1: just a victim. She might be the detective, the lawyer, 48 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: the witness, the coroner, the criminal, or a combination of 49 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: these roles. As you probably already know, women can do anything. Today, 50 00:04:44,920 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: we're continuing our three part mini series on the first 51 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: American female serial killer. It's a nineteenth century American tale 52 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,680 Speaker 1: about how an orphan turned indentured servant bootstrapped herself into 53 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:05,920 Speaker 1: a mad scientist murderer, one of the most prolific murderers 54 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:12,520 Speaker 1: in history. I spent years researching her story for my book, 55 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:17,119 Speaker 1: America's First Female serial Killer, Jane Toppin and the Making 56 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:20,560 Speaker 1: of a Monster, so I'm excited to share her story 57 00:05:20,560 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: with you in this episode. Jane's extracurricular medical experiments start 58 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:34,680 Speaker 1: to escalate, and what violent warp speed escalations. They were 59 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: more about those after the break. One thing that kept 60 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 1: anyone from suspecting Jane Toppin is that she really didn't 61 00:05:56,680 --> 00:06:02,839 Speaker 1: have a single victim profile. They were different ages, genders, 62 00:06:03,040 --> 00:06:07,400 Speaker 1: and abilities. When most serial murderers have a pretty specific type. 63 00:06:08,279 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 1: For example, Ted Bundy liked small white women with dark 64 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,840 Speaker 1: hair parted down the middle. The ones who don't have 65 00:06:15,920 --> 00:06:20,800 Speaker 1: a type, like Richard Ramirez, the original Nightstalker, are much 66 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: harder to find. She did start off with a type, 67 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,360 Speaker 1: they were her patients, but her patients didn't have much 68 00:06:30,360 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: in common on paper. In our last episode, we followed 69 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,080 Speaker 1: Jane from the Boston Female Asylum basically an orphanage, to 70 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:46,400 Speaker 1: indentured servitude with the Tappin family. When Auntie Toppin died 71 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:49,839 Speaker 1: and failed to leave Jane anything in her will, Jane 72 00:06:49,920 --> 00:06:54,120 Speaker 1: was hurt and shocked, given she was all Jane knew 73 00:06:54,160 --> 00:06:58,200 Speaker 1: of her mother, and to add insult to injury, her 74 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: foster sister, Elizabeth Briga, told her that she could stay 75 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,240 Speaker 1: on at their house for as long as she wanted 76 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:11,400 Speaker 1: if she continued being her servant. Jane took all that 77 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:16,000 Speaker 1: as a kind of challenge. She applied and got into 78 00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:20,720 Speaker 1: the most prestigious nursing school of the time at Cambridge Hospital. 79 00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:27,000 Speaker 1: All of this is pretty remarkable on its own. She's 80 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:29,840 Speaker 1: setting herself up with main character energy. At the very least, 81 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:34,920 Speaker 1: this has all the trappings of an underdog success story, 82 00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 1: if only the work at the hospital was grueling and 83 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:47,360 Speaker 1: Jane was awesome at it. She was a good bit 84 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:51,040 Speaker 1: older than most of her fellow students at thirty one. 85 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: Her patients loved her. They often told other nurses they 86 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,680 Speaker 1: preferred Jane's care, and that made the other girls jealous, 87 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 1: so they snitched on Jane for staying out past curfew 88 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,680 Speaker 1: and drinking alcohol, two things that were unforgivable in the 89 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:13,160 Speaker 1: administration's eyes. Granted, Jane did do those things. She also 90 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: swiped any cash left unguarded and spent it on whatever 91 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 1: she wanted, usually food or booze. When she heard that 92 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: the other nurses tattled on her, she went to the 93 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:29,880 Speaker 1: head nurse herself and reported a few things that they'd done. Supposedly, 94 00:08:31,560 --> 00:08:36,720 Speaker 1: they were all untrue for some reason, maybe because Jane 95 00:08:36,800 --> 00:08:41,000 Speaker 1: was indispensable, or maybe because Jane was a very skilled liar. 96 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,079 Speaker 1: The administration believed Jane, and they expelled the other nurses. 97 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,360 Speaker 1: Jane watched and giggled from her upstairs window as her 98 00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:56,160 Speaker 1: enemies dragged out their belongings before she dressed for the 99 00:08:56,200 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 1: morning meal and prayers. With the snitches out of the way, 100 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: Jane was free to do as she pleased. Almost She 101 00:09:09,760 --> 00:09:12,319 Speaker 1: still had to actually do her job, but she was 102 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 1: great at that. Doctors adored Jane. She anticipated things they 103 00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:19,480 Speaker 1: never thought of, and having her at their elbow made 104 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:23,480 Speaker 1: everything go so smoothly. And her patients loved her too, 105 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:29,000 Speaker 1: at least most of them did, especially the ones whom 106 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:33,720 Speaker 1: she liked. But occasionally the other nurses would hear that 107 00:09:33,760 --> 00:09:40,280 Speaker 1: a patient was scared of Jane. Still, now that these 108 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: nurses had seen everyone that tattled on Jane get fired, 109 00:09:44,480 --> 00:09:48,480 Speaker 1: they were reluctant to speak up, which was really useful 110 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: for Jane because the patient's concerns were warranted. Jane was 111 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: becoming scary. She hated how her favorite patients would leave 112 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:08,160 Speaker 1: her without a second thought, abandoning her, so she started 113 00:10:08,160 --> 00:10:20,120 Speaker 1: doing a little research. Harold Scheckter, an incredible writer who 114 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:24,280 Speaker 1: covered Jane's story in his book Fatal, describes how her 115 00:10:24,320 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 1: textbook started to naturally fall open to the page's detailing opiates. 116 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,880 Speaker 1: She had cracked the spine there. That was how often 117 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:41,240 Speaker 1: she studied these drugs, particularly morphine. By the way, I 118 00:10:41,320 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: get to interview Scheckter in the next episode of this 119 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,199 Speaker 1: mini series, so be sure to follow the greatest true 120 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:50,200 Speaker 1: crime stories ever told and make sure you come back 121 00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:58,319 Speaker 1: for that. But let me explain why Jane was obsessed 122 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: with morphine. But at the time, it was pretty popular 123 00:11:02,280 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 1: as a surgical anesthesia and painkiller, so there was plenty 124 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,200 Speaker 1: of it around the hospital and it was easy for 125 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:13,880 Speaker 1: Jane to access, and it did exactly what she needed 126 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:19,120 Speaker 1: it to do. Administered at the right dose, it would 127 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:24,720 Speaker 1: send a patient right into a coma, so Jane started 128 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:29,600 Speaker 1: administering that dose. If her patients were in comas, they 129 00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:36,160 Speaker 1: certainly couldn't leave her. And the thing is, once Jane 130 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:42,200 Speaker 1: started experimenting on her patients, she liked how it made 131 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:50,560 Speaker 1: her feel. After administering the injection, she would stand by 132 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: their bedsides to observe the effects. She watched their pupils 133 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:03,240 Speaker 1: contract heard their breathing become louder, and touch their skin 134 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:08,360 Speaker 1: as they broke into a cold sweat. They would go 135 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: into a coma almost immediately. A few hours later, they 136 00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:24,200 Speaker 1: would die. But Jane found that didn't seem to bother 137 00:12:24,360 --> 00:12:30,920 Speaker 1: her at all. After all, her patients were already sick 138 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:37,400 Speaker 1: in a hospital. Maybe death by her side was the 139 00:12:37,400 --> 00:12:42,640 Speaker 1: best way to go. In fact, the only thing about 140 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:48,160 Speaker 1: this process that Jane didn't like was how straightforward it was. 141 00:12:49,559 --> 00:12:54,960 Speaker 1: Not to mention, she knew these overdose deaths were easily identifiable. 142 00:12:56,679 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: She had to improve her experiments, so she started adding 143 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:10,520 Speaker 1: atropine to her morphine injections. This drug complicated and sometimes 144 00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:17,400 Speaker 1: even directly countered signs of a morphine overdose. For example, 145 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:22,280 Speaker 1: it dilated the pupils while morphine turned them into pinpoints. 146 00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:27,600 Speaker 1: Doctors would see the patients having fits and diagnosed them 147 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:35,360 Speaker 1: with epilepsy or stroke. The drugs Jane used in tandem 148 00:13:35,440 --> 00:13:43,080 Speaker 1: were a perfect combination for generating misdiagnosis and masking her crimes. 149 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: But there was more to Jane's choice in atropine. Atropinees 150 00:13:54,320 --> 00:14:02,840 Speaker 1: effects are extreme when victims are given in overdose, parched mouths, 151 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:09,640 Speaker 1: loss of motor function, and the grotesque picking at non 152 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:15,360 Speaker 1: existent things like a tick, and as it turned out, 153 00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:22,600 Speaker 1: Jane's favorite way to watch her patients die was not 154 00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:30,600 Speaker 1: peacefully in a coma, but rather with violent convulsions that 155 00:14:30,760 --> 00:14:37,280 Speaker 1: multiple overdoses rendered. She started playing with the timing of 156 00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:44,360 Speaker 1: the two drugs, first overdosing her patient with morphine and 157 00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:51,640 Speaker 1: then giving them atropine. Sometimes she would give morphine and 158 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:56,760 Speaker 1: then dissolve atropine and water and let her patient drink it, immediately, 159 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:05,160 Speaker 1: setting off all the side effects at once. Sometimes she 160 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:09,600 Speaker 1: let all the morphine symptoms happen and then rolled her 161 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:16,960 Speaker 1: patient over and administered the atropine via enema. It was 162 00:15:17,000 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 1: a totally different show. Jane liked to see how the 163 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:40,160 Speaker 1: timing affected the symptoms. If experimenting on your patients isn't 164 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 1: macab enough, the most interesting, I mean fucked up thing 165 00:15:45,480 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: is that Jane wasn't always trying to kill them as 166 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:59,840 Speaker 1: she experimented. Jane developed a death fetish. Not only was 167 00:15:59,880 --> 00:16:03,480 Speaker 1: she poisoning people to watch them suffer. As if that 168 00:16:03,640 --> 00:16:09,160 Speaker 1: wasn't enough, rescuing patients whom she had poisoned from the 169 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: brink of death became her thing. She liked the power 170 00:16:16,440 --> 00:16:21,680 Speaker 1: of controlling death, of torturing people who were already sick 171 00:16:23,840 --> 00:16:30,280 Speaker 1: of watching and feeling them spasm and suffocate and die 172 00:16:30,600 --> 00:16:38,200 Speaker 1: from in their beds. With them, she loved to overdose 173 00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:41,640 Speaker 1: them on morphine to the very brink of death and 174 00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:46,480 Speaker 1: see if she could nurse them back to health. It 175 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:53,600 Speaker 1: sounds crazy, sloppy, but james coworkers actually overheard her saying 176 00:16:53,720 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: there was quote no point in keeping old people alive, 177 00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:03,640 Speaker 1: and if her coworkers heard her, so did her patience. 178 00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:09,119 Speaker 1: In fact, the complaints about Jane got so bad that 179 00:17:09,200 --> 00:17:14,159 Speaker 1: the doctors couldn't ignore them anymore, and they really tried 180 00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:19,240 Speaker 1: to ignore them. After all, to them, Jane was a godsend, 181 00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:24,359 Speaker 1: one of their all time best nurses. They really hated 182 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:30,720 Speaker 1: to lose her. That's why, after four years of escalating violence, 183 00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:35,479 Speaker 1: they finally did let her go, and they let her 184 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:41,040 Speaker 1: go with raving references. That's how she left the most 185 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 1: prestigious nursing school in disgrace, only to be immediately admitted 186 00:17:46,880 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: to the second most prestigious nursing school. The head nurse 187 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:13,680 Speaker 1: fought against admitting Jane to Massachusetts General Hospital, but not 188 00:18:13,840 --> 00:18:17,399 Speaker 1: because of the rumors about her. She didn't want to 189 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:23,399 Speaker 1: hire Jane because she was Irish. Author Harold Scheckter says 190 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: very eloquently that the head nurse was quote an unreconstructed 191 00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:31,800 Speaker 1: bigot who didn't want to admit Jane because of her 192 00:18:32,080 --> 00:18:38,640 Speaker 1: low origins. References from some of the most prestigious doctors 193 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 1: in Massachusetts, though, convinced even the head nurse that Jane 194 00:18:43,119 --> 00:18:49,600 Speaker 1: deserved a spot. In fact, Jane passed her probationary period 195 00:18:49,800 --> 00:18:53,440 Speaker 1: with such proficiency that when the same head nurse went 196 00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:59,760 Speaker 1: on leave the next year, Jane took her position. That's 197 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:03,679 Speaker 1: where Jane experimented on Amelia Finnie, who we started this 198 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:08,240 Speaker 1: episode with. And although missus Finny would never forget that 199 00:19:08,359 --> 00:19:14,160 Speaker 1: experience and another nurse, McCutcheon was sure that Jane had 200 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 1: done something untoward and she really tried to get the 201 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:24,000 Speaker 1: story out of Amelia. Amelia didn't say anything until years later. 202 00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: Keep in mind, these are the victorians. They don't talk 203 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:34,080 Speaker 1: about things as bass as, like their own bodies and 204 00:19:34,160 --> 00:19:39,920 Speaker 1: experiences and I am being flipped, but really, Amelia relaying 205 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,639 Speaker 1: that story would ruin her own reputation, even if it 206 00:19:43,760 --> 00:19:50,080 Speaker 1: was true, and even if she was an incapacitated victim. 207 00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:53,240 Speaker 1: As a culture, even now we have it quite moved 208 00:19:53,359 --> 00:19:58,520 Speaker 1: all the way past that mentality. So it wasn't that 209 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,240 Speaker 1: gross misconduct with he her patient, Amelia Finny, that got 210 00:20:02,320 --> 00:20:07,640 Speaker 1: Jane in trouble. But Amelia wasn't Jane's only victim at 211 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:14,800 Speaker 1: Massachusetts General Hospital. The habits that Jane started at her 212 00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:19,639 Speaker 1: previous hospital carried over into her new job almost immediately. 213 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:27,640 Speaker 1: The other nurses suspected Jane of hurting her patients. They 214 00:20:27,680 --> 00:20:32,920 Speaker 1: didn't like her at all. She regularly disparaged their work 215 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,800 Speaker 1: and took credit for their accomplishments. She tampered with their 216 00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:41,439 Speaker 1: fever charts and medical records, and she stole She also 217 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 1: administered medication with wild disregards her protocol, which is really 218 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 1: saying something. I mean, this is a time when you 219 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:54,520 Speaker 1: could buy cocaine over the counter. You could buy chocolate 220 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 1: covered strych nine tablets at the drug store to treat 221 00:20:57,840 --> 00:21:00,320 Speaker 1: a stomach ache. And I know there's a sort of 222 00:21:00,320 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 1: bell curve with a lot of medicine where too little 223 00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:06,360 Speaker 1: does nothing, the right amount treats the issue, and too 224 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:08,760 Speaker 1: much becomes an issue on its own. You have to 225 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,160 Speaker 1: hit the sweet spot or almost any medicine becomes poison. 226 00:21:12,960 --> 00:21:17,879 Speaker 1: Absolutely true, But we know now that strychnine is overall 227 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 1: a very strong poison. I mean, treat your stomach ache 228 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:24,600 Speaker 1: with strychnine candy and it could very possibly be your 229 00:21:24,680 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: last stomach ache. So Jane's flagrant disregard for protocol was 230 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: really extreme if it caught the attention of the other nurses, 231 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:39,800 Speaker 1: and they suspected more than just that. They noticed how 232 00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:45,000 Speaker 1: Jane's patience often seemed to die in strange, difficult to 233 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 1: diagnose fits. The rumors facts really about Jane flew all 234 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:57,560 Speaker 1: over Massachusetts General Hospital, but the thing that eventually got 235 00:21:57,560 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: her kicked out was something small. She just left the 236 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: ward without permission. It's not clear whether she was off 237 00:22:05,480 --> 00:22:07,560 Speaker 1: for the evening and forgot to tell someone she was 238 00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:10,280 Speaker 1: popping out, or if she was on duty and just 239 00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:13,880 Speaker 1: walked off the job. But the rumors about Jane were 240 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:18,600 Speaker 1: no longer ignorable. It seems like this was the one 241 00:22:18,720 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 1: rule they could actually confirm Jane was breaking, so they 242 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:30,800 Speaker 1: dismissed her. By this time, Jane had basically earned her 243 00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:34,879 Speaker 1: nursing degree twice, but she was nothing if not tenacious. 244 00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:37,520 Speaker 1: She worked as a private nurse for a year to 245 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:42,280 Speaker 1: build her references, and then she reapplied and was readmitted 246 00:22:42,920 --> 00:22:48,000 Speaker 1: to Cambridge Hospital. Pretty unbelievable if you ask me, but 247 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: it's true. As they say, old habits die hard. So 248 00:22:57,119 --> 00:23:01,800 Speaker 1: back at Cambridge Hospital, when a nurse trainee ill, Jane 249 00:23:01,840 --> 00:23:05,679 Speaker 1: was assigned to take care of her. After that, the 250 00:23:05,760 --> 00:23:09,800 Speaker 1: trainee had two seizures back to back when she'd never 251 00:23:09,880 --> 00:23:13,439 Speaker 1: had them before and was overall in good health. Unlike 252 00:23:13,520 --> 00:23:18,280 Speaker 1: many of the elderly patients Jane worked with. Doctors weren't 253 00:23:18,320 --> 00:23:22,119 Speaker 1: sure what exactly had happened, but at that point they 254 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:26,119 Speaker 1: couldn't ignore the rumors that Jane was not administering drugs correctly, 255 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: so they dismissed her again. You'd think that finally Jane 256 00:23:32,840 --> 00:23:35,680 Speaker 1: would have to stop killing, if not because she was 257 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:39,320 Speaker 1: ruining her chance at a career by murdering people, at 258 00:23:39,320 --> 00:23:42,880 Speaker 1: the very least because she was simply out of options, 259 00:23:44,680 --> 00:23:49,560 Speaker 1: Except this is Jane Toppin, so she wasn't out of options. 260 00:23:50,040 --> 00:23:56,600 Speaker 1: She just found a different way. She said about being fired, 261 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:00,919 Speaker 1: I didn't care because I had made up my mind 262 00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:04,240 Speaker 1: that I could make more money and have an easier 263 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:10,680 Speaker 1: time by going out by the day in families. Jane 264 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: had made some connections in her years at Massachusetts' most 265 00:24:14,560 --> 00:24:19,280 Speaker 1: prestigious hospitals, and she decided it was time to use them, 266 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,720 Speaker 1: she would go into private nursing where she could make 267 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:36,120 Speaker 1: a lot more money. That's exactly what she did. While 268 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,959 Speaker 1: the patient load of private nursing was lower, it was 269 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:45,880 Speaker 1: still very demanding. A nurse kept round the clock bedside vigils, 270 00:24:46,359 --> 00:24:50,919 Speaker 1: and according to author Harold Scheckter, she was quote expected 271 00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:55,639 Speaker 1: to anticipate the patients every need, to obey the doctors 272 00:24:55,800 --> 00:24:58,679 Speaker 1: every direction, and to carry out the wishes of the 273 00:24:58,760 --> 00:25:04,280 Speaker 1: family without question. While performing her duties, she was required 274 00:25:04,320 --> 00:25:10,119 Speaker 1: to be a constant but unobtrusive presence, an unwaveringly cheerful disposition, 275 00:25:10,800 --> 00:25:17,200 Speaker 1: and a docile manner, never displaying the slightest trace of discourtesy, fatigue, 276 00:25:17,560 --> 00:25:24,120 Speaker 1: or irritation. Just reading that list makes me tired and earlier. 277 00:25:24,359 --> 00:25:26,760 Speaker 1: When I said Jane made more money in private nursing, 278 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 1: she made maybe six hundred dollars per year. That's about 279 00:25:30,320 --> 00:25:34,160 Speaker 1: twenty thousand dollars today, Still significantly more than she would 280 00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:36,080 Speaker 1: have made at the hospital. But it's not a lot, 281 00:25:36,640 --> 00:25:41,600 Speaker 1: especially given that fucking list. And as any freelancer will 282 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 1: tell you, it is either feast or famine. You either 283 00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:47,560 Speaker 1: have so much work you don't have time to breathe, 284 00:25:47,880 --> 00:25:50,320 Speaker 1: or you are hunting down jobs and pinching your pennies. 285 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,400 Speaker 1: A lot of our world has changed since the eighteen nineties, 286 00:25:54,760 --> 00:25:58,760 Speaker 1: but not that that was the same for Jane as 287 00:25:58,800 --> 00:26:03,399 Speaker 1: it is for us. So, as you might know, you 288 00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,359 Speaker 1: have to get creative when it comes to making money. 289 00:26:06,920 --> 00:26:09,240 Speaker 1: For a lot of us, that means like opening a 290 00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:12,200 Speaker 1: high yield savings account and scheduling payments to our checking 291 00:26:12,280 --> 00:26:17,119 Speaker 1: so that we seldom feel the gap. Jane did not 292 00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,840 Speaker 1: go that route. It could have been a personality thing, 293 00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:23,800 Speaker 1: but honestly, she might not have been educated on how 294 00:26:23,800 --> 00:26:29,359 Speaker 1: to do that. Plus sometimes even her patients who could 295 00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:35,200 Speaker 1: afford it didn't pay what they'd agreed simply because they 296 00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:39,480 Speaker 1: didn't have to. Back then, there was no real way 297 00:26:39,520 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: for a normal person to take a freelance contract to 298 00:26:42,119 --> 00:26:45,359 Speaker 1: small claims court, you know. I mean, yeah, you could, 299 00:26:45,400 --> 00:26:48,600 Speaker 1: but who has time for that? Who wants to risk 300 00:26:48,680 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 1: their reputation? So Jane ran up some debt, and she 301 00:26:54,400 --> 00:26:57,040 Speaker 1: had the habit of borrowing money from her employers, not 302 00:26:57,119 --> 00:26:59,680 Speaker 1: a lot, or at least not a lot in one 303 00:26:59,720 --> 00:27:03,399 Speaker 1: place at one time, But she'd never pay it back. 304 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:10,800 Speaker 1: I know that's dishonest, it is, but I'm also like shrug. 305 00:27:11,800 --> 00:27:14,800 Speaker 1: They might not have paid her at all. But as 306 00:27:14,840 --> 00:27:18,880 Speaker 1: I'm sure you've surmised, that's far from the worst thing 307 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:29,960 Speaker 1: Jane did. After going into private practice, she was still experimenting. Actually, 308 00:27:30,560 --> 00:27:34,000 Speaker 1: I'm not sure we can call it experimenting anymore. Jane 309 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:38,240 Speaker 1: knew exactly what she was doing. When she got tired 310 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:41,920 Speaker 1: of nursing a patient, she'd offer them some mineral water. 311 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:46,119 Speaker 1: Hunyati was her brand. It was Hungarian and it was 312 00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:52,679 Speaker 1: very popular, despite its bitter taste. She'd drop in the 313 00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:56,479 Speaker 1: combination of morphine and atropine and serve it to her patient. 314 00:27:58,000 --> 00:28:03,320 Speaker 1: Now she knew just what to expect, and yes, she 315 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:08,840 Speaker 1: still had her mad scientist sexual fetish. Every time she could, 316 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,400 Speaker 1: she got into bed with her victims and held them 317 00:28:12,400 --> 00:28:19,639 Speaker 1: close while they shuddered and spasmed and struggled to breathe. Later, 318 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:32,240 Speaker 1: she recalled that thrill in disturbing descriptions voluptuous delight, delirious enjoyment, 319 00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:43,720 Speaker 1: greatest conceivable pleasure. After all that work, in the intense 320 00:28:43,840 --> 00:28:48,680 Speaker 1: release of her sick pleasure, Jane needed time to recuperate. 321 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 1: She liked to spend the summers at the Jacin House, 322 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:57,240 Speaker 1: a boarding house outside Boston at a place they called 323 00:28:57,840 --> 00:29:19,200 Speaker 1: Buzzard's Bay. Jane spent her summers at a cottage on 324 00:29:19,240 --> 00:29:24,120 Speaker 1: the resort like property called the Jakin House in Buzzard's Bay, Massachusetts, 325 00:29:25,440 --> 00:29:29,440 Speaker 1: but it wasn't a complete vacation. She didn't give round 326 00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,720 Speaker 1: the clock care, but she bartered with the proprietors, the 327 00:29:32,800 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: Davis family. In exchange for being the sort of resident nurse, 328 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:43,520 Speaker 1: she got a reduced rate. Jane was at this cottage 329 00:29:43,880 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: when she reached back out to her foster sister, Elizabeth. 330 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,480 Speaker 1: Jane had kept in contact with Elizabeth and her husband Ramel. 331 00:29:52,640 --> 00:29:57,200 Speaker 1: What a wild name, right, But Jane and Elizabeth weren't 332 00:29:57,320 --> 00:30:02,280 Speaker 1: exactly close. The Brighams were glad to let Jane stay 333 00:30:02,320 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: in her old room in their house for a few 334 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:08,080 Speaker 1: days whenever she was in town, which was nice enough. 335 00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,880 Speaker 1: There was a pretty big age gap between Elizabeth and Jane. 336 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:18,240 Speaker 1: But aside from that, Elizabeth experienced all of the advantages 337 00:30:18,280 --> 00:30:23,280 Speaker 1: in life that Jane had not. She did not have 338 00:30:23,360 --> 00:30:28,360 Speaker 1: to work, she had a family, and she was able 339 00:30:28,360 --> 00:30:34,480 Speaker 1: to marry. At best, it was the relationship between a 340 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:39,320 Speaker 1: well treated menial and her boss. Elizabeth May not have 341 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:46,880 Speaker 1: recognized it that way, but Jane certainly did yet. In 342 00:30:46,920 --> 00:30:51,360 Speaker 1: the summer of eighteen ninety nine, after years of working 343 00:30:51,440 --> 00:30:56,280 Speaker 1: as a private nurse, Jane invited Elizabeth out to Buzzard's Bay. 344 00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:03,080 Speaker 1: When Elizabeth told about the invitation, he encouraged her to go. 345 00:31:04,880 --> 00:31:09,000 Speaker 1: She had recently experienced some melancholia, which is more or 346 00:31:09,080 --> 00:31:12,520 Speaker 1: less the old timey term for depression, and he thought 347 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:16,360 Speaker 1: it would help. He sent her out from Lowell on 348 00:31:16,400 --> 00:31:23,800 Speaker 1: the train with a steamer trunk and fifty dollars on Saturday, 349 00:31:23,840 --> 00:31:28,880 Speaker 1: August twenty sixth, eighteen ninety nine. The day after Elizabeth arrived, 350 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 1: she and Jane had what sounds like a lovely day. 351 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,160 Speaker 1: They dressed in white summer dresses and carried a picnic 352 00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:42,400 Speaker 1: of cold corn, beef and saltwater taffy down to the pier, 353 00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:46,080 Speaker 1: and they chatted in the sunshine for several hours before 354 00:31:46,120 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 1: Elizabeth turned in for bed. Later, Jane would admit to 355 00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:59,160 Speaker 1: what happened next. Jane said that this was her chance 356 00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:04,680 Speaker 1: to exact revenge on Elizabeth. She was the only victim 357 00:32:04,760 --> 00:32:11,240 Speaker 1: who quote I actually hated and poisoned with a vindictive purpose. 358 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:17,600 Speaker 1: I let her die slowly with gripping torture. I fixed 359 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:21,360 Speaker 1: mineral water so it would do that, and then I 360 00:32:21,440 --> 00:32:25,719 Speaker 1: added morphia to it. I held her in my arms 361 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:34,120 Speaker 1: and watched with delight as she gasped out her life. 362 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:39,680 Speaker 1: Sunday morning, Jane went to her landlords, Mattie and Alden Davis. 363 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,800 Speaker 1: She said that her sister hadn't responded when Jane called 364 00:32:43,800 --> 00:32:48,880 Speaker 1: her down to breakfast. She was very sick. They should 365 00:32:48,880 --> 00:32:54,600 Speaker 1: call a doctor, and they did. Jane also sent a 366 00:32:54,640 --> 00:32:58,000 Speaker 1: telegraph to Aroml back in Lowell, saying that Elizabeth was 367 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:01,880 Speaker 1: dangerously ill. By the time he could get out there. 368 00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:06,800 Speaker 1: The following morning, Elizabeth was in a coma. The physician 369 00:33:06,880 --> 00:33:10,240 Speaker 1: whom the Davises had summoned said that she had apoplexy 370 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:14,959 Speaker 1: or what today we call a stroke. Ormel was at 371 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:18,560 Speaker 1: her bedside all night until she died the following morning. 372 00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,960 Speaker 1: You might have noticed that the confession I quoted said 373 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,560 Speaker 1: that Jane held Elizabeth while she died in the grotesque 374 00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 1: sexual way that she had held her other victims. But 375 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:42,520 Speaker 1: Ramel said he was there when Elizabeth died. To me, 376 00:33:43,160 --> 00:33:46,280 Speaker 1: that means something doesn't add up. I'm not saying Jane 377 00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:48,840 Speaker 1: didn't do it. She is for sure, beyond a shadow 378 00:33:48,880 --> 00:33:51,800 Speaker 1: of a doubt, a total monster, absolutely capable of the 379 00:33:51,800 --> 00:33:56,440 Speaker 1: story she gave. And I still don't think she actually 380 00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:00,840 Speaker 1: said everything her confession in the hers papers she said. 381 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,320 Speaker 1: While I was researching, I was never quite able to 382 00:34:05,400 --> 00:34:08,680 Speaker 1: reconcile what she said with some of the facts, so 383 00:34:08,719 --> 00:34:11,719 Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to talking to author Harold Scheckter about it. 384 00:34:12,640 --> 00:34:17,680 Speaker 1: But back to the story, Ormel was crushed. He truly 385 00:34:17,960 --> 00:34:22,840 Speaker 1: loved his wife, and his overwhelming grief was probably the 386 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 1: reason that it took him a long time to realize 387 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:30,880 Speaker 1: when he went through Elizabeth's possessions that there was money 388 00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:37,520 Speaker 1: missing from her purse, at least fifty dollars gone. Before 389 00:34:37,719 --> 00:34:41,879 Speaker 1: Ormel left. The following morning, Jane asked to talk to him. 390 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 1: Jane said that in one of her dying breaths, Elizabeth 391 00:34:47,920 --> 00:34:51,520 Speaker 1: had asked that he makes sure her gold watch went 392 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:59,240 Speaker 1: to Jane if she died. Ormel gave it over right away, 393 00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:03,440 Speaker 1: Even in her last breath. He thought his wife was 394 00:35:03,480 --> 00:35:07,200 Speaker 1: so kind that she made sure to care for others, 395 00:35:08,040 --> 00:35:13,120 Speaker 1: and it lifted his heart, if only a little. He 396 00:35:13,160 --> 00:35:16,479 Speaker 1: wouldn't learn until much later, when the police were going 397 00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:20,359 Speaker 1: through receipts and documents that Jane had pawned that watch 398 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:27,719 Speaker 1: right away. At the end of the summer, Jane didn't 399 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:30,920 Speaker 1: settle up her tab at the Jacin House she hadn't 400 00:35:31,080 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: in years. Instead, she just left, moved back to Boston 401 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:40,600 Speaker 1: and into an apartment, and started searching out new nursing gigs. 402 00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 1: That's when Jane reconnected with her friend Myra Connors from Lowell. 403 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:51,080 Speaker 1: Myra was a forty year old widow. The origins and 404 00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,920 Speaker 1: nature of their relationship are still unknown. What we do 405 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:59,480 Speaker 1: know is that Myra fell ill with peritonidis and Jane 406 00:35:59,520 --> 00:36:04,239 Speaker 1: went home to Lowell to help her friend out. Within 407 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:12,919 Speaker 1: a few months, Myra died of strychnine poisoning. Jane went 408 00:36:12,960 --> 00:36:17,720 Speaker 1: back to her standby private nursing. She took on several 409 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 1: private nursing clients, whom she helped and then when they 410 00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:26,279 Speaker 1: got to quote her to fussy, she murdered them. By 411 00:36:26,360 --> 00:36:29,279 Speaker 1: nineteen oh one, she was living in the Boston home 412 00:36:29,360 --> 00:36:36,440 Speaker 1: of her clients, Eliza and Edward Beadle. That's when Mattie Davis, 413 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,719 Speaker 1: the landlady at the Jakin House, came down from Buzzard's 414 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:44,120 Speaker 1: Bay to collect on Jane's debts from the previous summer. 415 00:36:46,480 --> 00:36:50,719 Speaker 1: Mattie was fed up. Yes, they had agreed over five 416 00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,680 Speaker 1: years ago that Jane would get a discounted rate in 417 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:57,320 Speaker 1: exchange for being the sort of resident nurse at the property, 418 00:36:58,120 --> 00:37:03,560 Speaker 1: but discounted didn't mean free. Jane's bill kept climbing and 419 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:06,480 Speaker 1: she never did anything about it. There was no payment 420 00:37:06,520 --> 00:37:10,560 Speaker 1: plan in place, so in June nineteen oh one, Maddie 421 00:37:10,560 --> 00:37:15,680 Speaker 1: got a train ticket to Boston. She climbed into her 422 00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:22,080 Speaker 1: seat on the train and stewed, Imagine for a second 423 00:37:22,239 --> 00:37:24,720 Speaker 1: that you own a bed and breakfast and you're balancing 424 00:37:24,760 --> 00:37:27,000 Speaker 1: your checkbook or okay, looking at your p and L 425 00:37:27,040 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 1: if you want to really update the situation. You realize 426 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:32,960 Speaker 1: then that this woman who's been coming to stay there 427 00:37:33,000 --> 00:37:37,359 Speaker 1: for years on end hasn't paid you a cent. I 428 00:37:37,400 --> 00:37:41,560 Speaker 1: would be boiling. And because that's not how you do business, 429 00:37:42,000 --> 00:37:44,719 Speaker 1: taking people's word that they're good for their debts. You 430 00:37:44,800 --> 00:37:47,719 Speaker 1: know it was your husband who let it slide. So 431 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:50,200 Speaker 1: now here you go in your best dress, because you're 432 00:37:50,239 --> 00:37:53,120 Speaker 1: not to be trifled with on this long ass, hot 433 00:37:53,160 --> 00:38:05,200 Speaker 1: ass train across the state to get your money. If 434 00:38:05,200 --> 00:38:08,000 Speaker 1: that was me, I would be really playing out the 435 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:11,440 Speaker 1: possible situations, working up the decision tree of if she 436 00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:14,120 Speaker 1: says this, then I'll do this, just so she couldn't 437 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:16,800 Speaker 1: catch me off guard, like I was going to face 438 00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:20,440 Speaker 1: off with a bully. I would stare out the window 439 00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 1: and scheme. I can only imagine that's what Mattie Davis's 440 00:38:24,560 --> 00:38:29,840 Speaker 1: brain was doing the whole way to Boston. So imagine 441 00:38:29,840 --> 00:38:34,160 Speaker 1: Mattie's surprise when she arrives at the Beatles' home and 442 00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:40,320 Speaker 1: Jane answers the door, thrilled to see her. Still, Maddie 443 00:38:40,360 --> 00:38:43,240 Speaker 1: stood her ground. She said she was there to collect 444 00:38:43,360 --> 00:38:49,960 Speaker 1: what Jane owed them, and Jane said, sure, of course, 445 00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:54,720 Speaker 1: let's go to the bank and get your money. Mattie 446 00:38:54,760 --> 00:38:57,960 Speaker 1: had to have been shocked, and she probably looked shocked. 447 00:38:58,440 --> 00:39:02,759 Speaker 1: And then Jane said, why don't you come in for 448 00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,880 Speaker 1: a second and have a glass of water first, and 449 00:39:05,920 --> 00:39:12,120 Speaker 1: you may as well stay for lunch. So Mattie stayed 450 00:39:12,120 --> 00:39:15,600 Speaker 1: for the meal, talked with the Beatles for a while, 451 00:39:16,239 --> 00:39:18,360 Speaker 1: and then she and Jane set out on foot to 452 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:24,800 Speaker 1: the bank, but they didn't get far before Mattie fainted. 453 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:28,640 Speaker 1: Jane brought her back to the house and set her 454 00:39:28,719 --> 00:39:32,400 Speaker 1: up in bed. She hung ice sheets all around the 455 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:35,600 Speaker 1: room to keep it cool, and she called Mattie's daughter 456 00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:42,360 Speaker 1: Genevieve to come stay while her mother recovered. But Mattie 457 00:39:42,360 --> 00:39:49,600 Speaker 1: didn't recover. Jane tortured her for a long time. She 458 00:39:49,760 --> 00:39:53,080 Speaker 1: was at the Beatles Home for seven days while Jane 459 00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:59,320 Speaker 1: alternated her doses of morphine and atropine. She even brought 460 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:03,239 Speaker 1: Mattie into full state of lucidity before sending her back 461 00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:07,160 Speaker 1: into a coma and eventually killing her with a final 462 00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:12,960 Speaker 1: dose of morphine. She wanted to make it look like 463 00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:18,200 Speaker 1: Maddie had died of natural causes, and that's what the 464 00:40:18,239 --> 00:40:25,400 Speaker 1: doctor claimed. Jane attended the funeral at the Jakin House 465 00:40:25,719 --> 00:40:30,520 Speaker 1: on July fifth, and that's when she decided she was 466 00:40:30,560 --> 00:40:35,600 Speaker 1: ready for a new kind of challenge. She decided she 467 00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:42,200 Speaker 1: would wipe out the whole Davis family one by one. Actually, 468 00:40:44,080 --> 00:40:48,680 Speaker 1: she didn't want to just take out the family. She 469 00:40:48,840 --> 00:41:16,799 Speaker 1: wanted to burn their whole house to the ground. Join 470 00:41:16,880 --> 00:41:20,000 Speaker 1: me next week on the Greatest True Crime Stories Ever Told. 471 00:41:20,520 --> 00:41:23,480 Speaker 1: For the finale of our three part mini series on 472 00:41:23,640 --> 00:41:28,920 Speaker 1: Jane Tappin, you'll get to hear how Jane's crimes escalated 473 00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:32,520 Speaker 1: even more before the law finally caught up with her. 474 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:37,840 Speaker 1: I also have a conversation with Harold Scheckter, author of 475 00:41:37,880 --> 00:41:42,680 Speaker 1: the book on Jane called Fatal. My research on this 476 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,800 Speaker 1: story goes really deep, and a lot of my sources 477 00:41:45,800 --> 00:41:48,600 Speaker 1: were primary sources I looked at while writing my book, 478 00:41:49,200 --> 00:41:52,960 Speaker 1: America's First Female serial Killer, Jane Tappin and the Making 479 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:58,319 Speaker 1: of a Monster. Those sources included interviews, news articles, and 480 00:41:58,400 --> 00:42:03,040 Speaker 1: documents from the trial I'll talk about in the upcoming finale. 481 00:42:03,080 --> 00:42:05,040 Speaker 1: For more of the details that I don't have the 482 00:42:05,080 --> 00:42:08,239 Speaker 1: space to include in this mini series, check out the 483 00:42:08,239 --> 00:42:12,440 Speaker 1: full book, and for more information about this case and 484 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:17,640 Speaker 1: others we cover on the show, visit Diversionaudio dot com. 485 00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,920 Speaker 1: Sign up for Diversion's newsletter and be among the first 486 00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:25,279 Speaker 1: to hear about special behind the scenes features with the 487 00:42:25,320 --> 00:42:30,080 Speaker 1: hosts and actors from Diversion's podcasts, more shows you'll love 488 00:42:30,120 --> 00:42:34,520 Speaker 1: from Diversion and our partners, and other exclusive tidbits you 489 00:42:34,600 --> 00:42:39,920 Speaker 1: can't get anywhere else. The Greatest True Crime Stories Ever 490 00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:44,560 Speaker 1: Told is a production of Diversion Audio. I'm Mary Kay mcbrair. 491 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:49,040 Speaker 1: I wrote this episode and our editorial director is Nora Bateel. 492 00:42:50,200 --> 00:42:53,960 Speaker 1: Our show is produced and directed by Mark Francis. Our 493 00:42:54,000 --> 00:42:59,160 Speaker 1: development team is Emma Dumouth and Jacob Bronstein. Theme music 494 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:05,360 Speaker 1: by Tyler Kash. Executive producers Jacob Bronstein, Mark Francis and 495 00:43:05,440 --> 00:43:19,240 Speaker 1: Scott Waxman. Diversion Audio