1 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:16,119 Speaker 1: Diversion audio. A note this episode contains mature content and 2 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:19,560 Speaker 1: descriptions of violence that may be disturbing for some listeners. 3 00:00:21,239 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: Please take care in listening. You've no doubt heard of morphine, 4 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:34,680 Speaker 1: and you probably know that today it's used to treat 5 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:40,040 Speaker 1: moderate or severe pain. Morphine is an opiate, which makes 6 00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: it very addictive, so physicians tend to prescribe it only 7 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:49,279 Speaker 1: in very dire or end of life situations. It's been 8 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: a lot of help to a lot of people. You've 9 00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 1: probably also heard of opiate overdoses. Today, we're most familiar 10 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:12,280 Speaker 1: with heroin overdoses. Morphine overdoses look Similar symptoms include slowed breathing, drowsiness, nausea, constipation, vomiting, seizures, 11 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: and pinpoint pupils. What you likely haven't heard of is atropine. 12 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,200 Speaker 1: It inhibits the nervous system. Today we use atropine to 13 00:01:25,240 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: treat certain types of pesticide poisonings and slow heart rates. 14 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,399 Speaker 1: It also has other uses like pupil dilation. In fact, 15 00:01:36,040 --> 00:01:40,560 Speaker 1: pupil dilation is a big side effect of atropine, so 16 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:47,480 Speaker 1: are fast, shallow breathing, muscle stiffness, diarrhea, and chest pain. 17 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,400 Speaker 1: Like morphine, atropine was readily available in the eighteen nineties 18 00:01:55,240 --> 00:02:01,080 Speaker 1: when this episode's story takes place. Both rugs were sold 19 00:02:01,200 --> 00:02:09,080 Speaker 1: over the counter at the time, no prescription necessary. A 20 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:14,079 Speaker 1: nurse would notice something interesting about these two drugs. Their 21 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:20,000 Speaker 1: side effects are in opposition. For example, morphine shrinks the 22 00:02:20,040 --> 00:02:26,080 Speaker 1: pupils while atropine dilates them. If you were taking both, 23 00:02:26,600 --> 00:02:29,400 Speaker 1: it would be hard to identify either in your system. 24 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:35,280 Speaker 1: Based on that side effect, a nurse would also know 25 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: how to dose each medicine and at what point overdose 26 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:46,440 Speaker 1: could occur. It would just take a little experimenting to 27 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 1: find out how much of each drug could take a 28 00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,919 Speaker 1: patient up to the edge of death without pushing them over. 29 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,560 Speaker 1: But the thing about boundaries is you never really know 30 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 1: where they are until you cross them. Welcome to the 31 00:03:17,520 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 1: greatest true crime stories ever told. I'm Mary Kay mcbrair. 32 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,160 Speaker 1: I'm a writer of true crime, which means I live 33 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 1: inside the research wormhole. I'm constantly reading about crime, but 34 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,079 Speaker 1: I'm not necessarily interested in the kind of gory details 35 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:39,320 Speaker 1: that make headlines. I'm more interested in the people behind 36 00:03:39,440 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: crime stories and what we can learn about society by 37 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: looking at their experiences. That's what I get into here 38 00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: every week when I dig into crimes where a woman 39 00:03:52,240 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: is not just a victim. She might be the detective, 40 00:03:56,840 --> 00:04:02,840 Speaker 1: the lawyer, the witness, the core, the criminal, or a 41 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:08,520 Speaker 1: combination of those roles. As you probably already know, women 42 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:14,360 Speaker 1: can do anything. If you've been listening for a little while, 43 00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,440 Speaker 1: you know that. I sometimes say, if you want evidence 44 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,320 Speaker 1: of my true crime obsession, you can read my book, 45 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:24,679 Speaker 1: America's first female serial killer, Jane toppin in the Making 46 00:04:24,720 --> 00:04:27,680 Speaker 1: of a Monster, And I still want you to do that. 47 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: But today I'm so excited to tell you I'm covering 48 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:38,359 Speaker 1: her story here. This will be a condensed version of 49 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:40,800 Speaker 1: what's in my book. But don't go thinking I can 50 00:04:40,839 --> 00:04:43,360 Speaker 1: even try to fit a book's worth of research into 51 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: one episode. I'm going to need a little more time 52 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 1: than that. So this is the first of a three 53 00:04:50,720 --> 00:04:55,600 Speaker 1: part mini series about a precocious little orphan, one who 54 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:59,320 Speaker 1: was abused and ignored for so long that her acting 55 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: out behaviors eventually escalated to scandalous multiple murders of people 56 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:13,560 Speaker 1: who betrayed her, of people who loved her, and of strangers. 57 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:37,560 Speaker 1: I'll tell you all about it after the break. I 58 00:05:37,640 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: know you know this rigmarole. You're at a work event, 59 00:05:41,800 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: a wedding, a one year old's birthday party, and someone 60 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,920 Speaker 1: finds out about your interest in true crime, and then 61 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 1: they look at you like you did the crime. Sometimes 62 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,440 Speaker 1: they outright ask, how can you be interested in that? Gosh, 63 00:05:56,480 --> 00:06:00,520 Speaker 1: I couldn't possibly. How do you sleep at night? And 64 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: I probably don't have to tell you, friend, Sometimes I don't. 65 00:06:05,279 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: I didn't, not really when I learned about Jane Toppin. 66 00:06:10,279 --> 00:06:12,560 Speaker 1: But it wasn't Jane that kept me awake at night. 67 00:06:12,640 --> 00:06:16,840 Speaker 1: Not at first. I was still trying to reconcile the 68 00:06:16,880 --> 00:06:21,240 Speaker 1: thought of a child. I felt that I knew with 69 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:29,560 Speaker 1: the monster that they became from firsthand experience. After college, 70 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:31,800 Speaker 1: I did a ten month term of service at a 71 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: residential treatment facility for emotionally disturbed kids. That's a mouthful, 72 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,320 Speaker 1: I know, and that's their terminology. What it actually looked 73 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:47,520 Speaker 1: like was upsetting. I was assigned to tutor and mentor 74 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 1: a unit of ten to twelve high cognitive teenage boys. 75 00:06:53,640 --> 00:06:57,679 Speaker 1: Most of them had explosive rage disorders and severe issues 76 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: with authority. I mean, if every ad in your life 77 00:07:01,000 --> 00:07:04,160 Speaker 1: had disappointed you or actively harmed you when you were 78 00:07:04,160 --> 00:07:07,920 Speaker 1: that age, there's a high probability that you'd be experiencing 79 00:07:07,920 --> 00:07:13,600 Speaker 1: these things too. Most of my boys were awards of 80 00:07:13,640 --> 00:07:17,200 Speaker 1: the state, some of them had kids of their own, 81 00:07:18,120 --> 00:07:22,480 Speaker 1: most of them already had criminal records. This was their 82 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: sort of last stop before a juvenile detention center. The 83 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: really saddest, most heartbreaking thing of all, though, was when 84 00:07:35,640 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: the kids did learn they did use their coping skills, 85 00:07:39,920 --> 00:07:43,280 Speaker 1: and they got discharged and they had nowhere to go. 86 00:07:45,400 --> 00:07:48,440 Speaker 1: Before you get mad at me for violating hip or regulations, 87 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,200 Speaker 1: everything I'm about to tell you about two of the 88 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:54,720 Speaker 1: boys at this facility is now public knowledge. You can 89 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: read more about them through the links in the show 90 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:00,600 Speaker 1: notes for this episode. So back to the story. I 91 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:03,440 Speaker 1: came to learn the hard way that if I didn't 92 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: hear about the boys after they were discharged, that was good. 93 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,559 Speaker 1: I mean, I would ask after them, and the direct 94 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: care people would tell me where they were, what grade, 95 00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 1: stuff like that. But if the news came to me 96 00:08:19,760 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: while I wasn't looking for it, it was never ever 97 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: good news. One of the boys I heard about was 98 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:34,280 Speaker 1: shot and killed after I left. His name was Darien. 99 00:08:35,120 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 1: He was so fun to be around, the kind of 100 00:08:38,720 --> 00:08:41,280 Speaker 1: kid where you could just tell if any one little 101 00:08:41,320 --> 00:08:44,679 Speaker 1: thing in his life had been different, he'd have been unstoppable, 102 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,960 Speaker 1: like an athlete or a business person. He was smart 103 00:08:49,040 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: and charismatic, and he could work a room. My friend 104 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:57,160 Speaker 1: told me the person who shot him thought that they 105 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:02,520 Speaker 1: were shooting his dad. I don't know if that's true. 106 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: He was seventeen. Another of the boys, Michael was low cognitive, 107 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,679 Speaker 1: so he really shouldn't have been on our unit by definition, 108 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:19,240 Speaker 1: But because his medications were so effective though, and his 109 00:09:19,360 --> 00:09:23,400 Speaker 1: behaviors were so under control now, they had moved him 110 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:28,480 Speaker 1: out of his former unit and onto our less locked 111 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:33,880 Speaker 1: down unit. He had been at the facility off and 112 00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:38,360 Speaker 1: on since he was five. That place was the most 113 00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:44,559 Speaker 1: he knew of a home. Two years after I finished 114 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:47,800 Speaker 1: my term, my best friend called me and told me 115 00:09:48,480 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: not to turn on the news. So obviously I turned 116 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:57,760 Speaker 1: on the news and Michael was in police custody. Miraculously, 117 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: no one had been hurt after he charged in elementary 118 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:08,120 Speaker 1: school with an automatic weapon. I didn't even need to 119 00:10:08,120 --> 00:10:11,880 Speaker 1: read the article to know what had happened. Michael had 120 00:10:11,880 --> 00:10:15,520 Speaker 1: aged out of the system, had no support, and had 121 00:10:15,559 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: no way to get his medicine, or he just forgot 122 00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,920 Speaker 1: to take it and we had failed him. When I 123 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: say we, I don't mean we at the facility, I 124 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:29,960 Speaker 1: mean we as a culture, as a society. So when 125 00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:32,000 Speaker 1: I tell you the story I'm about to tell you 126 00:10:32,440 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: about Jane Toppin, I really saw Michael Hill. They're both monsters, 127 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:41,080 Speaker 1: and it is not easy for me to say that 128 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: about Michael. We had to do a feelings check in 129 00:10:45,400 --> 00:10:48,760 Speaker 1: before and after every module event. When I was serving there, 130 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:52,000 Speaker 1: the other teenage boys would say stuff like my name 131 00:10:52,080 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: is Brandon and I feel straight, or my name is 132 00:10:54,720 --> 00:10:59,040 Speaker 1: Shane and I feel good. And Michael always said, my 133 00:10:59,160 --> 00:11:03,600 Speaker 1: name is Michael, and I feel happy. He said yes, ma'am. 134 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: He called me miss McBrayer, and he was always asking 135 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,520 Speaker 1: if he could help. But there's just no getting around it. 136 00:11:11,720 --> 00:11:16,520 Speaker 1: He did something evil. I just really don't think it 137 00:11:16,559 --> 00:11:21,839 Speaker 1: had to be that way. So let's talk about Jane Toppin, 138 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:26,400 Speaker 1: the nurse who would evade suspicion of the murders she 139 00:11:26,520 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: committed for over a decade. Or rather, let's talk about Honora, 140 00:11:32,760 --> 00:11:36,319 Speaker 1: because that's what her parents named her. She was born 141 00:11:36,360 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: to Peter and Bridget Kelly, and she was the youngest 142 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:42,120 Speaker 1: of either two or four children, depending on where you 143 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:49,200 Speaker 1: get your information. Their situation was dire. When Honora was 144 00:11:49,280 --> 00:11:53,760 Speaker 1: just a toddler, her mother died of tuberculosis. That left 145 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:57,120 Speaker 1: Peter Kelly, a tailor, to provide for his kids on 146 00:11:57,160 --> 00:12:02,520 Speaker 1: his own. Now, Peter Kelly was an Irish immigrant in Massachusetts, 147 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:07,680 Speaker 1: and this was in the eighteen seventies, a time when 148 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:12,880 Speaker 1: businesses posted signs in their windows with the acronym NA 149 00:12:14,160 --> 00:12:19,360 Speaker 1: meaning no Irish need apply. They couldn't even be bothered 150 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:24,000 Speaker 1: to spell their discrimination all the way out. So Peter 151 00:12:24,200 --> 00:12:26,520 Speaker 1: did his best for a while, but with a history 152 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 1: of substance abuse and unspecified mental illness, he felt himself 153 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:39,640 Speaker 1: failing his family, so he took two daughters, Delia and Honora, 154 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:53,600 Speaker 1: to the Boston Female Asylum. The Boston Female Asylum was 155 00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,680 Speaker 1: actually not an asylum like we think of them today. 156 00:12:57,840 --> 00:13:01,160 Speaker 1: It was more of an orphanage, and for the time 157 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:06,480 Speaker 1: it was a very progressive one. Child protective services wasn't 158 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:09,000 Speaker 1: a thing, so this was as good as it got 159 00:13:09,040 --> 00:13:13,560 Speaker 1: for unfortunate children. Substaunchly against the term underprivileged, so we're 160 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:19,320 Speaker 1: calling it what it is, unfortunate. Essentially, this was a 161 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,840 Speaker 1: temporary home for orphans. And if the kids weren't orphans, 162 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 1: then parents who couldn't provide for them in any capacity 163 00:13:28,600 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 1: could quote surrender them. That required that they never ever 164 00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: come back to see their daughters. It had to be 165 00:13:40,640 --> 00:13:46,040 Speaker 1: a clean break, and it had to be forever. And 166 00:13:46,120 --> 00:13:49,280 Speaker 1: if you think that sounds somewhat unreasonable and sort of cruel, 167 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:55,360 Speaker 1: don't worry. It gets worse. Yes, the Boston Female Asylum 168 00:13:55,480 --> 00:13:57,920 Speaker 1: wanted to do right by the children. I really believe 169 00:13:58,000 --> 00:14:02,120 Speaker 1: that they did want that. But like I said, an ainocps. 170 00:14:02,760 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: So while the girls lived there, they learned practical skills cleaning, cooking, mending, sewing, 171 00:14:11,960 --> 00:14:18,160 Speaker 1: only the things absolutely necessary for working class women. Then 172 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:23,200 Speaker 1: when the girls turned eleven, they could be indentured out 173 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:30,640 Speaker 1: you heard me right, after their education was complete. A 174 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:36,400 Speaker 1: local family could indenture a child to work in their 175 00:14:36,440 --> 00:14:46,520 Speaker 1: home until they turned eighteen. But wait, there's more. When 176 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:51,600 Speaker 1: the child became an adult at eighteen, depending on the contract, 177 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: which they had no part in, never had to sign 178 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: or approve, shit, they would receive from their indentured family 179 00:14:59,400 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: fifty dollars and or a new set of clothes. And 180 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: then well, a lot of families invited the women to 181 00:15:08,920 --> 00:15:12,200 Speaker 1: stay on as unpaid help or pay them a little 182 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:16,040 Speaker 1: to stay on in the same capacity. But other families 183 00:15:16,040 --> 00:15:18,920 Speaker 1: were like, well, don't let the door hit your ass 184 00:15:18,920 --> 00:15:21,800 Speaker 1: on the way out, and then the girl would have 185 00:15:21,840 --> 00:15:24,360 Speaker 1: to make her own way in the world, with or 186 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 1: without a reference, depending on how the family felt. The 187 00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:33,080 Speaker 1: reason behind the complete severance between girls and any living 188 00:15:33,120 --> 00:15:38,560 Speaker 1: family members, as required by the Boston Female Asylum, I 189 00:15:38,840 --> 00:15:43,600 Speaker 1: suspect it was to further decrease the likelihood of any 190 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: upward mobility. A servant was much less likely to step 191 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:52,880 Speaker 1: out of their current situation and into something new and 192 00:15:53,040 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: unsure if she had no support system outside her employers. So, 193 00:16:01,120 --> 00:16:07,920 Speaker 1: with full knowledge of that arrangement, Peter Kelly still felt 194 00:16:08,560 --> 00:16:12,560 Speaker 1: like he had to sign over his daughters. I mean, 195 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 1: how miserable would you have to be to surrender your 196 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:25,320 Speaker 1: daughters to that kind of foster care. He was very miserable. 197 00:16:27,480 --> 00:16:32,160 Speaker 1: In fact, not long after that, people started to say 198 00:16:32,240 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 1: that he sewed his own eyelids shrecked. There's not a 199 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: lot to be found about Honora Kelly during her early childhood. 200 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:04,040 Speaker 1: Most of it is anecdotal. Still, those sources all report 201 00:17:04,119 --> 00:17:07,639 Speaker 1: similar things. She was a really hard worker, she was 202 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:10,240 Speaker 1: a fast learner, and she could tell a hell of 203 00:17:10,240 --> 00:17:16,160 Speaker 1: a story. So even though she was only eight years old, 204 00:17:17,040 --> 00:17:20,320 Speaker 1: three years younger than the standard age for a child 205 00:17:20,320 --> 00:17:24,600 Speaker 1: to be indentured out of the Boston Female Asylum, the 206 00:17:24,640 --> 00:17:30,320 Speaker 1: staff signed her over. I don't know why they thought 207 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:33,720 Speaker 1: that was all right, to be honest, eight is a 208 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: lot different than ten or eleven, because even though the 209 00:17:38,560 --> 00:17:42,000 Speaker 1: Boston Female Asylum was a sanctuary for girls with no home, 210 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:49,199 Speaker 1: it was still an orphanage. The fact was, if the 211 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: words didn't land an indenture when they turned eighteen, they 212 00:17:54,400 --> 00:17:57,720 Speaker 1: really were out on their ass, and who could tell 213 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:03,920 Speaker 1: when the next opportunity would come. You might have surmised 214 00:18:04,000 --> 00:18:06,760 Speaker 1: that a lot of this part of the story is 215 00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:11,320 Speaker 1: my best guess. Let me reiterate that I don't want 216 00:18:11,320 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: to misrepresent anything here. I don't know the hard facts 217 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:20,359 Speaker 1: of this part of Honora's life, and I looked for 218 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,600 Speaker 1: them hard. So what I'm telling you now is my 219 00:18:24,720 --> 00:18:29,359 Speaker 1: best guess, but it's an educated guess. It's based on 220 00:18:29,480 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 1: the most likely instance that I've deduced from the facts 221 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:36,560 Speaker 1: that I could find. So, like I said, she's eight 222 00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:41,960 Speaker 1: years old. Eight is a lot different than eleven, and 223 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:45,600 Speaker 1: the woman who indentured Honora Kelly seemed to know that 224 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:52,360 Speaker 1: by all accounts, Anne Toppin was an evil bitch, I mean, 225 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,399 Speaker 1: a pretty common kind of evil at that time, though 226 00:18:56,560 --> 00:19:01,000 Speaker 1: she would have probably been seen as normal then. She 227 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:05,240 Speaker 1: was middle class, but she wanted to seem wealthier. She 228 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:07,960 Speaker 1: seemed to live by a phrase that circulated at that 229 00:19:08,080 --> 00:19:12,480 Speaker 1: time in New England. Either you have a maid or 230 00:19:12,520 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: you are a maid. And when an entitled lady couldn't 231 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:20,440 Speaker 1: afford a live in made of all work, she could 232 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:26,399 Speaker 1: always turn to child labor. So that's what happened, and 233 00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:40,959 Speaker 1: Topphen inventured Anora Kelly from the Boston Female Asylum because 234 00:19:41,000 --> 00:19:43,880 Speaker 1: this was an image thing to begin with and set 235 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:49,919 Speaker 1: her expectations Immediately, Honora was to call her Auntie, and 236 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:53,679 Speaker 1: naturally she had to change a Nora's name. She couldn't 237 00:19:53,720 --> 00:19:56,359 Speaker 1: have her friends scared that an Irish person was in 238 00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,920 Speaker 1: her house. There was a lot of anti Irish discrib 239 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,960 Speaker 1: at the time. As I mentioned, Irish people were stereotyped 240 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:09,200 Speaker 1: as drunk, dishonest, and dangerous. So Auntie thought the appropriate 241 00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:11,560 Speaker 1: thing to do was to change her new servant's name 242 00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:17,880 Speaker 1: from Anora Kelly to Jane Toppin. She told her so immediately. 243 00:20:19,640 --> 00:20:22,520 Speaker 1: She also told Jane that she had a daughter. It 244 00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: was Jane's job to take care of Auntie and her 245 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,879 Speaker 1: daughter and the house. By the way, you think keeping 246 00:20:29,920 --> 00:20:33,440 Speaker 1: house is hard work, now add to it doing laundry 247 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 1: by hand, building fires, and cooking every single thing from 248 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:42,919 Speaker 1: scratch on a wood burning stove. Granted, Jane might not 249 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,600 Speaker 1: have been expected to do all of that right away 250 00:20:45,720 --> 00:20:49,639 Speaker 1: as a little girl, but ultimately her workload would have 251 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:55,159 Speaker 1: expanded to include a lot of that. Jane was just 252 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:58,480 Speaker 1: happy to have her own room, even if it was 253 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:03,439 Speaker 1: in the attic. Remember this is the eighteen seventies, no 254 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:06,400 Speaker 1: climate control. I live in Atlanta, But if you walked 255 00:21:06,440 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: into my attic right now, for instance, the intensity of 256 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:12,760 Speaker 1: the heat would melt your eyelashes together. In New England 257 00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:16,040 Speaker 1: it would have been more livable. But the attic apartment 258 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: was the one that was the hottest in the summer 259 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,199 Speaker 1: and the coldest in the winter, since there was barely 260 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:26,640 Speaker 1: any insulation. So that's where this eight year old lived. 261 00:21:28,480 --> 00:21:30,880 Speaker 1: There did seem to be a bright spot for little 262 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:37,119 Speaker 1: Jane at Auntie's house. At first, Auntie's daughter Elizabeth. Elizabeth 263 00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:41,160 Speaker 1: was more than twenty years older than Jane. It seems 264 00:21:41,280 --> 00:21:44,639 Speaker 1: like she was already married to the church deacon Ramel 265 00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: Brigham by the time Jane moved in, even though she 266 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:52,000 Speaker 1: still lived with her mother. It's possible that she and 267 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: her husband actually both lived there since Auntie was a widow, 268 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: although there's no real documentation of that part. Regardless, we 269 00:22:01,680 --> 00:22:04,679 Speaker 1: do know that when she moved in, Jane looked up 270 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:08,200 Speaker 1: to Elizabeth and she took it to heart when Elizabeth 271 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: tried to befriend her. This could have been a really 272 00:22:12,400 --> 00:22:18,960 Speaker 1: positive relationship for Jane, but Auntie wasn't going to let 273 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 1: that happen. She didn't like the mixing of classes. So 274 00:22:23,920 --> 00:22:27,639 Speaker 1: even though Elizabeth treated Jane like a foster sister, and 275 00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:31,520 Speaker 1: even though she tried to defend Jane if Auntie thought 276 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,639 Speaker 1: she stepped out of line, it didn't work. Jane was 277 00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:39,880 Speaker 1: constantly in trouble. Despite being very eager to please and 278 00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:47,240 Speaker 1: very hard working, Auntie spite poisoned the well by her teens. 279 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:51,160 Speaker 1: Jane did not see Elizabeth as even a friend, let 280 00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,800 Speaker 1: alone as sister. I'm not sure how conscious Jane was 281 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:59,119 Speaker 1: of the jealousy or bitterness that she harbored against Elizabeth, 282 00:23:00,119 --> 00:23:02,840 Speaker 1: But I imagine it felt a lot like when someone 283 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:08,000 Speaker 1: you work for thinks you're a great friend. If you've 284 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,680 Speaker 1: been the employee in that situation, then you know you're 285 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:16,119 Speaker 1: not a great friend. You're a great employee. You know, 286 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:19,399 Speaker 1: like your boss might confide in you about some personal 287 00:23:19,480 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: hardship for an hour and a half and then make 288 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:23,600 Speaker 1: you stay late to make up all the work you 289 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,840 Speaker 1: missed while she was blabbering on that kind of one 290 00:23:26,920 --> 00:23:30,800 Speaker 1: sided relationship, that kind of I'm her best friend, but 291 00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:35,679 Speaker 1: she's not my best friend relationship. Jane did have a 292 00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: lot of friends though everyone loved to be around her. 293 00:23:39,200 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: She was fun, she was entertaining. One of those friends 294 00:23:42,680 --> 00:23:46,199 Speaker 1: was James Stuart Murphy, which isn't relevant yet, but just 295 00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:50,720 Speaker 1: dogg your that name for later. Part of what earned 296 00:23:50,800 --> 00:23:54,600 Speaker 1: Jane those friends and got her in trouble the most 297 00:23:55,200 --> 00:24:07,160 Speaker 1: was her mouth. She wasn't disrespectful. She liked to tell stories. 298 00:24:08,920 --> 00:24:11,720 Speaker 1: She'd have a whole picnic in rapt attention with some 299 00:24:11,920 --> 00:24:16,000 Speaker 1: tale she was weaving on the spot. Everyone loved Jane's 300 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,919 Speaker 1: company and liked being around her, but as soon as 301 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: they got home, Auntie would beat her for telling lies. 302 00:24:23,760 --> 00:24:28,040 Speaker 1: Plus Jane was Irish, so Auntie hated her for that 303 00:24:28,119 --> 00:24:32,439 Speaker 1: reason too. Auntie even told her guests and friends that 304 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:38,199 Speaker 1: Jane was probably Greek or Italian. That's really all we 305 00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:41,760 Speaker 1: know of Jane's childhood. Jane got out of the frying 306 00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,919 Speaker 1: pan to jump in the fire, basically, but there is 307 00:24:46,040 --> 00:24:49,040 Speaker 1: one consistent rumor that no one has been able to 308 00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: really corroborate. Some sources say it is absolutely true, and 309 00:24:55,080 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: some say it's just a lie. Jane told later it's 310 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:05,080 Speaker 1: really specific thick to be a lie. Jane fell in 311 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:08,200 Speaker 1: love with an office worker at a local textile factory. 312 00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,720 Speaker 1: His name was Tom Higgins, an apparently nice Irish boy. 313 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:16,400 Speaker 1: I imagine this was a fun slap in the face 314 00:25:16,400 --> 00:25:22,000 Speaker 1: to Auntie, so bonus and Tom proposed to Jane, and 315 00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:26,840 Speaker 1: she had one foot out the door, and then he 316 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:31,040 Speaker 1: fucking ghosted her. This is a tale as old as time, 317 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,880 Speaker 1: but it never gets less infuriating, Like, my man, why 318 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,399 Speaker 1: don't you just be honest. Some people say the reason 319 00:25:38,440 --> 00:25:41,159 Speaker 1: Tom ditched her is because he'd gotten some other girl 320 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:43,680 Speaker 1: pregnant and had to marry her and move one town over, 321 00:25:43,800 --> 00:25:47,959 Speaker 1: so no one was scandalized by their existence. These victorians 322 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:53,560 Speaker 1: y'all so constantly scandalized. You know, they're the reason why 323 00:25:53,600 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: table skirts exist. Yeah, the legs of tables were too sexy. 324 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:02,080 Speaker 1: It's also why we called poultry light and dark meat 325 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:04,680 Speaker 1: instead of breast and thigh, because watch out for the 326 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:10,680 Speaker 1: seductive chicken. Okay, anyway, I can only imagine that must 327 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:19,480 Speaker 1: have been devastating for Jane. Imagine how helpless that would 328 00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:25,960 Speaker 1: have made her feel abandoned again with no explanation at all. 329 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:32,680 Speaker 1: I hate that. I hate the effect it probably had 330 00:26:32,680 --> 00:26:39,720 Speaker 1: on Jane. So with that potential option just eliminated. Jane 331 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:42,720 Speaker 1: stayed on at the Toppin' house after she turned eighteen. 332 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:47,240 Speaker 1: She got her contractual fifty dollars for over a decade 333 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:51,159 Speaker 1: of labor, and it seems like she started earning a 334 00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:56,160 Speaker 1: small wage in addition to room and board, but none 335 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:58,199 Speaker 1: of it would have been enough to strike out on 336 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:02,000 Speaker 1: her own. She had to leave without a reference, which, 337 00:27:02,640 --> 00:27:08,680 Speaker 1: knowing Auntie, would probably have been the case. And then 338 00:27:09,880 --> 00:27:15,560 Speaker 1: Auntie died. At this point in history, there was a 339 00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:21,280 Speaker 1: whole glamorous ritual around funerals. This is the era of 340 00:27:21,359 --> 00:27:25,480 Speaker 1: widow's weeds and black bordered calling cards. When the body 341 00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,000 Speaker 1: would sit up in the parlor of the home for visitation. 342 00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: It's actually their reason we rebranded the parlor of the 343 00:27:31,880 --> 00:27:35,120 Speaker 1: living room so people wouldn't associate it with only death. 344 00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: So the only mother that Jane had ever really known died. 345 00:27:43,119 --> 00:27:46,240 Speaker 1: Elizabeth was a mess, so Jane likely had to handle 346 00:27:46,359 --> 00:27:49,160 Speaker 1: or carry out a lot of the preparations for the funeral, 347 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:55,600 Speaker 1: coordinating breaking the news, that kind of stuff, plus the 348 00:27:55,640 --> 00:28:01,439 Speaker 1: etiquette for this time was intense, Like I said, very particular. 349 00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:08,719 Speaker 1: Some funerals even hired professional mourners. Jane did all of 350 00:28:08,800 --> 00:28:13,040 Speaker 1: this in addition to her own grieving, because even if 351 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:17,040 Speaker 1: Auntie was a mean spirited old hag, she was still 352 00:28:17,119 --> 00:28:23,480 Speaker 1: Jane's mother figure. And then everyone gathered in the parlor 353 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 1: for the reading of the will while Jane served them. 354 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:34,200 Speaker 1: I should mention here that even though Auntie made Jane 355 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:39,040 Speaker 1: change her first and last name, she never adopted her. 356 00:28:39,880 --> 00:28:45,920 Speaker 1: She didn't even mention Jane in her will, and that 357 00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,240 Speaker 1: did not sit well with Jane. Common practice or not. 358 00:28:51,400 --> 00:28:54,440 Speaker 1: It pissed her off even more when Elizabeth told her 359 00:28:54,440 --> 00:28:56,720 Speaker 1: that Jane was welcome to stay on at the top 360 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,640 Speaker 1: and house for as long as she wanted as the help. 361 00:29:00,840 --> 00:29:04,240 Speaker 1: Of course, doing the same thing she'd been doing since 362 00:29:04,240 --> 00:29:09,200 Speaker 1: she was a child, toiling away for the same unappreciative family. 363 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:18,680 Speaker 1: So finally Spinster Jane said I'm out. Actually she did 364 00:29:18,720 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: stay on for a while, but then she rallied and 365 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,680 Speaker 1: she got her ducks in a row, and she actually 366 00:29:24,880 --> 00:29:27,760 Speaker 1: said something like, if no one else is going to 367 00:29:27,800 --> 00:29:32,000 Speaker 1: help me, I'm going to help myself with The way 368 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:51,280 Speaker 1: Jane decided to help herself was pretty unorthodox. It was 369 00:29:51,320 --> 00:29:55,280 Speaker 1: now eighteen eighty five and two significant things had happened. 370 00:29:56,520 --> 00:30:01,040 Speaker 1: One Jane decided she would become a nurse, and she 371 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: was admitted to Cambridge Hospital, the most prestigious nursing school 372 00:30:06,640 --> 00:30:12,920 Speaker 1: in existence at the time. And two Jane gained sixty pounds. 373 00:30:14,680 --> 00:30:17,680 Speaker 1: And I mean that in a good way. Remember these 374 00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:21,760 Speaker 1: are the Victorians. Beauty standards have historically revolved around whichever 375 00:30:21,800 --> 00:30:26,360 Speaker 1: body type is less attainable. So back then, when people 376 00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:30,680 Speaker 1: worked hard outside and ate little, it wasn't desirable to 377 00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:35,840 Speaker 1: be tan and thin. That just showed you were poor. Instead, 378 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: being pale and fat was considered hot because it showed 379 00:30:39,280 --> 00:30:41,160 Speaker 1: you could hang around inside all day out of the 380 00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:44,320 Speaker 1: sun and you weren't missing meals. And I'm not a 381 00:30:44,360 --> 00:30:47,719 Speaker 1: sociologist with a focus in historical beauty by any means, 382 00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:51,560 Speaker 1: But the beauty trends we have now also reflect wealth. 383 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:54,920 Speaker 1: Think about it. What I see now is the ideal 384 00:30:55,880 --> 00:31:01,440 Speaker 1: are clear, natural skin and hair and owned lean bodies. 385 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:04,719 Speaker 1: So tracing backward, what do we have to do to 386 00:31:04,760 --> 00:31:08,880 Speaker 1: get that? Because don't even trip. Natural is not natural, 387 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:13,640 Speaker 1: Kira nightly running errands is not Mary Kay running errands. 388 00:31:14,760 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 1: So here's the recipe or at least some ingredients to 389 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:22,680 Speaker 1: this unattainable as ever natural beauty trend we're seeing these days. 390 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 1: Be able bodied, or at least able and healthy enough 391 00:31:27,920 --> 00:31:32,320 Speaker 1: to exercise regularly, eat balanced meals at normal times from 392 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:35,800 Speaker 1: whole foods, go to the dermatologists to make sure our 393 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:38,920 Speaker 1: skin is perfect enough not to be masked by makeup, 394 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:41,160 Speaker 1: and get the fat sucked out of our stomachs and 395 00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:44,600 Speaker 1: injected into our lips. And who among us has the 396 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:48,880 Speaker 1: time and resources to get there? Well? I know who. 397 00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:52,440 Speaker 1: It's not anyone working a desk job who has no 398 00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: or bad insurance and has to eat inexpensive processed foods. Really, 399 00:31:58,640 --> 00:32:00,600 Speaker 1: you can do it for almost any beauty standard and 400 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:06,840 Speaker 1: the outcome is similar. What's beautiful is what's expensive. Anyway, 401 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:11,520 Speaker 1: to put this in perspective, Jane Toppin was probably underweight 402 00:32:11,760 --> 00:32:16,239 Speaker 1: before working herself to the bone for Auntie, and now 403 00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 1: that she was finally eating and drinking enough, she was 404 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:24,560 Speaker 1: probably by the time standards healthy. And I should probably 405 00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:28,880 Speaker 1: state this outright. Jane was hot whatever beauty standard you're 406 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:31,680 Speaker 1: thinking about. You might not think so when you google 407 00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,120 Speaker 1: her picture, but the only ones that come up are 408 00:32:35,160 --> 00:32:38,360 Speaker 1: from when she was middle aged, and their portraits drawn 409 00:32:38,560 --> 00:32:42,920 Speaker 1: after she became a criminal, So portrait artists weren't necessarily 410 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:47,200 Speaker 1: going to present her in a flattering light. But the 411 00:32:47,200 --> 00:32:50,720 Speaker 1: people interviewed throughout her life said Jane was hot in 412 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 1: the most subdued Victorian way possible. They described her as 413 00:32:56,080 --> 00:33:03,400 Speaker 1: handsome and healthy and strong. When I was researching these interviews, 414 00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:05,160 Speaker 1: I wanted to be like, you can just say you 415 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:09,880 Speaker 1: are attracted to her anyway. When Jane got on the 416 00:33:09,880 --> 00:33:14,000 Speaker 1: train from Lowell to nursing school and Cambridge, Elizabeth made 417 00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:16,960 Speaker 1: it a real point to say they'd keep Jane's room 418 00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:22,480 Speaker 1: open for her. If I'm Jane looking at my new 419 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:25,640 Speaker 1: opportunity and someone says that to me, I'd be tempted 420 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:29,480 Speaker 1: to believe they thought I would fail, which would make 421 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:33,360 Speaker 1: me even more resolved to succeed beyond anyone's wildest dreams. 422 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,640 Speaker 1: And Jane pretty much did. But again, her messages were 423 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:45,560 Speaker 1: pretty unorthodox. When we think of nurses now, we think 424 00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:50,479 Speaker 1: of hard work. But in the eighteen eighties nursing was 425 00:33:50,680 --> 00:33:55,960 Speaker 1: everything it is now, plus more patients, plus buckets of 426 00:33:56,000 --> 00:34:00,840 Speaker 1: custodial work, everything from scouring the floor is to change bedpans. 427 00:34:02,240 --> 00:34:07,920 Speaker 1: For nursing students, we're talking fourteen hour days interspersed with 428 00:34:08,000 --> 00:34:13,560 Speaker 1: seminar classes and lessons from head nurses. They learned how 429 00:34:13,600 --> 00:34:20,040 Speaker 1: to properly administer enemas, give baths, dress wounds, and prescribe medicines. 430 00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:26,080 Speaker 1: After hours, they had to study for exams, and if 431 00:34:26,120 --> 00:34:31,720 Speaker 1: you were wondering, hospitals were gross. Yes, they knew about 432 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,839 Speaker 1: germs by then, but they didn't do enough about them. 433 00:34:36,440 --> 00:34:40,400 Speaker 1: There wasn't a designated cleaning crew. Nurses did what they could, 434 00:34:40,440 --> 00:34:42,319 Speaker 1: but they were spread way too thin to keep things 435 00:34:42,320 --> 00:34:47,759 Speaker 1: squeaky clean. People did not want to go to the hospital. 436 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,680 Speaker 1: If you went to the hospital back then, you were 437 00:34:51,760 --> 00:34:55,040 Speaker 1: as likely to die of infection as you were of 438 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:59,400 Speaker 1: whatever originally brought you in. So if you had to 439 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:05,000 Speaker 1: go to the hospit hospital. You were terrified, and then 440 00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:10,759 Speaker 1: you met your nurse who was kind and attentive and 441 00:35:10,840 --> 00:35:18,759 Speaker 1: smart and really fought your corner. Jane's patients loved her. 442 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:21,680 Speaker 1: If another nurse tried to care for them, they'd balk 443 00:35:21,719 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: and ask for Jane instead. Her doctors loved her too. 444 00:35:26,880 --> 00:35:29,680 Speaker 1: She was always one step ahead of them, getting them 445 00:35:29,719 --> 00:35:33,440 Speaker 1: things they needed before they realized they needed them, and 446 00:35:33,520 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: briefing them on all the details of a patient so 447 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:40,240 Speaker 1: their day was more efficient. Pretty soon, the other nurses 448 00:35:40,280 --> 00:35:44,279 Speaker 1: started getting jealous of Jolly Jane and nicknamed that I 449 00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:48,399 Speaker 1: can only assume really pissed her off. If you think 450 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:51,200 Speaker 1: being called jolly is a compliment, think about how you'd 451 00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:57,040 Speaker 1: react of someone called you jolly. But Jane responded to 452 00:35:57,080 --> 00:36:02,120 Speaker 1: the jealousy by simply out performing her colleagues in every way. 453 00:36:02,880 --> 00:36:05,560 Speaker 1: When they tried to sabotage her by snitching that she 454 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,960 Speaker 1: had booze in her dorm, which was forbidden, or for 455 00:36:09,040 --> 00:36:13,239 Speaker 1: staying out past curfew, both things that she did do, 456 00:36:14,280 --> 00:36:18,520 Speaker 1: she caught it mids dried and turned it back on them. 457 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:22,279 Speaker 1: Jane got several nurses expelled by planting alcohol and their 458 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:28,120 Speaker 1: belongings and then whistleblowing to supervisors. It's shitty, but they 459 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:32,040 Speaker 1: shouldn't have been talking shit. Jane handled it on her own, 460 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:35,359 Speaker 1: which life had taught her was the only way it 461 00:36:35,400 --> 00:36:41,640 Speaker 1: was going to get handled. But it was harder for 462 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 1: Jane to move on from the patients, at least from 463 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:51,040 Speaker 1: her favorite patients. Of course, she had favorites, just like 464 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:55,560 Speaker 1: the patients had their favorite nurses. She would dote on them, 465 00:36:56,080 --> 00:36:59,680 Speaker 1: get them everything they needed, attend to their every need, 466 00:37:01,239 --> 00:37:10,359 Speaker 1: and then they would discharge. They'd just leave. You might 467 00:37:10,400 --> 00:37:13,480 Speaker 1: be thinking, right, well, when people get well, that's what 468 00:37:13,520 --> 00:37:17,480 Speaker 1: they do, they leave the hospital. But Jane didn't take 469 00:37:17,480 --> 00:37:22,920 Speaker 1: it that way. She felt like they left her, no 470 00:37:23,120 --> 00:37:28,160 Speaker 1: thank you, no goodbye, just another abandonment, another one in 471 00:37:28,239 --> 00:37:33,879 Speaker 1: a long succession. And that's when Jane decided she had 472 00:37:33,880 --> 00:37:38,520 Speaker 1: to take this matter into her own hands. She had 473 00:37:38,560 --> 00:37:42,080 Speaker 1: to figure out some way to keep her favorite patients 474 00:37:42,160 --> 00:37:48,320 Speaker 1: with her longer. So she started poking around the hospital 475 00:37:48,360 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 1: medicine stock, and she started experimenting. Join me next week 476 00:38:10,719 --> 00:38:14,160 Speaker 1: on the Greatest true crime Stories Ever told for the 477 00:38:14,320 --> 00:38:20,080 Speaker 1: increasingly terrifying details of Jane's experiments. In the second part 478 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:24,520 Speaker 1: of our three part mini series on Jane Toppin. My 479 00:38:24,680 --> 00:38:28,160 Speaker 1: research on this story goes really deep, and a lot 480 00:38:28,200 --> 00:38:30,919 Speaker 1: of my sources were primary sources I looked at while 481 00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:35,560 Speaker 1: writing my book, America's First Female serial Killer, Jane Toppin 482 00:38:35,760 --> 00:38:40,080 Speaker 1: and the Making of a Monster. Those sources included interviews, 483 00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:44,520 Speaker 1: news articles, and documents from the trial, which I'll talk 484 00:38:44,520 --> 00:38:49,279 Speaker 1: about in upcoming episodes. For more of the details I 485 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:51,520 Speaker 1: don't have this space to include in this mini series, 486 00:38:52,239 --> 00:38:55,320 Speaker 1: check out the full book. I'd also like to shout 487 00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:59,120 Speaker 1: out Herald Scheckter's book Fatal which is another great account 488 00:38:59,200 --> 00:39:03,040 Speaker 1: of Jane's story. I also get to interview Harold in 489 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:06,319 Speaker 1: the coming episodes, so you'll definitely want to come back 490 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:10,360 Speaker 1: for that. For more information about this case and others 491 00:39:10,360 --> 00:39:14,120 Speaker 1: we cover on the show, visit Diversion Audio dot com. 492 00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:17,800 Speaker 1: Sign up for Diversion's newsletter and be among the first 493 00:39:17,800 --> 00:39:21,000 Speaker 1: to hear about special behind the scenes features with the 494 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:24,839 Speaker 1: hosts and actors from Diversion's podcasts, more shows you'll love 495 00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:28,600 Speaker 1: from Diversion and our partners, and other exclusive tidbits you 496 00:39:28,680 --> 00:39:32,880 Speaker 1: can't get anywhere else. The Greatest True Crime Stories Ever 497 00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:37,560 Speaker 1: Told is a production of Diversion Audio. I'm Mary Kay mcbraer. 498 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:42,040 Speaker 1: I wrote this episode and our editorial director is Nora Btel. 499 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:46,920 Speaker 1: Our show is produced and directed by Mark Francis. Our 500 00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:52,160 Speaker 1: development team is Emma Dumouth and Jacob Bronstein. Theme music 501 00:39:52,200 --> 00:39:58,359 Speaker 1: by Tyler Cash. Executive producers Jacob Bronstein, Mark Francis, and 502 00:39:58,400 --> 00:40:11,000 Speaker 1: Scott Waxman. Diversion Audio