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Name: |
Amelia Dyer |
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AKA: |
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D.O.B. |
1839 |
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Kill
Total: |
1,
maybe 400? |
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Kill
date: |
1896 |
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Kill
Place: |
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Status: |
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Occupation: |
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Victim: |
Doris Marmon |
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D.O.B. |
3
months |
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Court: |
Old Bailey |
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Judge: |
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Prosecution: |
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Defence: |
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FACTFILE
"Wanted," it read,
"respectable woman to take young child."
This was a common request in Victorian Britain, where life
was very hard for any mother, especially unmarried
mothers.
The ad had been placed by Evelina Marmon, who two
months earlier, in January 1896, had given birth in a
boarding house in Cheltenham to a baby girl that she named
Doris.
Dyer had moved around many times, probably to evade
detection of her horrific crimes. It was common in
Victorian England for "Baby Farmers", or what we would
call today, Fostering agents, to place adverts in
newspapers. the idea was that women who could not bring up
their child would pay the baby farmer a fee, usually about
£10, the baby farmer would then look after the child until
a suitable home was found. In the case of Dyer, it is
believed she may have farmed over 50 babies and young
children, most of them, ending up in the river Thames.
Dyer had been questioned several times by police about
missing children, but always managed to avoid detection.
Dyer’s preferred method
was to advertise to adopt or nurse a baby in return for an
up-front fee and adequate clothing for the child. In her
advertisements and meetings with clients, she assured them
that she was respectable, married, and would provide a
safe and loving home for the child.
In reality Dyer pocketed the money and killed many of the
babies within days - she later admitted killing one the
same day it was placed in her care. Dyer strangled the
infants, always with white tape, wrapped their bodies in
paper packages and bags, and dumped them in rivers.
It is not clear how long
Dyer’s career as a murderer lasted, but it may have been
as many as 20 years. Her family and friends testified at
her trial that they had also been growing suspicious and
uneasy about her activities, and it emerged that Dyer had
narrowly escaped discovery several times.
During 1896 a section of
the Thames was dredged, several bodies were found, and
much evidence was gathered. Dyers address was found on one
letter and police moved in.
In Dyers house they found a
mountain of unused baby clothes as well as copies of
adverts and letters from mothers. Although police were
certain that Dyer was responsible for many murder, they
moved on only one, as this was all that was needed to
remove her from society and send her to the noose.
Wednesday 10th June 1896, Amelia Dyer was hanged
by James Billington at Newgate prison, for the murder of 4-month old Doris Marmon.
She is also on
the suspect list to be Jack The ripper !
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