 | This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (September 2018) |
Lydia Sherman | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Born | Lydia Danbury December 24, 1824 Burlington, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | May 16, 1878 (aged 53) |
| Other names | The Derby Poisoner |
| Occupation | Housekeeper |
| Criminal status | Deceased |
| Spouse | Edward Struck (1841–1864)
Dennis Hurlburt (–1868) Horatio Sherman (–1871) |
| Children | 7 |
| Conviction(s) | Second degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Life imprisonment |
| Details | |
| Victims | 11 (including 3 husbands and 8 children, 6 of whom were her own) |
Span of crimes | 1863–1877 |
| State(s) | Connecticut, Rhode Island |
Date apprehended | June 7, 1872 |
| Imprisoned at | Wethersfield |
Lydia Sherman (December 24, 1824 – May 16, 1878), née Danbury,[1] also known as The Derby Poisoner,[2] was an American serial killer. She poisoned eight children in her care (six of whom were her own) and her three husbands and was convicted of second-degree murder in 1872.[3] Five years into her sentence, she escaped under the pretext of being sick and got a job as housekeeper to a rich widower in Providence. She was caught and imprisoned again before dying in Wethersfield State Prison on May 16, 1878, from cancer.
- ^ Schechter, Harold. (2014). Fatal : the poisonous life of a female serial killer. Pocket Books. ISBN 9781476729121. OCLC 893102591.
- ^ Staff (January 11, 1873). "The Derby Poisoner. – Confession of Mrs. Lydia Sherman, the Murderer of Three Husbands and Four Children" (PDF). Hartford Courant (via The New York Times). Retrieved August 4, 2015.
- ^ "Historic Burlington City, NJ: Lydia Sherman". February 4, 1998. Archived from the original on April 26, 2013.