Jane Toppan

Jane Toppan (born Honora Kelley; March 31, 1854 – August 17, 1938), nicknamed Jolly Jane, was an American serial killer who murdered 12 people in Massachusetts between 1895 and 1901, although she confessed to killing 31 and is suspected of killing more than 100. The killings were carried out in Toppan's capacity as a nurse, targeting patients and their family members. Toppan, who admitted to having committed the murders to satisfy a sexual fetish, was quoted as saying that her ambition was "to have killed more people—helpless people—than any other man or woman who ever lived".

Early life Jane Toppan was born Honora Kelley on March 31, 1854, in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Irish immigrants. Her father, Peter Kelley, was well known as an eccentric and abusive alcoholic, nicknamed by those who knew him "Kelley the Crack" (as in "crackpot"). In later years, Kelley was said to have sewn his own eyelids closed his sister Edna, and two of his daughters, Minnie and Genevieve.

Israel Dunham: patient, died on May 26, 1895, aged 83 Lovely Dunham: patient, died on September 19, 1897, aged 87 Elizabeth Brigham: foster sister, died on August 29, 1899, aged 70 Mary McNear: patient, died on December 29, 1899, aged 70 Florence Calkins: housekeeper for Elizabeth, died on January 15, 1900, aged 45 William Ingraham: patient, died on January 27, 1900, aged 70 Sarah (Myra) Connors: patient and friend, died on February 11, 1900, aged 48 Edna Bannister: sister-in-law of Elizabeth, died on June 19, 1901, aged 77 Mattie Davis: Wife of Alden Davis, died on July 4, 1901, aged 62 Genevieve Gordon (Annie): daughter of Alden and Mattie Davis, died on July 30, 1901 Alden Davis: died on August 8, 1901, aged 64 Mary (Minnie) Gibbs: daughter of Alden and Mattie, died on August 13, 1901, aged 40

Motives An article in the Hoosier State Chronicles, published shortly after the arrest, reported that Toppan would fondle her victims as they died and attempt to see the inner workings of their souls through their eyes. Under questioning, she stated she derived a sexual thrill from patients being near death, coming back to life and then dying again. Toppan administered a drug mixture to the patients she chose as her victims, lay with them, and held them close as they died. though she also murdered for seemingly more personal reasons, such as in the case of the Davis family. It is possible Toppan was also motivated by jealousy, in the case of the murder of her foster sister. She later described her motivation as a paralysis of thought and reason, a strong urge to poison.

Toppan used poison for more than just murder, reportedly poisoning a housekeeper just enough so that she appeared drunk in order to steal her job and kill the family. She even poisoned herself to evoke the sympathy of men who courted her.