luciferlaughs:Martha Wise was an American poisoner in the 1920s. After her abusive husband died and
luciferlaughs:Martha Wise was an American poisoner in the 1920s. After her abusive husband died and her family tried to get her to end her relationship with her new lover, Martha retaliated by poisoning seventeen of her family members with arsenic. On Thanksgiving Day of 1924, many of her family members fell ill to a severe stomach illness. Although they recovered in no time, her mother’s illness worsened and she eventually died. New Year’s Eve of 1925 brought more illness. Martha’s uncle, his wife, and several of their children fell ill to the same stomach pains that Martha’s mother had endured before her death. Martha’s uncle, along with his wife, died a couple months later, and four of their children were left crippled. Martha was eventually caught, to which she confessed, ‘’It was the devil who told me to do it. He came to me while I was in the kitchen baking bread. He came to me while I was working in the fields. He followed me everywhere.’’ She was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. Martha enjoyed her stay at prison as she felt she was treated there far better than she ever was in the real world so much so that after her she was released from prison at the age of 79 for good behavior, she returned just three days later. Martha died in prison on June 28, 1971. The case of Martha Wise is considered to be one of the most sensational of the era in Ohio, where the murders occurred. -- source link