Amelia Dyer

Amelia Dyer began her career as a nurse and midwife before becoming a baby farmer and serial killer. She was active in the mid-to-late 1800s in the United Kingdom.

In the Victorian era, baby farming was a successful business. ‘Carers’ would adopt abandoned children under the guise of looking after them for a fee, but in reality abuse and murder them.

Dyer began by taking in unwanted newborns for a fee. Dyer had intended to starve and mistreat the child to death at first. However, she soon shifted her focus to faster killings, which allowed her to generate even more money. Dyer dodged the authorities for years.

She pleaded guilty to only one murder, but based on timeframes and years of activity, she most likely killed 200-400 children. In 1896, she was hanged.