Jane Toppan, aka Jolly Jane, was a nurse in the late 19th century who cared for the elderly and also murdered at least 31 of them. She admitted to taking pleasure in watching them die and her deeds were drooled over by the public. William Randolph Hearst’s sensationalist newspapers had a field day with her.

Sources andresources:

Wikipedia

The Clinton Morning Age, July 27, 1902,Page 3, https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6ncmAAAAIBAJ&sjid=CgEGAAAAIBAJ&pg=4194%2C996821

Jane Toppan “Jolly Jane,” serial killerresearched by E. Allen, A. Averil, E. Cook; 2005, Dept of Psychology, RadfordUniversity, Radford, VA. Accessed June 11, 2025. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Toppan,%20Jane%20-%202005.pdf

“Jane Toppan is Dead,” Old Colony HistoryMuseum, accessed June 15, 2025. https://ochm.medium.com/jane-toppan-is-dead-be9888540c15

Fontes, K., “Women of Taunton: SerialKiller Jane Toppan spent her final years at Taunton State Hospital” TauntonDaily Gazette, Oct 18, 2022. Accessed June 15, 2025. https://www.tauntongazette.com/story/news/history/2022/10/18/women-taunton-jane-toppan-serial-killer-and-poison-nurse/8209014001/

In Their Footsteps: Cape Cod History -Jane Toppan's Poisoning Murders, https://christophersetterlund.blogspot.com/2019/10/in-their-footsteps-cape-cod-history_31.html,accessed June 15, 2025.

Lombardo, P., Image archiveon the American eugenics movement, Dolan DNA Learning Center, Cold SpringHarbor Laboratory, http://www.eugenicsarchive.org/html/eugenics/essay8text.html Accessed June 21, 2025

Lowell’s ties to“Jolly” Jane, Massachusetts’ female serial killer, October 29, 2022, https://www.lowellhistoricalsociety.org/lowells-ties-to-jolly-jane-massachusetts-female-serial-killer/ Accessed June 15, 2025.

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