Gain Killers

            Gain killers kill for the simple reason of financial or materialistic gain. In some cases, it isn’t the main motive, but most serial killers do steal from their victims for their own personal gain. It is more common that these types of serial killers are female.

            In the late 1800s and early 1900s, there was a woman who would treat Barcelona residents for TB or syphilis. Her name was Enriqueta Marti. Also known as “The Vampire of Barcelona” and she was a gain serial killer. One of her other activities included prostituting young children. She would lure them into her house. Once she was done prostituting them, she would use their rendered fat, skin, muscles, bones and hair in her medicines that she sold to the people for a high price. In March of 1912, 2 young girls were able to escape from her home. They witnessed Marti killing a young boy and reported it to the police. When her property was searched, police found body parts, jars of blood, fat, and recipe books written in her handwriting. It was very specific to her ingredients she used for her medicine she sold. Marti was killed in prison by her own cellmates before her trial. Her body count was at least 12.

            In Victorian England, there were areas called baby farms. If a woman could not raise her child she gave them to the baby farmer to raise their child. In the late 1800s, Amelia Dyer a.k.a. “The Baby Farmer” placed ads that women answered to. She was a married woman in her 50s who had a Christian husband in the Thames Valley region. No one saw her husband due to them being separated. Dyer would promise to raise the babies that were left in her care. As soon as she returned to her flat however, she strangle the infant, place them in a bag, and then continue to throw them into the Thames. On March 30, 1896 a bargemen spotted a package on the river. When opened, he discovered the body of a small infant girl. On a piece of paper the police were able to make out a faint address. The police set up a sting operation to try and catch Dyer in the act. When Dyer opened up the door, the police were waiting for her. 12 dead infants were found in the river, many matching the same demise with the string around their necks. Dyer’s house was also full of baby items. Many women eventually came out stating they left their babies with her. On June 10, 1896, Dyer was sentenced to death by hanging at the Newgate Gallows. Although 12 bodies were found, it is believed she had killed up to as many as 50.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/20217

http://www.angelfire.com/md/gina/page15.html