Linda Laura Hazzard (''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Burfield; December 18, 1867 – June 24, 1938), nicknamed the "Starvation Doctor" was an American

quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack (b ...

swindler A charlatan (also called a swindler or mountebank) is a person practicing quackery or a similar confidence trick in order to obtain money, power, fame, or other advantages through pretense or deception. Synonyms for ''charlatan'' include ''sh ...

and convicted

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

noted for her promotion of

fasting Fasting is the abstention from eating and sometimes drinking. From a purely physiological context, "fasting" may refer to the metabolic status of a person who has not eaten overnight (see " Breakfast"), or to the metabolic state achieved after ...

, pummeling and hours-long

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...

s as treatments. In 1911, Hazzard was found guilty of

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

in the state of

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and was sentenced to two to 20 years of hard labor for killing at least 15 people for financial gain at a sanitarium she operated near

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

in the early 20th century. She was released on parole after only serving two years and later, for unknown reasons, received a full pardon from Governor

Ernest Lister Ernest Lister (June 15, 1870June 14, 1919) was an American politician who served as the eighth governor of Washington from 1913 to 1919. Biography Born in Halifax, England, Lister immigrated with his family in 1884, to be near his uncle, who w ...

in 1916. Hazzard died at 70 after subjecting herself to her treatment methods.

Career

Linda Laura Hazzard was born Lynda Laura Burfield in Carver,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, one of the eight children of Susanna Neil (née Wakefield) and Montgomery Burfield. Hazzard had no medical degree, but was licensed to practice medicine in the state of

through a loophole that grandfathered in some practitioners of

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...

without degrees. According to her book ''The Science of Fasting'', she studied under Edward Hooker Dewey, MD, a well-known proponent of

. Hazzard developed a fasting method that she claimed was a

panacea In Greek mythology, Panacea (Greek ''Πανάκεια'', Panakeia), a goddess of universal remedy, was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her four sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: * Panacea (the goddess of univers ...

for all manner of illnesses, ridding the body of

toxins A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849–1 ...

that caused imbalances in the body. Over the course of her career, she wrote three books about what she claimed to be the science behind fasting and how it could cure diseases. The first was ''Fasting for the Cure of Disease'' (1908), followed by ''Diet in Disease and Systemic Cleansing'' (1917). A fifth revised and amplified edition of ''Fasting for the Cure of Disease'' was published in 1927 under the title ''Scientific Fasting: The Ancient and Modern Key to Health''. Hazzard established a " sanitarium" called Wilderness Heights, located in

Olalla, Washington Olalla is a small unincorporated community in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located on Colvos Passage on Puget Sound, just north of the Pierce County county line. Olalla used to be as large as Port Orchard, the county seat of ...

, where inpatients fasted for days, weeks, or months on a diet consisting of small amounts of tomato, asparagus juice, and occasionally orange juice. While some patients survived and publicly endorsed Hazzard's methods, dozens died under her care. Hazzard claimed that the deceased had succumbed to undisclosed or hitherto undiagnosed illnesses such as

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

cirrhosis of the liver Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue repai ...

. Her opponents claimed that they all died of

starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, dea ...

; local residents in Olalla referred to the sanitarium as "Starvation Heights". In 1912, Hazzard was convicted of

for the death of Claire Williamson, a wealthy British woman, who weighed less than fifty pounds at the time of her death. At the trial, it was proven that Hazzard had

forged Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die. Forging is often classified according to the temperature at which it ...

Williamson's will and stolen most of her valuables. Williamson's sister, Dorothea, also took the treatment, and, it is alleged, only survived because a family friend showed up in time to remove her from Wilderness Heights. It is suggested that one of the sisters managed to smuggle a

telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

to alert their governess, who lived in Australia; however, by the time of arrival, Claire had already died. Dorothea was too weak to leave on her own, weighing less than sixty pounds. She later testified against Hazzard at trial. Hazzard was sentenced to 2 to 20 years in prison, which she served in the

Washington State Penitentiary Washington State Penitentiary (also called the Walla Walla State Penitentiary) is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Walla Walla, Washington. With an operating capacity of 2,200, it is the second largest priso ...

Walla Walla Walla Walla can refer to: * Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named * Place of many rocks in the Australian Aboriginal Wiradjuri language, the origin of the name of the town ...

. She was released on

parole Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

on December 26, 1915, after serving two years, and the following year

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

gave her a full

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

. Hazzard and her husband, Samuel Chrisman Hazzard (1869–1946), moved to New Zealand, where she practiced as a

dietitian A dietitian, medical dietitian, or dietician is an expert in identifying and treating disease-related malnutrition and in conducting medical nutrition therapy, for example designing an enteral tube feeding regimen or mitigating the effects of ca ...

and osteopath until 1920. In 1917, a

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

newspaper reported that Hazzard held a practicing certificate from the Washington state medical board. Because she used the title "Doctor", she was charged in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

under the Medical Practitioners Act for practicing medicine while not registered to do so, found guilty and fined £5 plus costs (approximately NZ$600 plus costs or US$462.13 plus costs in 2014). Three years later she returned to Olalla, opened a new sanitarium (known publicly as a "school of health" since her medical license had been revoked), and continued to supervise fasts until the sanitarium burned to the ground in 1935; it was never rebuilt. Hazzard died of starvation in 1938 while attempting a fasting cure.

Earl Edward Erdman Diary

On March 28, 1910, Earl Edward Erdman, a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

with the City of

, died of starvation in the Seattle General Hospital. Erdman had kept a diary which detailed Hazzard's treatment during the preceding weeks that provides an insight into how she treated her patients. The following are excerpts from his diary: This diet continued more or less unchanged until his hospitalization on March 28. He died that afternoon, just before his coworker was to transfuse blood.

Deaths attributed to Hazzard

1908 * Lenora (Mrs. Elgin) Wilcox * Daisey Maud Haglund (Mother of

Ivar's Ivar's is a seafood restaurant chain based in Seattle, Washington, United States, with operations in the Puget Sound region and in Spokane, Washington. Ivar's also owns the Seattle-based burger restaurant chain Kidd Valley. History Ivar's ...

restaurant founder

Ivar Haglund Ivar Johan Haglund (March 21, 1905 – January 30, 1985) was a Seattle, Washington, Seattle folk music, folk singing, singer, restaurateur and the founder of Ivar's. Background Ivar Johan Haglund was born in Seattle, Washington, the son of pion ...

) – The official cause of her death was

stomach cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

. Her inability to eat would have caused her to starve to death even without Hazzard's assistance. * Ida Wilcox 1909 * Blanche B. Tindall * Viola Heaton * Eugene Stanley Wakelin – Died from a bullet in the head on Hazzard's property. Whether she was responsible for the shooting remains unknown, though it is speculated to be the case. 1910 * Maude Whitney * Earl Edward Erdman * L. E. Rader"Unlicensed Prectitioner Kills"
''The Wellington Daily News'', Wellington, Kansas, August 8, 1911, pg 4. 1911 * Frank Southard * C.A. Harrison * Ivan Flux * Claire Williamson 1912 * Mary Bailey * Ida Anderson * Robert Gramm * Fred Ebson – Supervised by another fast enthusiast

References

External links

*
Full report of the State v. Hazzard appeal case
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hazzard, Linda Burfield 1867 births 1938 deaths American emigrants to New Zealand American expatriates in New Zealand American female serial killers American people convicted of manslaughter American prisoners and detainees Deaths by starvation Fasting advocates Medical controversies in the United States Medical serial killers Orthopaths People convicted for health fraud People from Carver County, Minnesota Place of death missing Prisoners and detainees of Washington (state) Pseudoscientific diet advocates Recipients of American gubernatorial pardons American serial killers

Career

Earl Edward Erdman Diary

Deaths attributed to Hazzard

See also

References

Further reading

External links