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Maria Catherina van der Linden-Swanenburg (9 September 1839 – 11 April 1915) was a Dutch
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 ...
who murdered at least 27 people and was suspected of killing more than 90 people.


Early life

Maria Swanenburg was the daughter of Clemens Swanenburg and Johanna Dingjan. After Swanenburg's first two daughters died at a young age, she married Johannes van der Linden on 13 May 1868. The result of this marriage was five sons and two daughters. The marriage lasted until 29 January 1886. Her nickname was "''Goeie Mie''" ("Good Mie"), bestowed because of her amiable, neighborly assistance with babysitting and taking care of the poor, sick, and elderly in
Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wit ...
, where she herself lived.


Murders

Her first victim was her mother Johanna, in 1880; not long thereafter, she poisoned her father, Clemens. It was established with certainty that Swanenburg poisoned at least 102 people with
arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...
between 1880 and 1883. Twenty-seven of her victims died, of whom 16 were her relatives. The investigation included more than 90 suspicious deaths. 45 survivors sustained chronic health issues after having ingested the poison. Swanenburg's motive was the payout of her victims' insurance or their inheritance. She had secured most of the insurance policies herself.


Capture and imprisonment

Swanenburg was caught after she poisoned the Frankhuizen family in December 1883. Her trial began on 23 April 1885. Swanenburg was found guilty of having killed at least three victims, and she was sentenced to life imprisonment in a correctional facility, where she died in 1915. She was famously known for whispering "Your face is killing me" in her victims' ears before stalking and eventually killing them.


See also

*
List of serial killers by country This is a list of notable serial killers, by the country where most of the killings occurred. Convicted serial killers by country Afghanistan *Abdullah Shah: killed at least 20 travelers on the road from Kabul to Jalalabad while serving under ...


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* * * 1839 births 1915 deaths 1883 murders in Europe 1880 murders in Europe 19th-century Dutch criminals Dutch female serial killers Dutch people convicted of murder Dutch people who died in prison custody Dutch prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Matricides Murderers for life insurance money Patricides People convicted of murder by the Netherlands People from Leiden Poisoners Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the Netherlands Prisoners who died in Dutch detention Serial killers who died in prison custody {{netherlands-bio-stub