La Voisin

French fortune teller and poisoner (d. 1680) Catherine Monvoisin, or Montvoisin, née Deshayes, known as "La Voisin" (c. 1640 – 22 February 1680), was a French fortune teller, commissioned poisoner, accused of witchcraft. She was the head of a network of fortune tellers in Paris providing poison, aphrodisiacs, and abortions with clients among the aristocracy and became the central figure in the famous affaire des poisons. Her purported organization of commissioned black magic and poison murder was suspected[by whom?] to have killed 1,000 people, but it is believed[by whom?] that upwards of 2,500 people might have been murdered. [dubious – discuss] Life Little is known of Catherine Deshayes' early life. She learned fortune telling as a child and later married Antoine Monvoisin, who was active as a jeweller and silk merchant with a shop at Pont-Marie in Paris. When her husband's trade business led to bankruptcy, La Voisin supported the family by practising chiromancy and face-reading. In addition to being a fortune teller, she was also active as a midwife, which developed into providing abortions. Her business as a fortune teller gradually developed into manufacturing and selling