Lydia Sherman (December 24, 1824 – May 16, 1878), née Danbury, also known as The Derby Poisoner, was an American

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

. She poisoned eight children in her care (six of whom were her own) and her three husbands and was convicted of

second-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse committed with the necessary intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisdiction. ("The killing of another person without justification or excus ...

in 1872. Five years into her sentence, she escaped under the pretext of being sick and got a job as housekeeper to a rich widower in Providence. She was caught and imprisoned again before dying in

Wethersfield State Prison Wethersfield State Prison was the second state prison in the state of Connecticut. Used between 1827 and 1963, it was later demolished and the site turned into a park on the banks of the Connecticut River. History Connecticut opened the Wethersf ...

on May 16, 1878, from cancer.

Life and crimes

Lydia Danbury was orphaned as a child and raised by her uncle, the farmer John Claygay. At age 16, she worked as a tailor and met her first husband, Edward Struck, at age 17 through the

Methodist church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

. They moved to New York City. After her husband became depressed after losing work, Lydia Struck poisoned him with

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol As and atomic number 33. It is a metalloid and one of the pnictogens, and therefore shares many properties with its group 15 neighbors phosphorus and antimony. Arsenic is not ...

in 1864. Six weeks later, she poisoned three of her young children in the same manner and two more children in 1865. Their death certificates listed "typhoid fever" as the cause of death. Meanwhile, Lydia Struck worked as a nurse and married her second husband, the widower Dennis Hurlburt, in 1868. After noticing her husband's declining health, she poisoned him with arsenic. She married Horatio Sherman in 1870 and killed him in May 1871.

Notes and references

1824 births 1878 deaths 19th-century American criminals 19th-century American women American escapees American female serial killers American murderers of children American people who died in prison custody American prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Criminals from New Jersey Filicides in New York (state) Mariticides People convicted of murder by Connecticut People from Burlington, New Jersey Place of death missing Poisoners Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by Connecticut Prisoners who died in Connecticut detention Serial killers from Connecticut Serial killers from Rhode Island Serial killers who died in prison custody {{NJ-stub

Life and crimes

See also

Notes and references