Maria Catherina van der Linden-Swanenburg (9 September 1839 – 11 April 1915) was a Dutch

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 ...

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, neighbourly assistance with babysitting and taking care of the poor, sick, and elderly in

Leiden Leiden ( ; ; in English language, English and Archaism, archaic Dutch language, Dutch also Leyden) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Nethe ...

, 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; 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 ...

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.

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