Somehow Jane Toppan managed to skirt through the first half of her life murdering people at will, before finally being caught and committed to an insane asylum in 1901. Her nursing background made her an expert with drugs, and she used that expertise to kill over thirty people, often torturing them by purposely prolonging their suffering.

My guest is Mary Kay McBrayer, and she shares some stories about Jane's nefarious activities from her book: "America's First Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster."

You can find more information about Mary Kay, her book, and the podcast she hosts, called "Everything Trying to Kill You", at https://www.marykaymcbrayer.com .

Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotorious

Most Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices