Amelia Dyer  Amelia Elizabeth Dyer (born Hobley; 1836 – 10 June 1896) was one of the most prolific serial killers in history, murdering infants in her care over a 30-year period in Victorian Britain. Trained as a nurse, and widowed in 1869, she turned to baby farming—the practice of adopting unwanted infants in exchange for money—to support herself. She initially cared for the children legitimately, in addition to having two of her own, but whether intentionally or not, a number of them died in her care, leading to a conviction for negligence and six months' hard labour. She then began directly murdering children she "adopted", strangling at least some of them, and disposing of the bodies to avoid attention. Mentally unstable, she was committed to several mental asylums throughout her life, despite suspicions of feigning, and survived at least one serious suicide attempt. Dyer's downfall came when the bagged corpse of an infant was discovered in the Thames, with evidence leading to her. She was arrested on 4 April 1896, tried for the murder of infant Doris Marmon, and hanged on 10 June 1896. At the time of her death, a handful of murders were attributed to her, but there is little doubt she was responsible for many more similar deaths—possibly 400 or more, making her a candidate for history's most prolific serial killer. Dubbed the "Ogress of Reading", she inspired a popular ballad, and her case led to stricter laws for adoption. Amelia Dyer was born the youngest of five (with three brothers, Thomas, James and William, and a sister, Ann) in the small village of Pyle Marsh, just east of Bristol (now part of Bristol's urban sprawl known as Pile Marsh), the daughter of a master shoemaker, Samuel Hobley, and Sarah Hobley née Weymouth. She learned to read and write and developed a love of literature and poetry. However, her childhood was marred by the mental illness of her mother, caused by typhus. Amelia witnessed her mother's violent fits and was obliged to care for her until she died, raving, in 1848. Researchers later commented on the effect this had on Dyer, and also what it taught her about the symptoms exhibited by those who appear to lose their mind through illness. Dyer had an elder sister, Sarah Ann who died in 1841, aged 6 and a younger sister also named Sarah Ann who died in 1845, aged a few months.