Maria Catherina Swanenburg

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Maria Swanenburg (1885)

Maria Catherina Swanenburg (born September 9, 1839 in Leiden , South Holland, † April 11, 1915 in Gorinchem , South Holland) was a Dutch serial killer who committed at least 27 murders in the 1880s, but was actually suspected in over 90 murders.

Life

Swanenburg was born as the daughter of Clemens Swanenburg and Johanna Dingjan. After her first two daughters died in childhood, she married Johannes van der Linden on May 13, 1868. The marriage had five sons and two daughters until it broke up on January 29, 1886.

Crime and Arrest

Swanenburg was nicknamed “Goeie Mie” ( Dutch for “Good Mia”), which she was given because of her care and kindness towards the residents of the slums of Leiden. In the years from 1880 to 1883 she poisoned at least 102 people with arsenic , of which 27, including 16 relatives of Swanenburg, died. However, she came under suspicion in over 90 murder cases. Her parents, whom she murdered in 1880, were among her first victims. Although the majority of their victims survived, they suffered chronic health problems after arsenic poisoning.

"Goeie Mie" was imprisoned on December 15, 1883, after she was discovered during the murder of the Frankhuizen family. Trials began on April 23, 1885, and she was found guilty of the murder of her last three victims and thus sentenced to life imprisonment in the correctional facility. She died there in April 1915 at the age of 75.

Presumably greed for money motivated their murders. She received the property of the deceased through life insurance policies she had taken out for her victims and through her inheritance. However, Swanenburg did not use her newly acquired fortune.

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personal data
SURNAME Swanenburg, Maria Catherina
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Dutch serial killer
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Leiden , South Holland
DATE OF DEATH April 11, 1915
Place of death Gorinchem , South Holland