Dyer upon entry to Wells Asylum in Horrington, 1893
Born
Amelia Elizabeth Hobley
1837
Pyle Marsh, Bristol, England, UK
Died
10 June 1896 (aged 58/59)
Newgate Prison, London, England, UK
Cause of death
Execution by hanging
Other names
The Ogress of Reading, The Reading Baby Farmer, Mrs. Thomas
Spouses
George Thomas
William Dyer
Children
Ellen Thomas, Mary Ann "Polly" Dyer, William Samuel Dyer
Motive
Financial gain
Criminal penalty
Death
Details
Victims
6 confirmed; 200–400+ attributed
Span of crimes
1869–1896
Country
England, United Kingdom
Date apprehended
3 April 1896
Amelia Elizabeth Hobley (1837 – 10 June 1896), popularly dubbed the Ogress of Reading, was an English serial killer who murdered infants in her care over a thirty-year period during the Victorian era.[1][2]
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 neglect 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.[3]
Dyer's downfall came when the bagged corpse of an infant was discovered in the River Thames, with evidence leading back to her. She was arrested on 4 April 1896. In one of the most sensational trials of the Victorian period, she was found guilty of the murder of infant Doris Marmon and hanged on 10 June 1896.[4] At the time of her death, a handful of murders were attributed to Dyer, but there is little doubt she was responsible for many more similar deaths—up to 400 (or possibly more), making her a candidate for history's most prolific serial killer.[5][6][7]
Dyer's case led to stricter laws for adoption and child protection, and helped raise the profile of the fledgling National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), which formed in 1884.[4]
^"'Baby Farming' – a tragedy of Victorian times.". Retrieved 2008-10-28
^Cite error: The named reference alison was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Lloyd-Jones, Ffion (Autumn 2022). "Caught by the River". Thames Guardian. The River Thames Society. pp. 12–13.
^ ab"Amelia Dyer: the woman who murdered 300 babies". The Independent. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
^Cite error: The named reference cole was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"The Baby Farmer". Thames Valley Police. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Amelia Dyer: The Victorian nurse who strangled babies". BBC. 3 June 2017.
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