Daisy de Melker information

Daisy de Melker
Daisy de Melker
Born	Daisy Louisa C. Hancorn-Smith; 1 June 1886; Seven Fountains, Cape Colony
Died	30 December 1932 (aged 46); Pretoria Central Prison, Pretoria, Union of South Africa
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Spouse	3
Children	1
Conviction(s)	Murder
Criminal penalty	Death
Details
Victims	3
Span of crimes	1923–1932
Country	South Africa
Date apprehended	April 1932

Daisy Louisa C. de Melker (née Hancorn-Smith; 1 June 1886 – 30 December 1932), simply known as Daisy de Melker, was a South African nurse^[1] who was accused of poisoning two husbands with strychnine for their life insurance money; all she was found guilty of, however, was poisoning her only son with arsenic for reasons which are still unclear. De Melker is the second woman to have been hanged in South African criminal history.^[2]

De Melker was accused of three murders but only convicted of one, the killing of her son. The charges of poisoning her husbands were never proven in a court of law.^{[citation needed]} It was William Sproat, the younger brother of her second husband Robert, who accused De Melker because he wanted Robert's will in favour of De Melker declared invalid.^{[citation needed]} De Melker refused to refund an alleged loan from her mother-in-law, Jane Sproat, to Robert; she regarded it as a gift and argued that it was not stipulated in the will as a loan.^{[citation needed]} William won the civil case regarding the will, which ran concurrently with the murder trial, and was awarded costs.^{[citation needed]} De Melker withdrew on the date Justice Greenberg sentenced her for murder. William's was a pyrrhic victory, however; to pay her exorbitant legal costs, De Melker had to sell off all her assets. She was declared insolvent and was eventually buried in a pauper's grave.^{[citation needed]}

^ Tomlins, Marilyn Z. (2 December 2007). "Daisy de Melker: South Africa's First Serial Killer". Crime Magazine. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
^ Marsh, Rob (2 February 1999). "Famous South African crimes". africacrime-mystery.co.za. Archived from the original on 2 February 1999. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

[Tomlins-1] Tomlins, Marilyn Z. (2 December 2007). "Daisy de Melker: South Africa's First Serial Killer". Crime Magazine. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

[2] Marsh, Rob (2 February 1999). "Famous South African crimes". africacrime-mystery.co.za. Archived from the original on 2 February 1999. Retrieved 14 June 2022.

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Daisy de Melker

Born	Daisy Louisa C. Hancorn-Smith (1886-06-01)1 June 1886 Seven Fountains, Cape Colony
Died	30 December 1932(1932-12-30) (aged 46) Pretoria Central Prison, Pretoria, Union of South Africa
Cause of death	Execution by hanging
Spouse	3
Children	1

Conviction(s)	Murder
Criminal penalty	Death
Details
Victims	3
Span of crimes	1923–1932
Country	South Africa
Date apprehended	April 1932