Amelia Dyer

Amelia Dyer
Amelia Dyer
Born	Amelia Elizabeth Hobley 1837 Pyle Marsh, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
Died	10 June 1896 (aged 58/59) Newgate Prison, London, England, United Kingdom
Cause of death	State execution by hanging
Other names	The Reading Baby Farmer
Criminal penalty	Death
Spouse(s)	George Thomas William Dyer
Children	Ellen Thomas, Mary Ann "Polly" Dyer, William Samuel Dyer
Motive	Financial gain
Killings
Victims	200-400+ attributed; 12 confirmed
Span of killings	Unknown–1896
Country	England, United Kingdom
Date apprehended	3 April 1896

Amelia Elizabeth Dyer (née Hobley; 1837 – 10 June 1896) was one of the most prolific serial-killers in history, murdering infants in her care over a 20-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 – in order 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 in order 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.

Dubbed the "Ogress of Reading", she inspired a popular ballad, and her case lead 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 would later comment on the effect this had on Dyer, and also what it would teach Dyer about the signs 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. An elder cousin had an illegitimate daughter at the time who was later accepted as the daughter of the grandparents, Dyer's aunt and uncle William and Martha Hobley.

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