Mary Ann Cotton

By Emily Casey

What Makes a Serial Killer

Adolescent lifeo Dysfunctional backgrounds

involving sexual or physical abuse

o Bipolar mood disordero Feeling of resentment towards

societyo Isolationo Absence of love or nurtureo Unstable home life

Mental illnesso Most not psychotico Psychopathso Perceives themselves as Godso Become addicted t killing

Early Life Born in October 1832 in Low

Moorsely, County Durham Near poverty and abuse as a

child Feared her father Age 8, family moved

o Year after father fell down a mine shaft to his death

Mom remarried Hated stepfather, but had to

stay to keep money coming in for the family

Married early to get away from her stepfather

Interpretation of a young Mary Ann Cotton

First Marriage Married William

Mowbray 20 years old Had 5 children

o 4 died from gastric fever

Husband later died of intestinal disorder in January of 1865

Cotton then collect insurance when Mowbray died

Second Marriage George Ward in 1865 3 ½ year old

daughter diedo Daughter Isabelle lived

with grandmother Ward died due to

intestinal problems Cotton collect

insurance as soon as he died

During marriage her mother died on June 9th 1867 of stomach pains

Third Marriage Married to James

Robinson Isabelle had stomach

pains and diedo Robinson’s two other

children died of the same reason

Their child, Mary Isabelle, died after birth due to stomach pain

Robinson threw Cotton out

1800’s arsenic container

Fourth Marriage Cotton was living on the streets Married Fredrick Cotton Had sons Robert and Charles Edward Fredrick died from gastric fever in December

1871 Mary didn’t collect insurance

Medical Certificate of Fredrick

Cotton

Charles Edward Cotton After Fredrick died, Charles Edward was only Cotton boy still alive Mary believed he was in the way of her She told parish official, Thomas Riley, Charles was “sickly” and she

“won’t be troubled long. He’ll go like all the rest of the Cottons.” Five days later, July 12th 1872, Charles was dead Riley was suspicious, so he told the doctor not to write a death

certificate yet Mary first call after death of Charles was to insurance office

o She was told that she

Death Certificat

e of Charles Edward Cotton

Media Attention Local newspaper found

out about Mary Ann and her suspicion in killing Charles Edward

They found out she lost 3 husbands, a lover, 2 other family members, and a dozen of children.o All of them died of

“stomach fevers”

Trial Trial began March

5th 1873 Found that Mary

Ann killed victims using arsenic poisoning

Only took 90 minutes to find her guilty.

She was hanged on March 24 1873 at Durham County Gaol by William Calcraft

Death Sentence for Mary Ann Cotton

Type of Killer Serial Murderer

o Killing of 3 or more victims over an extended period of time

o Mary Ann Cotton killed about 20 people over a period of 10 years

Fit the demographics of a serial killer

Motiveo Collect insurance money after

death Type

o Hedonistic• Kill for pleasure• Just for fun or for profit

Good or Evil? Mary Ann Cotton is evil

o Killed her family members to get money out of it

o Killed by means of arsenic poisoning Type

o Moral evil- harms perpetrated by some agent

Characteristics of an evil person that Mary Ann haso Deceives otherso High level of respectability to victimso Projects sins/evils onto very specific

group Mary Ann does not say if what she

did was evil or noto If she did she probably wouldn’t

because she repeatedly killed family members by arsenic poisoning

Psychoanalysis Descriptors

o Age- killings during her twenties and thirties

o Sex- femaleo Race- Caucasiano Residency- Murton in

Durham Countyo Proximity-o Social skills- very good, she

had 4 husbands and 2 loverso Work history- worked in a

factoryo Educational level- fairly

smart, but no college or other legitimate schooling

Works Cited http://

heroinesofhistory.wikispaces.com/Mary+Ann+Cotton

http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/women/cotton/1.html

http://murderrevisited.blogspot.com/2009/05/mary-ann-cotton.html

http://www.maryanncotton.co.uk/