The purpose of this book will be to indulge the morbid (yet entirely natural) curiosity in the gruesome details of murders, but will be tempered with the examination of the victims - how and why they were selected, and how their lives were cut short by the most deviant members of our society. With the ever increasing interest in true crime, the study has remained almost entirely focused on the motivations and history of the (white, male) offender, with little to no attention paid to female serial killers and, more importantly, their victims. Two questions will be asked instead of one, “Why did this person do these horrible things?” and “Why were these people targeted?”

The interest in true crime has largely remained focused on the study of white, male offenders and this is because their crimes tend to be more gruesome. Male serial killers hunt for their victims, collect trophies, and tend to be driven by sexual aggression.

In contrast, female serial murderers typically choose quieter and less attention-attracting methods of homicide and tend to be driven by the need for resources. On average, the victims tend to be very close to the offender as the offender will use their closeness as an alibi for being unable to commit such a crime. The presumed weakness of “the fairer sex” is gleefully exploited by these female serial murderers as they are permitted to continue with their crime sprees for an average of 11 years. The average for a male serial killer before being caught is only 3. Despite the “success” rate of these female serial killers, the interest has remained mostly focused on rehashing motives and interviews of male serial killers like Richard Ramirez and Ted Bundy.

By placing equal emphasis on the profiles of the victim and their attacker, a well-rounded examination of victimology and criminology will allow the reader to gain a more comprehensive (and hopefully more empathetic) understanding of the life that was lost. Victimology is mostly applied to modern murder cases and many of the factors/measurements that victimology employs are simply not applicable to victims of historic crimes. For example, the victims of 18th century Russian murderer Darya Saltykova were young female servants employed in her household. They had no geographic or social mobility, were uneducated and their entire livelihood depended on close contact with their attacker. For the purposes of this book, victimology will be simplified to record the following:

●       Age and Sex

●       Socioeconomic standing

●       Relationship with attacker

●       Method of death

●       Authority Response post mortem

The book will begin with Countess Erszebet Bathory, also known in popular culture as the Blood countess. The names of her victims have been lost to history, but an aggregate profile of her victims will be assembled according to the guidelines listed above. From here, the book will continue chronologically through the young servant victims of Darya Saltykova, to the young unwed mothers who trusted the lives of their children with Amelia Dyer, to the newly arrived immigrant men eager to start an American life with Belle Gunness. Many details of these historical kills have been lost or hidden from history, but the trail of bodies and the lives left behind speak for themselves.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Gabriella Corey has always had a lifelong obsession with the untold stories of history. It’s what led her to beg her mother for field trips to nearby graveyards, determined to find the oldest tombstone in the cemetery. Hand-in-hand with her macabre fascination was her love of art, culminating in a Master’s degree in History of Art. She found her passion in provenance research, fulfilling a dream to look on the reverse of paintings to piece together their history. Working at auction houses in New York, including Christie’s and Sotheby’s, Gabriella always made the time to lecture on true crime with an emphasis on victimology.