Mary Ann Cotton
How did Mary escape justice for years?
4.7 (37)
30 mins
Explore the hidden dangers of Victorian arsenic poisonings used to mask murder as illness. Discover Mary’s chilling rise from miner’s daughter to one of England’s most notorious poisoners. Learn about the trial that revealed her crimes and the harsh justice that followed.
Ep 1:
Born of Coal Dust and Cunning
From a hardscrabble Methodist childhood to a trail of dead husbands and children, discover how Mary Ann Robson became a calculating angel of death.
Ep 2:
The Widow's Poisoned Web
As insurance payouts pile up and arsenic becomes her signature, Mary Ann weaves through marriages and deaths with chilling efficiency, always staying one step ahead.
Ep 3:
A Village's Suspicions Take Root
Suspicious neighbors, a dead stepson, and a doctor's second look finally unravel Mary Ann's decade-long killing spree, exposing twenty murders hidden in plain sight.
Ep 4:
Justice Comes for the Killer
Facing an unwinnable trial and a jury's damning verdict, Mary Ann clings to denial even as the gallows and a botched execution await her.
Ep 5:
The Rhyme That Never Died
Long after her death, broadsides, wax figures, and a haunting children's rhyme keep Mary Ann Cotton's dark legacy alive in England's collective memory.
Discussions (13)
Dean
Level 9 · 9 mo agoShe really married Frederick while still married!
Lee
Level 6 · 9 mo agoThe podcast says the gains weren't substantial. That's incorrect. For a working class Victorian, an insurance payout equal to six months wages is huge.
Thornton
Level 10 · 9 mo agoPrudential got worked. They paid her out every time.
