Known as the “Giggling Granny” for her eerily cheerful demeanor, Nannie Doss was secretly a serial killer who had brutally murdered four husbands, two children, two sisters, her mother, two grandsons, and her mother-in-law between the 1920s and 1950s
Nannie Doss was an American serial killer responsible for the deaths of 11 people between some time in the 1920s and 1954. Doss was also referred to as the Giggling Granny, the Lonely Hearts Killer, the Black Widow, and Lady Blue Beard.
In all, authorities suspect she killed as many as 12 people, most of whom were blood-related.
Doss blamed her murderous escapades on her brain injury. Meanwhile, journalists gave her the nickname Giggling Granny because every time she would tell the story of how she killed her late husbands, she laughed.
Doss even had a surprising motive for killing her male companions. She wasn’t after insurance money. In her own words, Doss’ romance magazines had a profound effect on her psyche. “I was searching for the perfect mate, the real romance in life.”
When one husband became too much, Doss simply killed him off and move to the next love… or victim, that is. Since most of her husbands had other underlying health issues such as alcoholism or heart conditions, doctors and authorities never suspected a thing.
Nannie Doss died in prison in 1964 while serving a life sentence for the murder of her last husband.
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