39 Facts About Amelia Dyer

Amelia Dyer 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 neglect and six months' hard labour.

Amelia Dyer then began directly murdering children she "adopted", strangling at least some of them, and disposing of the bodies to avoid attention.

Amelia Dyer's downfall came when the bagged corpse of an infant was discovered in the River Thames, with evidence leading back to her.

Amelia Dyer's case led to stricter laws for adoption and child protection, and helped raise the profile of the fledgling National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, which formed in 1884.

Amelia Dyer was born the youngest of five in the small village of Pyle Marsh, just east of Bristol, the daughter of master shoemaker Samuel Hobley and Sarah Hobley.

Amelia Dyer learned to read and write and developed a love of literature and poetry.

Amelia Dyer witnessed her mother's violent fits and was obliged to care for her until she died in 1848.

Amelia Dyer had an elder sister, Sarah Ann, who died in 1841 at age 6, and a younger sister, named Sarah Ann, who died in 1845 aged a few months.

In 1861, at the age of 24, Amelia Dyer became permanently estranged from at least one of her brothers, James, and moved into lodgings in Trinity Street, Bristol.

Amelia Dyer had to leave nursing with the birth of a daughter, Ellen Thomas.

In 1869 the elderly George Thomas died and Amelia Dyer needed an income.

Amelia Dyer was keen to make money from baby farming, and alongside taking in expectant women, she advertised to nurse and adopt a baby, in return for a substantial one-off payment and adequate clothing for the child.

In 1872, Amelia married William Dyer, a brewer's labourer from Bristol.

At some point in her baby farming career, Amelia Dyer decided to forgo the expense and inconvenience of letting the children die through neglect and starvation; soon after the receipt of each child, she murdered them, thus allowing her to pocket most or all of the fee.

For some time, Amelia Dyer eluded the resulting interest of the police.

Amelia Dyer was eventually caught in 1879 after a doctor was suspicious about the number of child deaths he had been called to certify in Dyer's care.

Amelia Dyer had spells in mental hospitals due to mental instability and suicidal tendencies; these always coincided with times when it was convenient for her to "disappear".

Amelia Dyer appears to have begun abusing alcohol and opium-based products early in her killing career; her mental instability could have been related to her substance abuse.

In 1890, Amelia Dyer cared for the illegitimate baby of a governess.

Amelia Dyer realized the folly of involving doctors in issuing death certificates and began disposing of the bodies herself.

In 1893, Amelia Dyer was discharged from her final committal at the Somerset and Bath Lunatic Asylum near Wells.

Smith was persuaded by Amelia Dyer to be referred to as 'mother' in front of innocent women handing over their children.

Amelia Dyer did not travel to Reading, as she had told Marmon.

Amelia Dyer paid the rent to the unwitting landlady and gave her a pair of child's boots as a present for her little girl.

The package Amelia Dyer dumped was not weighted adequately and had been easily spotted.

The officers decided to use a young woman as a decoy, hoping she would be able to secure a meeting with Amelia Dyer to discuss her services.

On 22 May 1896, Amelia Dyer appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to one murder, that of Doris Marmon.

Amelia Dyer's daughter had given graphic evidence that ensured Dyer's conviction.

The only defence Amelia Dyer offered was insanity: she had been twice committed to asylums in Bristol.

However, the prosecution argued successfully that her exhibitions of mental instability had been a ploy to avoid suspicion; both committals were said to have coincided with times when Amelia Dyer was concerned her crimes might have been exposed.

However, it was ruled that Amelia Dyer was already legally dead once sentenced and that therefore her evidence would be inadmissible.

Amelia Dyer was hanged by James Billington at Newgate Prison on Wednesday, 10 June 1896.

However, inquiries from mothers, evidence of other witnesses, and material found in Amelia Dyer's homes, including letters and many babies' clothes, pointed to many more.

Amelia Dyer became known as the "Ogress of Reading", and she inspired a popular ballad:.

Amelia Dyer appeared in the short story "Lost and Found" by Peter Wise in Disturbing the Water, his collection of themed original ghost stories set around rivers and lakes.

The character of Amelia Dyer appeared in the short story "The Baby Farmer" by Philip Fracassi in his horror collection Behold the Void.

English folk singer Reg Meuross wrote a song about Amelia Dyer called "The Angel Maker", which is a track on his 2018 album Songs About A Train.

The Amelia Dyer case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022 BBC Radio podcast series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers.

Amelia Dyer is the inspiration for the character 'Mrs Bright' in the short story 'Confinement' by Kiran Millwood Hargrave.