Amelia Dyer: The Reading Baby Farmer

One of History’s Most Prolific Serial Killers

Today we are back with yet another prolific female serial killer from centuries ago. If you have not heard Amelia’s story before, just know it is one you will never forget.

Amelia Elizabeth Dyer, one of the most infamous baby farmers in Victorian England, was born in 1836 or 1837 (depending on the source) to Samuel and Sarah Hobley. Her father, a master shoemaker, provided a comfortable upbringing, and Amelia developed a love for literature and poetry. However, her childhood took a dark turn when her mother, Sarah, contracted typhus, leading to severe mental illness. Amelia, still a child, was tasked with caring for her ailing mother, enduring violent fits and abuse until Sarah's death in 1848.

If you enjoy my deep dives, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps me continue this passion project and bring you even more chilling content!

Amelia Dyer

Following her mother’s passing, Amelia lived with an aunt in Bristol before becoming an apprentice to a corset maker. In 1859, her father died, and while one of her brothers took over the family business, Amelia moved to Trinity Street in Bristol. Soon after, she married George Thomas, a man who was 35 years her senior. To conceal their significant age gap, George subtracted 11 years from his age on their marriage certificate, while Amelia added six to hers. The couple had a daughter before George's death in 1869.

Now widowed and struggling financially, Amelia turned to nursing but found it insufficient to support herself and her child. It was then that she was introduced to the grim practice of baby farming by midwife Ellen Danes. Baby farming involved accepting infants for a fee under the guise of adoption or care, often serving as a “desperate solution” for unwed mothers seeking to avoid social stigma. However, for many baby farmers, providing ongoing care was costly and unprofitable. Instead, they opted to murder the infants, taking payment while eliminating the responsibility.

The Business of Baby Farming

Amelia placed newspaper advertisements to attract clients, offering a loving home for unwanted infants:

• “Married couple having no child would adopt one, good home, small premium – Mrs. Thornley”

• “Married couple with no family would adopt healthy child, nice country home, terms 10 pounds”

• “Highly respectable married couple wish to adopt a child; good country home, premium required, very small”

Amelia reassured mothers their babies would be well cared for, even sending letters shortly after taking custody to provide false updates. However, most of the infants never lived long. Initially, she used Godfrey’s Cordial, a syrup containing opium, to overdose the babies. If mothers attempted to check on their children, Amelia offered excuses or moved frequently to avoid detection.

In 1872, Amelia married William Dyer, and they had two children. The family relocated frequently, which aided Amelia in evading authorities. She charged anywhere from 10 to 80 pounds (equivalent to thousands today), then disposed of the infants within hours or days. Her operation continued undetected until 1879 when a doctor became suspicious of the high infant mortality rate at her home. He reported her, leading to a six-month sentence in a labor camp for neglect.

Following her release, Amelia temporarily returned to nursing and feigned mental instability, spending time in asylums to avoid further scrutiny. By 1890, she resumed baby farming, adapting her methods to avoid detection. Moving to Reading in 1895 with her daughter Polly and Polly’s husband, she stopped reporting infant deaths and began strangling them with dressmaking tape before disposing of their bodies in rivers or burying them.

The Investigation That Led to Her Capture

In early 1896, Evelina Marmon, a desperate mother, sought adoption for her newborn daughter and responded to one of Amelia’s advertisements. Amelia, now using the alias Mrs. Harding, collected the baby and sent her usual reassuring letter. However, Evelina’s daughter was already dead, wrapped in a napkin and weighted before being discarded into a river.

On March 30, 1896, authorities discovered another baby’s body in the River Thames. The package had not been properly weighted, causing it to float. Inside, investigators found a label linked to Temple Meads railway station, tracing it back to Amelia. Placed under surveillance, Amelia unknowingly interacted with an undercover officer posing as a mother seeking adoption services.

Arrested and charged with murder, Amelia’s son-in-law, Arthur Palmer, was initially implicated as an accessory. A thorough search of her home revealed extensive client correspondence but no infants. Further investigation led to the discovery of six more bodies in the river, all killed in the same manner. Though Arthur was released due to lack of evidence, Amelia wrote a confession, insisting that neither her daughter Polly nor Arthur were involved:

"I do know and I feel my days are numbered on this earth... but as God Almighty is my judge in Heaven and on Earth, neither my daughter Mary Ann Palmer nor her husband Alfred Ernest Palmer had anything at all to do with it. They never knew I contemplated doing such a wicked thing until it was too late."

Trial and Execution

Amelia pleaded guilty to the murder of Doris Marmon. During her trial, her family testified they had long suspected her activities. Witnesses, including a man who had seen her disposing of bodies, provided damning evidence. The defense attempted to claim insanity, citing her previous asylum stays. However, the prosecution successfully argued these were calculated acts to evade suspicion. The jury deliberated for just four and a half minutes before finding her guilty.

Sentenced to death at Newgate Prison, Amelia spent three weeks on death row. She filled five exercise books with what she called her "last true and only confession." The night before her execution, a chaplain asked if she had anything to confess, to which she replied, "Isn't this enough?"

On June 10, 1896, at precisely 9:00 a.m., Amelia Dyer was hanged by executioner James Billington. She was 57 years old. It is estimated she murdered over 400 infants, making her one of history’s most prolific serial killers.

Her case led to increased scrutiny of baby farming and contributed to reforms in child welfare laws. However, the full extent of her crimes remains unknown, with countless families never knowing the fate of their children who passed through Amelia Dyer’s deadly hands.