Two years later, she and her husband had another child, this time a daughter. And this is how Samuel Doss really was killed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He did not have a drinking problem, but he was adulterous. At age 9, while the family was taking a train to visit relatives in southern Alabama, Nannie hit her head on a metal bar on the seat in front of her when the train suddenly stopped. He drank without inhibition and one night, after returning home completely intoxicated, raped Doss. While Braggs was an attentive father, his relationship with his wife did not improve at all. The couple married when Doss was 16, just five months after meeting. If he hadnt left, he would likely have joined his two deceased children. In 1927, their two middle daughters died under mysterious circumstances a few months apart from each other. One day, Melvina had a particularly unpleasant argument with her mother and went to her fathers house to stay for a while. Nannie Doss, otherwise known as the Giggling Granny, or Lady Bluebeard, was an elderly woman who poisoned and killed up to 11 members of her family, including four husbands.She blamed early head trauma and an unrealized dream of a romance novel-style marriage as the impetus behind her coldhearted murders, the crimes of Nannie Doss will shock even the most hardened true crime lovers. He simply made the mistake of telling his wife that she could only read magazines or watch television shows that were for educational purposes. Her decades-long killing spree ended with the death of her fifth husband, Samuel Doss. Arguments happen, right? She is now an anonymous grandmother who lives among us somewhere. Following a night of drunken revelry at the end of World War II, Doss mixed a secret ingredient into his hidden jar of moonshine. You have a real reason to think this, too, as you come home after work one day and a delicious prune cake is just sitting there waiting for you. Until it was far too late. Then at the age of seven, she suffered a traumatic head injury on a train, which changed her life. As it was, they simply divorced and he would be the only man who married Nannie and lived. She was also known as the Giggling Granny, the Lonely Hearts Killer, the Black Widow, and Lady Blue Beard. It turns out that a common household ingredient at the time was a potent way to kill people and without anyone suspecting a thing. Despite this, the marriage lasted 16 years. The good news is that although she may have killed as many as a dozen people, some still got lucky and survived coming into contact with her. This time, it was Doss who would often vanish for prolonged periods. She was also known as the Giggling Granny, the Lonely Hearts Killer, the Black Widow, and Lady Blue Beard. Nannie Doss: Lonely Hearts Lady Loved Her Man to Death Geringer, Joseph. At the age of 16, Nannie Doss wed a man she had only known for four months. Despite having grown up on reading romances and dreaming of falling in love, she was married at the . Instead, after she pleaded guilty on May 17, 1955, she was sentenced to life imprisonment. Nannie Doss (Nancy Hazel) was born on November 4 th 1905 in Blue Mountain, Alabama. Sources cite either a singles club or additional romantic advertising as netting Nannie another husband by 1952. Then her second husband, who was abusive towards her for sixteen years, was murdered when she poisoned his moonshine. McCarthy and Stalin Political Brothers? Bettmann/Getty ImagesAfter confessing to the murders of four or her five husbands, Nannie Doss leaves the county attorneys office and heads to jail. After a few months of courtship, they married and moved in with his unhappy and unpleasant mother. On July 7, 1945, he died from asphyxiation and within two months after his death, Doss cashed in on Roberts insurance. He spoke with Samuels wife, Nannie, and asked her if he could examine the body for research purposes. After confessing to the murders of four or her five husbands, Nannie Doss leaves the county attorneys office and heads to jail. Braggs always maintained he left her because he was frightened of her. She was born to Louisa "Lou" (ne Holder) and James F. Hazel. Because of the stress of raising four children, Mrs. Braggs, and an adulterous husband, Doss began drinking and smoking heavily, and soon, she too began indulging in adulterous acts. Doss collected $500 dollars on an insurance policy she had placed on the boy. The death was never admitted to by Nannie Doss. 2023 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. Nannie continued to act crazy even as she was handed down a sentence of life in prison. Bettmann/Getty ImagesAuthorities question Nannie Doss about her crimes. She married five times. Exhausted from labor and groggy from ether, Melvina thought she saw her visiting mother stick a hatpin into the baby's head. In the years after, she had bouts of depression, headaches, and blackouts. While this one was not an alcoholic, he was still a womaniser. She had an abusive father and a mother who did not do anything about the abuse. James would force his children to work on the family farm, refusing to let the children go to school, resulting in Nannie's poor academic performance. However, the arrangement soon proved to be troublesome as most of Braggs time was taken up by his mother. Braggs often would not be home for days on end. Skai Jackson is an American child actress with huge fan following. Nannie Doss seemed like a sweet lady. In 1963, Nannie Doss died in prison. On July 7, 1945, Doss was taking care of Melvina's son, Robert, because Doss and Melvina had an argument over Doss's disapproval of Melvina's boyfriend. Doss was looking to get married for the fourth time. But she made a grave mistake. Braggs was the only son of a single mother who insisted on continuing to live with him after he married. During the journey, the train suddenly ceased moving and she hit her head on a metal bar on the seat opposite of her. He had the dubious and fortunate distinction of being the only husband that Doss did not murder. Was Nannie's behavior all because of her childhood train injury? She too met her demise soon after Doss moved in. Her first attempt to kill him with arsenic-laced prune cake failed, and he spent a month recovering in the hospital. Harrelson was no different. Suspecting her, Samuel moved out with the oldest child, Melvina, and left Nannie with his mother and the youngest child. But Doss wasnt finished killing there. In 1923, Doss and Braggs had their first daughter, and would have three more over the next four years. Or do, period. Soon after, Braggs took firstborn daughter Melvina and fled, leaving newborn Florine behind. She would later blame her mental instability on the accident. While working at a linen factory, Nannie Doss met and eventually married Samuel Doss. They got married that year. Like Harrelson, Lanning was an alcoholic womanizer. Lanning died in 1950 from what was thought to be heart failure and townspeople came out in support of his widow. She then lived with her sister, Dovie Frances Hazel Weaver, who was bedridden at the time. The happy couple lived with Braggs mother, but she had the same abusive type of behavior as Doss father. Mae Carol Jemison is a famous American astronaut who became the first African American astronaut to travel to space. She left Robert in her mothers care. It didnt take long before shed found her next victim. The woman died suddenly and without warning a few months after Doss agreed to take care of her. Nannie Doss, who is commonly referred to as "The Giggling Granny" or "The Jolly Widow," is suspected of killing at least 10 people between 1924 and 1954. In time, a bitter mother-in-law and a horde of screaming offspring were more than they could handle. By the time she married her third husband, three people had been killed. A Drunk Man In Mexico Just Injured Himself On The Sword Of A St. Michael Statue While Trying To Steal It, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. Both Nannie and her mother despised James because of his controlling behaviour towards every member of the family. Nannie Doss (born Nancy Hazel; November 4, 1905 June 2, 1965) was an American serial killer responsible for the deaths of 11 people between some time in the 1920s and 1954. Doss is suspected of killing both grandchildren the second one within hours of birth, allegedly having pushed a hatpin into the childs head. Nannies father died and so her mother came to live with the couple, which brought its own series of problems. Nannie Doss was also known by her nickname, "The Giggling Granny.". Despite this, the marriage lasted 16 years. She moved to be with her new love interest, and they were married just two days after they met in person. She then confessed to killing four husbands, her mother, her sister Dovie, her grandson Robert, and her mother-in-law, Arlie Lanning's mother. Once in your nice, comfortable house, everything is peaceful. However, the relationship had several issues right from the beginning, mostly due to Harrelsons alcoholism and violent temper. While this one was not an alcoholic, he was still a womaniser. For example, she claimed to be sick and tired of doing laundry at the prison. Things got off to a rocky start as it turned out that Richard had numerous money problems. Karla Homolka is one of Canadas most infamous female serial killers. Starting in 1927 with the death of two of her children and ending in 1954 with the death of her husband, Samuel Doss, Nannie Doss killed eleven people before being caught by police. Samuel L. Doss, 58, of Tulsa, who died Oct. 10, 1954, of poison mixed with a bowl of prunes and a cup of coffee. Soon after her discovery, police began showing up at her house several times a week to let her know that Frank was, once again, in the drunk tank for fighting. After Lanning died, the house mysteriously burned to the ground and Lanning's mother died. He was her only son and she was unmarried at the time so Doss had to accept it. After serving 9 years in prison, Nannie Doss died of Leukemia in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. I was searching for the perfect mate, the real romance in life.. Doss mother needed a caretaker after she fell and broke a hip in 1953 after her father passed away. [1] Doss was also referred to as the Giggling Granny, the Lonely Hearts Killer, the Black Widow, and Lady Blue Beard. The couple moved in with Braggs mother, and soon, Doss realized she had escaped the violent hands of her father, only to fall into the manipulative hands of her mother-in-law. Doss met her fourth husband, Richard Morton, through a singles club. Nannie Doss was born Nancy Hazle on Nov. 4, 1905 to poor farming parents in Blue Mountain, Ala. From a very young age, Doss could tell that her mother was deathly afraid of her father, who was a violent man and forced Nannie and her siblings to spend much of their childhood working in the fields often to avoid being beaten. In the summer of 1928, Braggs came back with Melvina, a new love interest and her own child. But behind the happy facade was a trail of death and murder that lasted from the 1920s to 1954. In the ensuing years, Doss gave birth to four daughters. She and Braggs worked together at the Linen Thread Company in nearby Anniston. This delusion to solve this by murder was likely linked to the head trauma she experienced as a child. It was just over some trashy magazines and how you should both read better, more educational material, as well as be smarter with your finances. He thanks you for reading his content. He also forbade them to go to dances and other social events. TruTv Crime Library. confessed to killing four of her five ex-husbands. During the journey, the train suddenly ceased moving and she hit her head on a metal bar on the seat opposite of her. The Story Of Nannie Doss, The Giggling Granny Who Spent Decades Murdering Relatives And Husbands. She pleaded guilty on May 17, 1955, and was sentenced to life imprisonment; the state did not pursue the death penalty due to her sex. Her husband went away with their oldest living child and didnt return until the following year. Samuel was neither an alcoholic nor abusive nor a womaniser. Despite this, she maintained her cheerful disposition throughout her life, often making jokes about her case. . Nannie Doss was an American serial killer who received the famous nicknames, "The Giggling Nanny," and "The Jolly Black Widow" when she went on a murder rampage, which lasted around thirty-five years. The final murder ended up revealing her for what she was. The woman died in her sleep. Nannie Doss is escorted for a court appearance in 1955 after confessing to poisoning four of her five husbands, including Samuel Doss of Tulsa. Check out this biography to know about his childhood, life, crimes and other facts about him. Nannie was arrested immediately. Nannie Doss was an American serial killer who killed 11 people. After all, you truly love your life partner. In 1947 she met Arlie Lanning, and just two days later they married. Free once more, Nannie went in search of another victim in the romantic interest section of the local newspaper. Doss was too consumed with her mothers health to find out about Mortons affairs. Nannie Doss had murdered him by giving him poisoned coffee due to the greed of collecting two life insurance aids. Nannie would later admit that it was this unfortunate chance event that was the root of all of her evil and strange behavior. This glee lessened over time as she began her punishment. It is quite possible that she had poisoned those girls. For a while at least, Nannie seemed to care for her like a good daughter. Required fields are marked *. Then, things got even rockier. Meanwhile, Doss collected enough life insurance moneyfrom Harrelsons death to buy a plot of land and a house near Jacksonville. Nannie Doss: Lonely Hearts Lady Loved Her Man To Death Geringer, Joseph. Her casual smoking habit turned into a heavy addiction. The doctor, who treated Samuel, was alerted by his sudden death. That flu hit you hard, but a month later youre back on your feet again. A few days after he got home, poison-laced coffee finished him off. Despite this, the marriage lasted 16 years. Under his orders, an autopsy was performed and they found a large amount of arsenic in his system. [4] She is buried at Oak Hill Memorial Park.[5]. The state of Oklahoma centered its case only on Samuel Doss. She was called a "self-made widow" by a newspaper. Even as a little girl, Nannie loved her romance magazines, but her father discouraged her dreams by prohibiting any kind of makeup or dressy clothing. Nannie's father forbade the Hazel sisters from wearing makeup and attractive clothing as he believed it would prevent them from being molested by men. Before she left with her spoils, Nannie is suspected of doing one more terrible deed. The stressed-out Nannie started drinking, and her casual smoking habit became a heavy addiction. However, she continued to find humor in things. The final murder ended up revealing her for what she was. Candi Fisher is best known as the ex-wife of American college football coach and former player Jimbo Fisher. Nannie's story begins in Blue Mountain, Alabama. Within months after the death of her fourth husband, Nannie had her eyes set on a new one. The doctors, however, could not give a positive explanation. To Doss, Mrs. Braggs was not all that different from her terrifying father. Authorities question Nannie Doss about her crimes. Under interrogation, and after she was told that she could keep a romance magazine, Nannie confessed to killing eight people: Robert, Harrelson, Lanning, Lannings mother, Dovie, Lou, Morton, and Samuel but denied any involvement with the deaths of her two daughters and granddaughter. After all, Samuel was far from her only husband and Nannie considered family in general quite expendable. Doss was 16 years old when she married her first husband, Charley Braggs, after knowing him only for four months. Leonarda Cianciulli, "the soap lady killer," became a serial killer and a cannibal in a deluded attempt to protect her family.