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| name = Hilda Nilsson |
| name = Hilda Nilsson |
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| image = Hilda Nilsson (1).jpg |
| image = Hilda Nilsson (1).jpg |
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| image_size = |
| image_size = 289 |
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| alt = Police mugshots in black and white of middle aged woman sitting on a chair wearing a cardigan and looking listlessly into the camera |
| alt = Police mugshots in black and white of middle aged woman sitting on a chair wearing a cardigan and looking listlessly into the camera |
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| caption = Police mugshots of Hilda Nilsson in 1917 |
| caption = Police mugshots of Hilda Nilsson in 1917 |
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| birth_name = Hilda Nilsson |
| birth_name = Hilda Nilsson |
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| birth_date = 1876 |
| birth_date = 1876 |
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| birth_place = [[Helsingborg]], Sweden |
| birth_place = [[Helsingborg]], [[Sweden]] |
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| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1917|08|10|1876}} |
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1917|08|10|1876}} |
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| death_place = [[Landskrona]], Sweden |
| death_place = [[Landskrona]], Sweden |
Revision as of 18:54, 6 December 2015
Hilda Nilsson | |
---|---|
Born | Hilda Nilsson 1876 |
Died | 10 August 1917 Landskrona, Sweden | (aged 40–41)
Cause of death | suicide, hanging |
Nationality | Swedish |
Motive | Financial trouble |
Criminal charge | Murder |
Penalty | Death by guillotine |
Hilda Nilsson (1876 – 10 August 1917) was a Swedish serial killer and baby farmer from Helsingborg who became known as "the angel maker on Bruksgatan Street" and in 1917 she was imprisoned for murdering eight children. Her trial, which included a mental examination, started on 2 June 1917. At the conclusion of the trial on 15 June 1917, she was sentenced to death. She escaped this punishment by committing suicide in jail in Landskrona by hanging herself with a linen cloth which she had tied to a cell door. As of 2015, Nilsson is considered to be Sweden's worst female serial killer.
Background
Hilda Nilsson and her husband Gustav lived in Helsingborg. The couple had accrued some large debts and needed a way to pay their bills.[1] As a way to raise cash, Nilsson started to take care of infants for pay from mothers who were not married and needed help.[2] The small sum of money she received was far from enough needed to pay for the childen she was supposed to take care of.[1]
Nilsson started murdering the children she took care of a short while after their mothers left them at her care. This was possible since the authorities rarely or never even knew of the babies' existence, and the mothers almost never wanted to come back to learn how their children were doing.[2]
Murders
One method Nilsson employed to murder the foster children was by putting them in a bathtub and then placing heavy objects—amongst them a washboard and a coal scuttle—over the children.[3] She then proceeded to leave the room and return hours later when the infants and children had died.[3] The next step in Nilsson's grisly process was to burn the bodies. On the occasions when she did not burn her victims, she dug graves and buried them.[2]
Nilsson kept her home in a good, clean condition which made mothers more willing to leave their unwanted children in her care.[1] In this deceiving way, she was "successful" as a baby farmer but was eventually convicted of murder for killing at least eight children. At the time, her profession was not an unusual way for women to earn money.[1] What separated her from other baby farmer child killers of the time was that she actively took part in the children's deaths while most others simply left the children without much food and in unhealthy living conditions which led to their deaths.[4]
Discovery of crimes and trial
Nilsson's crimes were discovered by authorities when a woman named Blenda Henricsson, a mother who despite the shame of having a child outside of marriage, wanted contact with her child.[2][5] When she did not get to meet her child by "Anna Nilsson", a name Hilda used when in contact with Henricsson, her time of freedom came to an end.[1] Henricsson asked the police to investigate why Nilsson refused to let her meet her child.[4] The police promptly found ample incriminating evidence of her murders.[2]
Nilsson was sentenced to death by guillotine. Before the punishment could be carried out, she committed suicide by hanging on 10 August 1917.[1][3] The same day, and without Nilsson's knowledge, the court had reversed her death sentence to life imprisonment.[2] She was the last death penalty prisoner in Swedish history not to be pardoned because she died before the pardon could be officially carried out.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Bolmstedt, Åsa. "Änglamakerskan". Populär Historia (in Swedish). LRF Media. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e f g Dahlgren, Charlotta (15 March 2008). "Hon mördade fosterbarnen i tvättstugan". Wendela (in Swedish). Aftonbladet. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b c Rystad, Johan G. (1 April 2015). "Änglamakerskan i Helsingborg dränkte åtta fosterbarn". Hemmets Journal (in Swedish). Egmont Group. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
{{cite journal}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - ^ a b Andersson, Martin (2 December 2012). "Åtskilliga spädbarn dog hos änglamakerskorna". Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Malmö: Bonnier Group. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
{{cite news}}
: Unknown parameter|trans_title=
ignored (|trans-title=
suggested) (help) - ^ Koobs, Jonnie. Mäkynen, Tuula (ed.). "Hilda Nilsson" (in Swedish). Landskronahistoria.se. Retrieved 1 December 2015.[unreliable source?]
External links
- Media related to Hilda Nilsson at Wikimedia Commons