Free Women Serial Killers of the 20th Century by Sylvia Perrini

girl. An hour later, the baby had died. The doctors were puzzled and could not account for the baby’s death.
    For the distraught Melvina, as if losing her baby was not enough , she was troubled by what she wasn’t sure was a nightmare or real. As she had drifted in and out of sleep after giving birth, she thought she saw her mother stick a pin into the baby’s tender head. When she told her younger sister Florian and her husband Moses her ‘dream’, they exclaimed in unison that they had seen Nannie playing with a pin in her hands while she had sat at Melvina’s bedside. However, the idea of Nannie causing the death of the baby was far too shocking for any of them to consider taking it seriously.
    On July 7, 1945, Nannie babysat for Melvina’s son Robert. That night , Robert died. The family doctor cited asphyxia from undisclosed causes. Nannie collected $500 on the boy’s life insurance policy that she had recently taken out without her daughter’s knowledge. Nannie acted as the heartbroken granny sobbing and wailing as the tiny coffin was silently lowered into the grave.
    In August of 1945, the Second World War ended and on September 15, 1945, Frank went out drinking and celebrating with friends of his who had returned home. That night when he returned home, he abused and raped Nannie. She`d had enough. The following evening after supper and a dessert of prunes, thirty-eight -year-old Frank died in excruciating pain.
    For a while after the death of Frank, not much is known of Nannie. It’s thought that she journeyed around the United States for a while before turning up in 1947 in North Carolina. She had answered a lonely-hearts advertisement placed by Arlie Lanning, a laborer. Nannie and Arlie married just two days after the meeting. It was to be another disappointment for the romance-seeking widow. Arlie, like her last husband Frank, was also a drunk, although not an abusive one; he was also a womanizer and had a poor reputation in the town. Whenever Arlie went on a drinking binge Nannie would pack her suitcases and leave, telling neighbors she was off to visit relatives; sometimes she would be gone for months.
    Nannie was popular in Lexington. Her friends and neighbors saw her as a perfect wife. From her kitchen there was always a delightful smell of baking, and the house and garden were always spick and span. She still enjoyed reading her romantic stories but now her favorite occupation was watching television and smoking her favorite cigarettes, Camel. Nannie was also a regular churchgoer and helped organize church social events. Many of her acquaintances felt sorry for Nannie for having such a drunk, womanizer for a husband, and the only reason Arlie was tolerated at social events was because of the cheerful, kind-hearted Nannie. In February of 1950, Arlie suddenly became ill with dizziness, sweating, and vomiting. He died two days later in excruciating pain. Given his lifestyle, no one was surprised, and an autopsy was not performed.
    At the funeral, Nannie epitomized the heart-broken widow explaining to her neighbors through tears that:

     
    Arlie left his house to his sister, but it burned down before she could claim it. The television, however, was saved as while the house was burning down, Nannie was on her way to the television repair shop. Nannie moved in with Arlie’s mother.  The elderly mother passed away in her sleep while in Nannie’s care. When the check from the insurance company arrived for the burnt house, as Arlie’s widow, Nannie was able to claim it. With the check in hand and the television on the backseat of her car, Nannie left Lexington never to return.
    She made her way to her sister Dovie. Her sister was bedridden with cancer and with Nannie’s arrival, her condition soon worsened. Dovie died on June 30 th in her sleep.
    With her sister dead , Nannie settled into her house, set about perusing her ads again, and discovered the Diamond Circle Club. This singles club cost $15 a