Generally women are considered to be very kind and simple in nature, they cannot take the life of a human being. However, there are names of some women recorded in history who are still considered the most dangerous serial killers in the world. One such female serial killer is Daria Nikolaevna Saltykova, who killed more than a hundred people. It is said that Daria became a widow at an early age and only then did her evil deeds come to light to the world.
In fact, Saltykova, born in 1730, was the daughter-in-law of a wealthy Russian family. Her husband died after a few years of marriage. This was in 1755, when Saltykova was only 25 years old. After her husband’s death, she inherited a huge fortune and more than 600 servants, with whom she lived a life of luxury. It is said that with this immense wealth Nikolaevna Saltykova became the richest widow in Moscow at that time.
Before her husband’s death, she was considered a very religious and kind woman. But, after his death, a change took place in her due to which she crossed all limits of cruelty. It is believed that the reason behind this change was a love affair. It is said that Saltykova felt very lonely after her husband’s death. During that time, she met a man and later both of them fell in love.
Then one day Saltykova came to know that her lover was having an affair with another woman, whom he had secretly married. This made her so angry that she attacked him, injuring him badly. It is said that this is where Saltykova’s cruelty began. Then she started venting her anger on her maids. It is believed that Saltykova’s cruelty increased so much that she started misbehaving even with young girls and pregnant women.
She would beat them badly and break their bones. Or she would pour boiling water on them. If that didn’t satisfy her, she would just beat them. It is believed that he committed more than 100 murders in this manner. Because of his wealth, whenever his victims were mentioned in court, their stories were ignored. But, when families of several victims raised alarm, the matter came to the attention of Empress Catherine II of Russia, who ordered an investigation.
In 1762, Saltykova was arrested and convicted of the murder of 38 maids. Although the investigation confirmed 138 suspicious deaths, evidence was not found for all of them. Since there was no death penalty in Russia at the time, Saltykova was sentenced to life imprisonment. He was kept chained in a dark room without a single window. She remained in that room for about 11 years, after which she was moved to another place, where she died on December 27, 1801, at the age of 71.
