- (React) Let's talk about... murder. - Oh my god, wait! Stop!
- (React) Today, you're gonna react to the top five most deadly
female serial killers of all time. - Ooh, okay.
- Oh, [censored].
- (narrator) She remains as being one of America's
most infamous killers. - Oh!
- That's how she looks so snatched. - (React) Yeah.
- (narrator) The twisted tale of Belle Gunness.
- I rarely hear of female killers back then.
Pretty sure there was a lot. They were very oppressed.
- (narrator) Born on the 22nd of November, 1859
in the Norwegian village of Selbu, Belle settled in Chicago, Illinois.
- (React) So, she-- born in Norway.
- Okay. - (React) And then--
- Immigrated. - (React) Yup.
- I feel like these are never set in America.
- (narrator) Two of her children, Caroline and Axel, passed away
from acute colitis. - Common.
- (narrator) Both infants' deaths... - What is acute colitis?
- Sure. - (narrator) What slipped past
the coroner, however, was that... - That's convenient.
- (narrator) ...children were similar to that of a person
suffering from strychnine poisoning. - Oh!
- She killed her kids? - (narrator) Following this incident,
in 1901... - Uh-oh.
- (narrator) ...Mads suddenly died from apparent heart failure...
- (React) Her husband. - Okay.
- (narrator) ...on the day both of his life insurance policies overlapped.
- So, everyone closest to her is dying.
(bell tolls)
- (narrator) Belle met Peter Gunness, a widower with two daughters.
They married fairly quickly in April 1902.
And once again, misfortune struck. - "Misfortune" struck?
Or Belle bolted in? - (React) She rung the bell.
(bell ringing) - Belle rung his bell.
- (screams) - (narrator) Mere days
after their wedding, Peter Gunness's infant daughter
died at seven months old. - Oh my god. She did not wait.
- (narrator) Peter Gunness would become his wife's next victim.
A string of men took it upon themselves to visit
what would be known as the murder farm
from where they would never leave. - The murder farm!
- (narrator) She had killed about 42 people.
- 42!
- Why would you go visit what was known as the murder farm?
- (narrator) Despite so much information in this case,
the fate of Belle remains unknown. - She just disappeared?
- Well, she's dead now. So, we know that fate.
- (React) So, she was responsible for at least 40 murders.
Then with the help of her farmhand, who was also her accomplice,
she actually faked her own death and then basically disappeared.
- I like it. I like it. I mean, I don't like the killing part,
but that faking your own death thing? I'm just letting you know,
that's my out. (snaps) (bell tolls)
- (narrator) It was a case that almost defied belief.
Someone was killing elderly women
- Ooh. - (narrator) ... in Mexico,
strangling them with a stethoscope. - Stethoscope?
- With a stethoscope?! - (woman) This is
the very first time in Mexican history
that police named and profiled a serial killer.
- Ooh. - (woman) Nicknamed El Mataviejitas.
This means the little old lady killer.
- Oh, it's way better in Spanish. - Like, little old ladies?
- Oh, that's awful! - (woman) Grandmothers
are thought as grandmothers of the nation.
It is because they were elderly women that police deploy a whole task force.
- (reporter) The person the police caught
defied their profile of a serial killer.
Her name was Juana Barraza. - You know what?
I forgot for a second that it was a female killer.
And I was shocked for a second. - (woman) Juana Barraza
is a professional lucha libre wrestler.
- What? - Yo, she's a wrestler, dude?!
- (woman) First female serial killer of elderly women in Mexico City.
- Okay, wait, wait, wait. That's very specific.
That's very, very specific. The first female killer
of elderly women-- could stop there--
of Mexico Ci-- that's-- (laughs)
- (React) So, number four is Juana Barraza,
who is believed to be responsible for the deaths of roughly 42
to 48 elderly women. - Oh my god.
- (React) She was sentenced to 759 years in jail back in 2008.
- Good. Stay in there. - You wanna take on someone?
Take on someone your own size. That's what I always say.
- (React) Like Belle. - Like Belle. Yeah.
How about you and Belle... - (React) Yeah. (laughs)
- ...take it up in the ring with your little butterfly mask?
- (narrator) Ishikawa was born in 1897 in Kunitomi Miyazaki prefecture.
- Dead eyes. - Oh.
- (narrator) Unlike most serial killers,
there weren't many early signs
of murderous intent. - Oh my gosh.
- (narrator) Ishikawa primarily targeted infants.
The parents of many of the children... - Oh my god!
- (narrator) ...were poor and would be unable
to raise their children without any kind
of financial struggle. - The hell?
- No. - (narrator) Again,
the exact number of victims is unknown.
The police only managed to link her to 103 murders.
- Oh! Only 103! - (narrator) She and her husband
would take a great deal of money... - Ohhhh.
- (narrator) ...from parents, convincing them that the cost
for murdering their child would be less than actually raising
an unwanted infant. - Oh my god!
- (narrator) Ishikawa's crimes would be the catalyst
for the Japanese government... - I can't.
- (narrator) ...to consider legalizing abortion in Japan,
which it was in 1949, one year after Ishikawa's arrest.
- Kind of makes sense. - (narrator) Ishikawa's crimes also
established a national examination system for midwives.
In a dark, twisted way... - I can't.
- (narrator) ...Ishikawa is to thank for actually
progressing Japan further. ...that she has earned the name
the Demon Midwife. - (narrator) So, Miyuki Ishikawa
is believed to be responsible for between 103 and 169 infant deaths.
She was only sentenced to eight years for her crimes.
But with appeals, she apparently only served
half the sentence. - Oh my god.
- (React) Mm-hmm. - Why?!
- (narrator) 1800s, Victorian era in Britain.
A woman by the name... - Ooh, see, she looks tough too, man.
- Ooh, scary. - (narrator) ...one of the most
horrific killings in human history. Emilia was a trained nurse
and a midwife... - Another midwife. Interesting.
- (narrator) ...who used her house to provide shelter for women
who gave birth out of wedlock or illegitimately.
- I think I've heard of this. - (narrator) ...and changed her career
to a new one that was lucrative at the time.
It was called baby farming. - What? Whoa! Wha?
- (narrator) ...during the Victorian era in Britain.
The process involved taking custody of a baby in exchange for payment.
During these times, baby farmers killed babies
under their care for financial gains.
- It's called baby farming?! That is DISGUSTING!
- (narrator) On the third of April, 1896,
Dyer went to meet up with a new client.
Instead, she got arrested by the police.
She was taken to her home. Pieces of evidence were collected,
linking her to the murder of those babies.
- How many babies? - (narrator) She was found guilty
by the jury in a matter of minutes, despite her plea of insanity.
On June 10th, 1896, at about 9 AM,
she was hung at the gallows at Newgate Prison.
- Pfft! - (React) They'd bring the babies
to her, she'd take their money. And then, as opposed to raising them,
they would (clicks tongue). - Oh, so she was-- oh.
- (React) Current estimates have it at between 200 and 400,
but they had to drain the River Thames
to find the bodies. And they still believed
that she was responsible for even more.
- Oh my god.
- (Simon) She is one of the earliest serial killers in recorded history,
the original... - Oh, I think I know this person.
- (Simon) ...femme fatale. She stands out as a shocking lesson
in just how dangerous a sadistic, demented,
powerful woman can be. - That's 'cause she had
to wear that collar. - (Simon) Elizabeth Bathory.
She was born into one of the most prominent families
in central Europe. - So, she rich.
- Her outfits are amazing. - I mean, there's that color again.
You're wearing a plate, right? - (Simon) Elizabeth was,
in all practical terms, untouchable. She could torture and kill
to her heart's delight. Perhaps the most pervasive belief
is that she had blood drained from virgins and would
bathe in it in order to... - Wha?
- (Simon) ...preserve her youthful beauty.
- Gross! - (Simon) This story is almost
certainly untrue. - Thank goodness.
- I mean, every woman's taken a blood bath,
but it was an accident. You just didn't know
it was that time. - (React laughs)
- (wheezing laugh) - (Simon) At that time,
peasants were unable to bring charges against nobles.
Some parents even looked at the demented countess
as a source of ready revenue, selling their children to her
for a lump sum. - Why are so many people
just selling their children to murderers? Why is that a thing?
- (Simon) In the end, 306 people testified against Elizabeth,
even the members of her murder crew
turned against her... - My gooood.
- (Simon) ...incriminating themselves in the process.
- Her murder crew?! She had a posse?!
- (Simon) The total reported murder count
varied between 80 and 650. - Oh my god.
- Gah! What? That's a big variance.
- (React) So, Elizabeth Bathory holds the Guinness world record
for the most prolific female serial killer.
- Good for her. - (React) While her actual number
of victims is unknown, by some reports,
she's believed to have killed, like we said, up to 600,
maybe 650 people during her reign of terror.
- That is crazy. - When I think of serial killers,
it's never-- like, I think of Jeffrey Dahmer.
I think of Zodiac Killer. I never-- I can't even think
of a modern serial killer that was a woman.
- Shoutout to Shannan for wanting to hear
about the vagina murderers.
- Thanks for watching this very disturbing episode.
- What should we react to next? Let us know in the comments.
- Thanks for watching, guys. Bye! - Bye.
- Bye! - Bye!
- Serial killer men are like this...
- (React chuckles) - Serial killer women are like this...
(softly) Hey, come here. Hey, kid. Come here a second.