10 Medicines That Made Things Worse

“Medicine” is defined as “the science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease.” But what is it called when intended “medicines” accidentally end up causing disease and detracting from your overall state of well-being? Ironically, “poison” perhaps. Let’s look at 10 such documented examples in human medical history.

10

Paraffin Wax

Today, doctors use Botox and collagen to rejuvenate faces. They also use silicone inserts to enhance breast size. But the history of wrinkle reduction and breast implants actually starts much earlier than people realize. The first recorded attempts at wrinkle removal and artificial breast enhancement were carried out prior to the 1900s. The procedure involved injecting paraffin wax directly into the wrinkled area to smooth it out, or directly into the breast to increase its volume. But the practice quickly fell out of favor for good reason. Harsh infections were a common side effect of this primitive technique. It also caused the formation of hard, painful lumps known as paraffinomas. So in an effort to enhance the woman’s breasts, the procedure actually left them hard, misshaped, and more unattractive.

9

LSD and Ecstasy

Psychedelics like lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and MDMA (ecstasy) have a complicated history of being used as potential treatments for mental illness that dates back to the early 20th century. Researchers studied LSD therapy in the 1950s and 1960s. They published numerous clinical papers and tested more than 40,000 patients. The problem they found, with using psychedelics to treat mental health problems, is their potential to actually cause psychiatric disorders. LSD can trigger panic attacks or feelings of extreme anxiety, colloquially referred to as a “bad trip”. Therefore, people with such conditions as schizophrenia and depression can actually worsen with LSD. There are also cases of LSD inducing a psychosis in people who appeared to be healthy before taking LSD. In most cases, the psychosis-like reaction is of short duration, but in other cases it was chronic. The psychiatric drugs can in fact trigger latent mental conditions that would not have manifested otherwise. Not surprisingly, the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 prohibited the drug’s medical use.

8

Radium Water

In case you needed a reminder that really bad ideas for cures don’t have to come from thousands of years ago, let me remind you of radium water(radioactive water). Advertisements that touted preparing radioactive drinking water at home were common promotions for radiation therapy around 1913. Maybe the reason this bad idea didn’t show up until the 20th century was because we didn’t know about radioactivity until then. But once we discovered it, we sure did move fast. The makers of a whole variety of radioactive cures insisted that the high-energy water could cure everything from arthritis to high blood pressure to acne. Unfortunately, side effects like cancer, loss of hair and teeth, decaying bones, and fatigue, (all the symptoms of radiation poisoning) also went hand in hand with this “miracle cure.” Luckily, radium is now understood to be a serious health hazard.

7

Goat Testicles

In the early 1900s, John Brinkley became one of the richest doctors in America, despite having no medical qualifications. He claimed he could cure impotence, infertility, and other sexual problems by surgically implanting goat testicles into a man’s scrotum. The surgery had no scientific merit and was extremely dangerous. Perhaps the craziest part is how he convinced so many patients to go along with it, and pay handsomely as well. In 1913, at his newly opened 16-room clinic, Brinkley began to perform countless operations he claimed would restore male virility and fertility through implanting the testicular glands of goats in his male patients at a cost of $750 per operation ($8,600 in current value). Not surprisingly, the ill-conceived procedure actually caused impotence and hormonal problems. Dozens of patients died and many others suffered horrible infections.

6

Arsenic

Arsenic may be a well-known poison, but for centuries it was used as a medicine. In traditional Chinese medicine, arsenic is known as Pi Shuang. Arsenic was also a key ingredient in many patent medicines, including Fowler’s Solution, a purported cure for malaria and syphilis in use from the late 18th century until the 1950s. Another arsenic-containing patent medicine, Donovan’s Solution, was used to treat arthritis and diabetes. Victorian women also used arsenic as a cosmetic. The problem with all these treatments was of course, the arsenic poisoning. Arsenic can kill humans quickly if consumed in large amounts. Small but long-term exposure can lead to a much slower death or other illness. For example, studies have linked prolonged arsenic exposure to cancer, diabetes and liver disease.

“Medicine” is defined as “the science and art dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention, alleviation, or cure of disease.” But what is it called when intended “medicines” accidentally end up causing disease and detracting from your overall state of well-being? Ironically, “poison” perhaps. Let’s look at 10 such documented examples in human medical history.

5

Animal Dung

In ancient Egypt, the contraceptive of choice was crocodile dung. Dried dung was inserted into the vagina, the idea being that it would soften as it reached body temperature to form an impenetrable barrier. There are countless other examples throughout history of dung being used for medicinal purposes. In addition to the Egyptians, certain African cultures used elephant dung as a contraceptive, apparently following the crocodile dung theme. In 17th-century England, doctors advised chicken dung as a cure for baldness. In India, cosmetics and potions laced with cow dung have been as cures for everything from cancer to acne. A make-it-yourself remedy to ease a sore throat once included the ingredient graecum (which is dried dog dung), as written in the book “The Popularization of Medicine, 1650-1850.” The problem with using dung as a medicine is its tendency to harbor bacteria, which in turn actually causes a large variety of diseases. In fact, contamination of water with fecal matter in developing countries causes an estimated 1.8 million deaths per year.

4

Mercury

Famed cure for syphilis, indigestion, old age and almost everything else,mercury was once the most popular medicinal metal. Maybe it was the hypnotic allure of the flowing silver-colored liquid that made it such a hot commodity; the metal found its way into the bloodstreams of some very important people, including Abraham Lincoln, whose fits of rage may have resulted from the mercury in a then-popular blue pill, and the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, who likely died from the mercury-laden pills that he thought would grant him immortality. Once you’ve got mercury in your bloodstream, good luck getting rid of it. The neurotoxic element accumulates over multiple doses. At its worst, mercury poisoning can cause paralysis, insanity, loss of motor control, ulcerations, neurological damage, and death. So in other words, the exact opposite of anti-aging medicine, as it was once considered.

3

Tapeworms

During the 19th Century dieting became big business. Advertising was becoming more and more sophisticated, with more and more diet products being peddled. Not for the squeamish, in the early 1900s the tapeworm diet started to be advertised. Dieters would swallow beef tapeworm cysts, usually in the form of a pill. The theory was that the tapeworms would reach maturity in the intestines and absorb food. This could cause weight loss, along with diarrhea and vomiting. Once a person reached their desired weight they then took an anti-parasitic pill which, they hoped, would kill off the tapeworms. The dieter would then have to excrete the tapeworm, which could cause abdominal and rectal complications. It was risky in many ways. Not only can a tapeworm grow up to 30 feet (9m) in length, they can also cause many illnesses including headaches, eye problems, meningitis, epilepsy and dementia (not the side effects you’re looking for when simply trying to slim down).

2

Virgin Cleansing

The troubling myth that someone infected with an STD can transfer the disease by having sex with a virgin, thus curing themselves, dates back to at least the 16th Century, when the practice was first documented in relation to syphilis and gonorrhea in Europe. The myth continues in some parts of Africa. Needless to say, this treatment accomplishes the exact opposite of its intended purpose. Having intentionally unprotected intercourse will spread STD’s at an alarming rate, not cure them, as the myth would suggest.

1

Mummy Powder

Across medieval Europe and the Middle East, corpses were ground into powder and used as medicine. This “mummy powder” was thought to cure many common ailments, such as headaches, coughs, and stomach ulcers. Ironically, it was also used as an antidote for poisoning. 17th-century French surgeon Ambrose Pere helped drive a stake through the heart of the mummy powder craze when he wrote that “not only does this wretched drug do no good, but it causes great pain to the stomach, gives foul-smelling breath, and brings on serious vomiting.” Not to mention the potential diseases that may be lurking in an ancient mummified corpse.

Bonus: Perhaps nothing was wackier than Sir Kenelm Digby’s “Powder of Sympathy.” The powder was intended as a treatment for a very specific injury: sword wounds. It was made of earthworms, pigs’ brains, iron oxide (rust), and bits of mummified corpses, ground into a powder. But here’s the catch, the powder was applied not to the wound itself but to the offending weapon. Digby thought that the strange concoction would somehow encourage the wound itself to heal via a process called “sympathetic magic.”

10 Awesome Groups Of Germans Who Resisted The Nazis

The common belief is that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis ruled Germany with an iron fist, crushing any rebellion or dissent with swift fury. However, there were a number of groups active in Germany that were trying to take down the Nazis. These groups were collectively known simply as “Widerstand” (“Resistance”).

10The Edelweiss Pirates

Another group of ex-Hitler Youth, the Edelweiss Pirates began organizing right before the outbreak of World War II. Mostly comprised of teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, they had no central leader and were only loosely affiliated with the groups in other cities—sometimes, the only common factor was the Edelweiss flower badge which they all wore. As the war dragged on, the Edelweiss Pirates performed increasingly dangerous tasks, including sabotage against German railways and aiding Jews fleeing from the Nazis. German reprisals were varied, depending on the severity of the crime, but many were sent to camps or prisons, with some even being executed. When the war ended, many of them disbanded, but a few continued, turning their attentions to the Allied troops who now occupied Germany.

9The Swing Kids

Mainly based in the city of Hamburg, the Swing Kids began as a counterculture group to Nazism. They were youth who enjoyed American swing music, something the Nazis detested. Though not very political at the beginning, the Swing Kids were said to have begun spreading the truth heard from the Allies to German citizens. (However, most of their protests seemed to be in the form of petty crime or vandalism.) In addition, many of the group members began to non-violently protest other aspects of Nazi rule, with some even going on to join other more political groups like the White Rose. After 1941, the Nazis began to crack down on the swing clubs, sending many of the children to concentration camps.

8Johann George Elser

Normally a footnote in the history of Hitler and Nazism, Johann George Elser was one of many men who tried to assassinate Hitler. However, Elser is part of a select group of people who tried to do it alone. Every year, the Nazis would meet at the Beer Hall Putsch, to commemorate the failed overthrow of the German government that landed a younger Hitler in jail. Elser knew this and used it to his advantage. Ten months before Hitler was going to give his annual speech on November 8, 1939, Elser began scouting out the area. For months, Elser worked, hollowing out a stone pillar behind where Hitler would stand, so a bomb could be placed inside of it. He created a timer that would last for 144 hours and set it for 9:20 PM on November 8, right in the middle of Hitler’s speech. Unfortunately, Hitler changed his plans at the last minute because of weather problems and ended 30 minutes early, escaping unharmed. Elser was arrested and imprisoned until April 1945, when he was executed.

7The European Union

Not to be confused with the collection of European countries today, the original European Union was a group of anti-fascist Germans who despised Nazism and what it had done to their country. Founded in Berlin in 1939, the group began under the leadership of Robert Havemann, a chemist, and Georg Groscurth, a doctor. The European Union produced many leaflets during the war, as well as providing aid and information to Allied Forces and those hunted by the Nazis. However, they never actively tried to take down the government because they felt it would collapse on its own. What they wanted to do was create a unified, socialist Europe. Paul Hatschek, one of the leading members, was captured by the Gestapo in 1943 and ratted out nearly every person in the group, with at least 15 of them being killed.

6The White Rose

Only operating for a short time between June 1942 and February 1943, the White Rose was a non-violent group, mostly made up of intellectuals, who distributed pamphlets and used graffiti to try and sway public opinionagainst the Nazis. The group was led by a group of 20-year-olds who had become disillusioned with what Hitler had turned Germany into. (Many of the leaders were ex-Hitler Youth.) The White Rose became quite popular, especially among college students, and various offshoots popped up in different towns. Three of the founders, Hans and Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, were eventually betrayed to the Nazis by a janitor at their university and executed on February 22, 1943. Afterward, the White Rose movement fell apart, though almost no one else was caught.

The common belief is that Adolf Hitler and the Nazis ruled Germany with an iron fist, crushing any rebellion or dissent with swift fury. However, there were a number of groups active in Germany that were trying to take down the Nazis. These groups were collectively known simply as “Widerstand” (“Resistance”).

10The Edelweiss Pirates

Another group of ex-Hitler Youth, the Edelweiss Pirates began organizing right before the outbreak of World War II. Mostly comprised of teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, they had no central leader and were only loosely affiliated with the groups in other cities—sometimes, the only common factor was the Edelweiss flower badge which they all wore. As the war dragged on, the Edelweiss Pirates performed increasingly dangerous tasks, including sabotage against German railways and aiding Jews fleeing from the Nazis. German reprisals were varied, depending on the severity of the crime, but many were sent to camps or prisons, with some even being executed. When the war ended, many of them disbanded, but a few continued, turning their attentions to the Allied troops who now occupied Germany.

9The Swing Kids

Mainly based in the city of Hamburg, the Swing Kids began as a counterculture group to Nazism. They were youth who enjoyed American swing music, something the Nazis detested. Though not very political at the beginning, the Swing Kids were said to have begun spreading the truth heard from the Allies to German citizens. (However, most of their protests seemed to be in the form of petty crime or vandalism.) In addition, many of the group members began to non-violently protest other aspects of Nazi rule, with some even going on to join other more political groups like the White Rose. After 1941, the Nazis began to crack down on the swing clubs, sending many of the children to concentration camps.

8Johann George Elser

Normally a footnote in the history of Hitler and Nazism, Johann George Elser was one of many men who tried to assassinate Hitler. However, Elser is part of a select group of people who tried to do it alone. Every year, the Nazis would meet at the Beer Hall Putsch, to commemorate the failed overthrow of the German government that landed a younger Hitler in jail. Elser knew this and used it to his advantage. Ten months before Hitler was going to give his annual speech on November 8, 1939, Elser began scouting out the area. For months, Elser worked, hollowing out a stone pillar behind where Hitler would stand, so a bomb could be placed inside of it. He created a timer that would last for 144 hours and set it for 9:20 PM on November 8, right in the middle of Hitler’s speech. Unfortunately, Hitler changed his plans at the last minute because of weather problems and ended 30 minutes early, escaping unharmed. Elser was arrested and imprisoned until April 1945, when he was executed.

7The European Union

Not to be confused with the collection of European countries today, the original European Union was a group of anti-fascist Germans who despised Nazism and what it had done to their country. Founded in Berlin in 1939, the group began under the leadership of Robert Havemann, a chemist, and Georg Groscurth, a doctor. The European Union produced many leaflets during the war, as well as providing aid and information to Allied Forces and those hunted by the Nazis. However, they never actively tried to take down the government because they felt it would collapse on its own. What they wanted to do was create a unified, socialist Europe. Paul Hatschek, one of the leading members, was captured by the Gestapo in 1943 and ratted out nearly every person in the group, with at least 15 of them being killed.

6The White Rose

Only operating for a short time between June 1942 and February 1943, the White Rose was a non-violent group, mostly made up of intellectuals, who distributed pamphlets and used graffiti to try and sway public opinionagainst the Nazis. The group was led by a group of 20-year-olds who had become disillusioned with what Hitler had turned Germany into. (Many of the leaders were ex-Hitler Youth.) The White Rose became quite popular, especially among college students, and various offshoots popped up in different towns. Three of the founders, Hans and Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst, were eventually betrayed to the Nazis by a janitor at their university and executed on February 22, 1943. Afterward, the White Rose movement fell apart, though almost no one else was caught.

5The Solf Circle

The least successful of all the groups on this list, the Solf Circle was an informal group of intellectuals who were against Nazism. Established by Johanna Solf, the widow of a German ambassador, the group would routinely meet to discuss their plans to aid the Jews (Solf and her daughter helped hide a number of Jews and assisted their escape from the country). On September 10, 1943 at a birthday party for Elisabeth von Thadden (a famous Protestant headmistress at a nearby school), a secret Gestapo agent was unknowingly invited by one of the members and he reported their actions. Nearly everyone was rounded up, arrested, tried, and executed.

4The Catholic Church

For starters, we’re not talking about Pope Pius XII, whose track record isspotty and controversial. Rather, we’re talking about certain Catholic priests in Germany, who vociferously fought against, among other things, the T4 program (the so-called “euthanasia program”). Aided by the fact that nearly half of all Germans were Catholic, the Church was able to effectively convince Hitler to abandon the project because he feared having to fight them while he was fighting a war on two fronts.

3The Rosenstrasse Protest

A singular event, perpetrated because of the deportation of thousands of Jewish men who were married to non-Jewish women, the Rosenstrasse protest was one of the largest public displays against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. For over a week in early 1943, the women peacefully marched in protest against their husbands’ deportation. Seemingly faced with death each night at the hands of the guards they marched in front of, they persisted, until Hitler released the prisoners, even those already sent to Auschwitz. (This was more out of concern for the secrecy of his “Final Solution” than anything else though.) Because no one was punished, and almost all of the men survived the war, this incident provides one of the greatest “What if?” questions about the whole war: What if the rest of Germany had stood up to Hitler?

2Kreisau Circle

Established and led by Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, Peter Graf Yorck von Wartenburg, and Adam von Trott zu Solz, the Kreisau Circle was stationed at Moltke’s estate. Said to be one of the main centers of the German resistance movement, their goal was to figure out how to establish a peaceful, Christian Germany, after the war was lost. (For them, it was difficult to reconcile their hatred toward Hitler and the Nazis and their patriotic love for Germany.) The group was known for spreading information to the Allies, as well as other resistance groups within Germany. Later in the war, some of the members were involved in a failed assassination of Adolf Hitler (the one portrayed in the movie Valkyrie) and many of the Kreisau Circle were arrested and executed, even those who had no part in the coup attempt.

1Red Orchestra

This name applies to both Soviet and German espionage programs and the specific German one we’re discussing is the Schulze-Boysen/Harnack group, which was created in 1936. Named after Harro Schulze-Boysen (the Luftwaffe staff officer who founded it) and his friends, one of their goals was to gather intelligence for the Allies and help those hunted by the Nazis to get to freedom. However, their primary goal was to incite civil disobedience by distributing a number of leaflets, as well as causing the Nazis grief through the specter of subversion groups. In 1942, after Gestapo agents intercepted some of their radio transmissions, nearly all of the members of the group were arrested and executed.

10 Monstrous Killer Babysitters

Parents are always terrified for their children’s safety, but the longer you’re a parent, the more grounded you become about how real the dangers out there are. Leaving the child for the first time is a big thing for new parents, but eventually it just becomes normal. Still, good parents will always make sure that the child isn’t being left in the care of some complete stranger. But the following stories prove that nannies, friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, and even family are capable of doing unspeakable things to those in their care. The details of some of these murders are highly disturbing, so read at your own risk.

10Yoselyn Ortega

Yoselyn Ortega, 50, was hired by the Krim family to look after their three children. Their mother, Marina Krim, returned home after taking her three-year-old son to a swimming lesson, to find the bodies of her other two children in a bath filled with bloody water. Six-year-old Lucia and one-year-old Leo, had been stabbed to death by Ortega. As soon as Marina entered the room Ortega slit her own wrists and began stabbing herself so violently that she pushed the kitchen knife she was using out the other side of her neck. Ortega and the children were taken to hospital, where she was stabilized and they were pronounced dead. Their father, Kevin, was returning from a business trip and was met by police at JFK Airport.

There is no clear motive for the killings, other than the stress Ortega was under trying to move her son from the Dominican Republic to the US, and her anger at failing to get a pay raise. She has not given a confession.

Marina and Kevin are currently expecting a baby boy.

9David McGreavy

Now nicknamed “The Monster of Worcester,” David McGreavy was a young man staying with a family in Worcester, England in 1973. One day in April, he was asked to take care of the family’s three young children. Instead he gruesomely murdered them before carrying the bodies outside to the garden railing, where they were impaled and put on display.

He was arrested that same day and sentenced to life in prison. In a controversial 2009 ruling, he was granted anonymity, when his lawyers argued that it was his human right to have his identity kept a secret. McGreavy had already been assaulted by other prisoners twice, and lawyers argued that identifying him would result in further attacks. The anonymity order was lifted this year, although McGreavy may be allowed to change his name in the future. He has unsuccessfully applied for parole eight times so far and will plead again later this year.

8Agnes Wong

In 2007, Agnes Wong was hired to look after 16-month-old Hugo Wang for a while. On January 25, Hugo was taken to a children’s hospital in Manchester after incurring serious head trauma due to being swung around by his ankles. Wong had been abusing the child for the past few weeks, and by this point he was covered in bite marks, bruises, and burns, and had been severely beaten. Wong claimed she only disciplined the child when he was being naughty and that he got the burn marks from messing around with a hairdryer. Hugo died on January 26, and Wong was charged with his murder a few days later.

Wong was sentenced to five years in jail for the crime, but in a highly controversial decision, she only served two years, after which she was paid £4,500 (about $7,000) to go back to Malaysia. The logic behind this method of dealing with criminals is to save taxpayer money by getting the criminal out of the country and out of the system. The money given to the criminal is a sort of bribe to get them to waive their human rights, so they don’t try to appeal deportation and stay in Britain.

7Karl McCluney

Karl McCluney was 15 years old when he was asked to look after two-year-old Demi Leigh Mahon for an hour and a half while her mother ran some errands, including buying a birthday card for Karl. After going to the park, the kids returned to Demi’s home, where Karl beat Demi, bit her, and shaved her head. When her mother returned, Karl was watching TV, while Demi was barely alive and was rushed to hospital. Karl denied any wrongdoing, saying she had sustained her 69 injuries by falling in the park. The toddler was severely brain-damaged and was taken off life support two days later. Karl eventually confessed to his psychiatrist, who said the boy had a low IQ and came from a broken home. Karl claimed that nobody can punish him as much as he will himself, but he was still given 15 years for his crime, having been tried as a minor. The only apparent motive for this brutal infanticide is that Demi was annoying him.

6Marquita Burch

In May 2012, when William Cunningham was just one year old, he was being looked after for a few weeks by Marquita Burch, a friend of his mother. On Friday the 25th, Burch told police that the toddler had wandered off while they were in a park that night. While police, firefighters, and neighbors searched for over five hours, Burch’s story started to unravel. She eventually confessed that the toddler was dead, hidden in the closet at her cousin’s house. Burch claims she wasn’t responsible for his death and that she just found him at the bottom of the stairs on May 23, having given him ibuprofen before putting him to bed the previous night. Upon finding him (still alive), instead of taking him to a hospital, she panicked, put him in a garbage bag, and stashed it. According to the coroner’s report, by the time police found the child, he had been dead for at least 48 hours, having suffered an intracranial hemorrhage. Burch originally pleaded not guilty, but then changed her plea and was found guilty of endangering a child, involuntary manslaughter, and abusing a corpse. She was sentenced to 19.5 years in prison.

5Frederick Mitchell

In March of this year, Frederick Mitchell, a 21-year-old man from Cincinnati, was babysitting six-month-old Elliot Magrditchian, the son of one of Mitchell’s housemates. At some point during the day, Mitchell threw him into a wall for reasons unknown. Elliot was taken to hospital, where he died a few days later. Mitchell’s mother, Angela, claims he suffers from blackouts and stresses that she firmly believes the tragedy was just an accident. Mitchell was initially charged with felonious assault and had his bond set at $1 million, but after the coroner ruled Elliot’s death a homicide, the charges were increased to felonious assault and two counts of murder, for which Mitchell could spend life in prison. He’s currently awaiting trial in the Hamilton County Justice Center.

4Gabriela Gonzales

Twenty-five-year-old Gabriela Gonzales was smuggled illegally into the US and forced into prostitution six years ago. She managed to leave that life behind and moved in with a number of people in Richmond, Virginia. In October 2011, one of the women she lived with went to Maryland in search of work, and Gonzales was left in charge of her two-year-old daughter, Kiery Nicole. Unfortunately, Kiery was suffering from a bad rash, and Gonzales couldn’t get her to stop crying. Her frustration with the toddler grew until she snapped. Gonzales violently shook the two-year-old, and beat her head against either a bath or a toilet. The autopsy revealed both brain and spinal cord hemorrhages, as well as a severely fractured skull. Kiery was placed on life support, but died after three days.

Gonzales claimed that Kiery was injured after she fell while jumping on the bed, and even attempted to convince the police that she had accidentally strangled herself. Even during her hearing, she is said to have shown no remorse. Gonzales was given the maximum sentence of 20 years and is no longer allowed to see her own child. Kiery’s obituary can be found and signedhere.

3Michael Plumadore

Aliahna Lemmon and her two sisters were being looked after by their neighbor, Plumadore, as their mother was sick, and their father worked nights. On Friday, December 23, 2011, Aliahna went missing. Plumadore told police that he had just assumed she had left his trailer and gone back to her own. Christmas came and went without any sign of the missing girl. Then, the following Thursday, the FBI became involved in the case, and Plumadore admitted that he had beaten her on his front steps with a brick before working through the night with a hacksaw to dismember her body. He then separated the pieces, freezing her head, hands and feet for unknown reasons, and disposing of the rest of the body in a dumpster.

Plumadore never provided a motive for the killing, which is especially odd considering the other two girls were left unharmed. He was originally facing the death sentence for the crime, but upon pleading guilty, this was changed to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

2William Howard Lail

William Howard Lail is being charged with one count of murder and two counts of child abuse after his girlfriend left her two children in his care. On a Saturday night, a panicked Lail ran out of the house looking for help, ran back in, and reemerged with 20-month-old Jaydon’s body. Jaydon was dead, but paramedics came for his three-year-old sister, Kylie, who was with another neighbor by that point. This neighbor noticed that not only did Kylie have fresh marks from being scalded on her head, shoulders, and legs, she also had ones that were obviously there from a while back. She was taken to hospital and treated, while Lail was arrested.

The arrest warrant for Lail states that he had intentionally scalded Jaydon from the waist down, and when CPR was attempted on the night, a large amount of water came out of the child. Although bail has been set at $100,000 for the charges of child abuse against Lail, the charge of murder means he can’t get out. He is currently being held in Catawba County jail, and was told while appearing in court that he faces either the death penalty or life imprisonment.

1Elzbieta Plackowska

On October 30, 2012, Elzbieta Plackowska was looking after her friends’ five-year-old daughter, Olivia, along with her own seven-year-old, Justin. That night, she stabbed her son 100 times, and Olivia 50 times, killing both of them.

After being arrested, Plackowska repeatedly changed her story. At first, she adamantly denied having murdered the children, saying somebody had broken in and killed them while she was out for a smoke. Soon after, sheadmitted to killing them because she thought they were possessed by the devil. Later, “the devil” was replaced by “the evil of society.” She also claimed to have heard voices in her head and tried to use her father’s recent passing as an excuse for her instability.

Finally, she admitted to murdering Justin in order to get revenge on her husband and to killing Olivia because she had witnessed the first murder. Artur Plackowski was a truck driver, and consequently spent a lot of time away from home. Elzbieta said he took her for granted and ruined their marriage. Artur claims that this was not the case and that things were fine at home. The petty motive, the multiple confessions, and the fact that she apparently only murdered Olivia because she witnessed the other murder, even though she could have carried out the murder anywhere other than Olivia’s house, all make it hard to know what to believe. In spite of her many confessions, Elzbieta pleaded not guilty in November last year and is undergoing psychiatric evaluation to determine if she can be deemed fit to stand trial.