Her life began in the countryside. A skill with poisons brought her to the heart of the empire. Jennifer Wright (@JenAshleyWright) on the world's (potential) first serial killer.https://t.co/Tn1B66oUIj
— CrimeReads (@CrimeReads) November 2, 2021
Some may consider Locusta of Gaul to be the world's first serial killer, but she was probably just the first one that was well-documented. She didn't kill for thrills, though. She was a professional. Locusta was born in the countryside where she learned the powers of plants for both healing and killing. Upon moving to Rome, she found out how many people wanted to kill each other, so she went into business providing poisons.
Locusta came to be so well-known that she was eventually arrested, but then was saved from punishment in 54 CE by Agrippina, who wanted to kill her husband, Claudius, and needed professional help. Then Agrippina's son, Nero, gave Locusta the title of Imperial Poisoner! Read how she carried out her most famous murders, and eventually paid for them, at CrimeReads. -via Damn Interesting
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