CONTENT NOTE: This article discusses poisoning, healthcare-associated homicide, and historical psychiatric testimony.
Historical cases require historical context.
A Turn-of-the-Century Healthcare Killer
Jane Toppan was a nurse in Massachusetts who confessed to poisoning multiple patients and acquaintances around the turn of the twentieth century.
Insanity Verdict
Toppan was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state psychiatric institution.
Why This Case Matters
Her case is one of the earliest prominent American examples of healthcare-associated serial homicide and illustrates how historical medical and legal standards differed sharply from modern practice.
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