5. Leonarda Cianciulli, aka “The Soap-Maker of Correggio”
Born in the late 1800s, she is known to have murdered three women between 1939 and 1940, turning the bodies into pastries and soap, thus earning herself a spot in the ranking of the 10 most evil female serial killers of all time.
At age 21 Leonarda who ranks 5th on our list of the 9 most evil female serial killers of all time, married a man without her parent’s approval, for she was promised to somebody else. The couple moved away, eventually ending up in Correggio, where she opened a small shop and became known as a loving mother, caring neighbor, and all-around good person.
Having lost 13 out of 17 pregnancies and infants, and being a very superstitious woman, she consulted a fortune teller who told her all of her progeny would die, which caused her to develop an irrational fear and grow overprotective of her family. Upon finding out that her eldest and favorite son was to be shipped off to war, she concluded that such protection could not be achieved without sacrifice.
The first one to go was a lifelong spinster, who she promised to introduce to a fictional man residing in another town. She had her write letters to friends and family as well, saying everything was fine, but not mentioning where she was going. Before departure, she paid Leonarda a visit to thank her deeply, and pay her for her services, but she was drugged with corrupted wine and murdered with an ax. In her memories, Cianciulli vividly describes how she used the woman’s blood to make crunchy tea cakes, which she then dished out to the friendly neighbors, asserting that her eldest and she also had some.
The second and third cases were very much alike the first, only the lies differed. In the latter incident the woman was “heavier”, so once the meat had boiled, and the fat melted, Leonarda figured she’d add cologne and make some nice soap that she and her unsuspecting family would use for bathing and protection. This time, however, the number 5 in our list of the 9 most evil female serial killers of all time, was not so lucky, since the sister-in-law grew suspicious about the disappearance and alerted the authorities. She was soon discovered and arrested, and upon being charged, the soap-maker confessed to everything in a very detailed manner. She was imprisoned and died in 1970 of cerebral apoplexy.
