Helene Auguste Geisen-Volk

Helene Auguste Geisen-Volk was an American serial killer, nurse and businesswoman who was convicted of murdering 53 babies in her care at her baby farm.

Biography

She was the operator of an infant farm in New York City at 235 East Eighty-sixth St from 1918 to 1925. She was the widow of a Prussian army officer and a former Red Cross nurse. In May 1925 an investigation by police was opened after multiple complaints from infants relatives, and one gentleman who said she had returned a baby that was not his. In early 1925, it's estimated that up to forty-four babies died while at Geisen-Volk's two "baby farms".[1][2] Up to twelve babies in one month were buried, most of which had died from malnutrition. During the investigation and autopsy, one infant was found to have a fractured skull. A nurse who worked with Geisen-Volk stated that one infant of 18 months was held by the heels and dashed against a wall. One woman purchased a baby from the infantorium for $100, and was paid $10 by Geisen-Volk to sign the birth certificate paperwork.[3] Mrs. Geisen-Volk was sentenced to three and a half to seven years in prison for baby substitution in which she pleaded guilty.

In total she was charged with the murder of fifty-three babies. The probation officer's report characterized her as "a woman without conscience who strangled and froze to death infants left in her care."[4] The judge described her as "cruel, bestial, and a revolting anomaly in humankind".[5]

References

  1. "Twelve Babies Die Strangely". Chronicling America. The Alaska Daily Empire. 13 May 1925. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  2. "44 Infants Died at "Baby Farms"". Chronicling America. Evening Star. 13 May 1925. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  3. "Evidence Grows in Baby Farm Case". Chronicling America. Evening Star. 16 May 1925. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  4. "Infant Farm Owner Guilty". Chronicling America. Americus times-recorder. 22 July 1925. Retrieved 2022-02-08.
  5. Terrible But True. Scholastic Inc. 25 October 2016. ISBN 9780545909730. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.