8 Culinary Creations Crafted by Infamous Poisoners

Throughout history, while many poisoners have laced beverages with lethal substances, others have taken a more culinary approach, preparing deadly dishes. Their nurturing facade, often accompanied by an array of homemade casseroles and desserts, may have effectively masked their sinister intentions.

1. NANNIE DOSS’S APPLE AND PRUNE PIE

Nannie Doss (1905–1965), responsible for poisoning up to 12 relatives, reportedly used rat poison in her prune cake and apple-prune pie. She soaked the fruit in poison overnight and topped the freshly baked crust with sugar, likely masking the toxic flavor.

2. ANJETTE LYLES’S BANANA PUDDING

Anjette Donovan Lyles (1925–1977) ran a successful luncheonette in Macon, Georgia, famous for its Southern comfort food and desserts, including her banana pudding with vanilla wafers (a recipe for which can be found here, along with some of her other well-loved dishes). She frequently left the restaurant to care for two husbands, a mother-in-law, and a daughter, all of whom she poisoned with rat poison—though the exact dishes she used remain unclear.

3. BLANCHE TAYLOR-MOORE’S PEANUT BUTTER MILKSHAKE

Blanche Taylor-Moore (1933-) poisoned at least three individuals over time by repeatedly feeding them arsenic-contaminated meals. She further sabotaged their recovery by bringing poisoned, easy-to-digest foods like banana pudding to their hospital beds. Her second husband, Reverend Dwight Moore, particularly enjoyed her milkshakes made with vanilla ice cream, milk, and peanut butter. Despite having 100 times the normal arsenic levels in his body, he survived.

4. LYDA SOUTHARD’S APPLE PIE

She sprinkled it with cinnamon, a dash of nutmeg too And sugared it with arsenic, a tasty devil's brew. That famous apple pie, which ne'er forgot will be, And for Lyda Southard's apple pie, men lay them down to die. —Idaho folk song

Lyda Trueblood Southard (1892-1958) and her family relocated from Missouri around 1907 after seeing a photograph of a man holding a cantaloupe-sized apple grown near Twin Falls, Idaho. She used these apples in her pies, along with arsenic extracted from boiled flypaper, allegedly poisoning four husbands, a daughter, and a brother-in-law [PDF]. Despite maintaining her innocence, it is rumored that her body showed signs of prolonged arsenic exposure, including complete hair loss.

5. LYDIA SHERMAN’S CLAM CHOWDER

Lydia Sherman (1824-1878) used milk, oatmeal, and New England clam chowder to poison three husbands and eight children. The traditional Civil War recipe includes salt pork, potatoes, shucked clams or quahogs, and generous amounts of milk and cream. Lydia, however, added arsenic to hers, amassing $20,000 in real estate and $10,000 in cash after one husband's death. For her next husband, she simplified the process by lacing his brandy with arsenic.

6. DEBORA GREEN'S HAM AND BEANS

When Debora Green's (1951-) marriage fell apart in 1995, her husband began experiencing unexplained nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Initially attributing it to a bug from a trip to Peru, suspicions arose after a fire destroyed their home, killing two of their children. Investigators discovered Green had burned down the house in a fit of rage and had been poisoning her husband by adding crushed castor beans to his chicken-salad sandwiches and ham and beans. While castor oil is a laxative, crushed castor beans produce ricin, a deadly toxin.

7. LOCUSTA'S MUSHROOMS

The Roman emperor Claudius (10 BCE-54 CE) had a fondness for mushrooms, which the infamous poisoner Locusta allegedly exploited to assassinate him. Acting on Agrippina the Younger's orders, Claudius's fourth wife, Locusta reportedly added death cap mushroom juice (Amanita phalloides, also known as "the destroying angel") to his favorite dish of Amanita caesarea mushrooms. Historians debate the specifics, with some accounts suggesting a poisoned feather or enema was also used. Regardless, Claudius's death would have been agonizingly slow.

8. CAROLINE GRILLS’S TEA CAKES

Caroline Grills (1888–1960) was a skilled baker who often brought homemade cakes and cookies to tea gatherings with relatives. Tragically, Grills spiked her treats and tea with thallium, a common rat poison, potentially killing four family members. Symptoms of thallium poisoning include fever, delirium, convulsions, and eventual blindness, leading to death.

Despite suspicions of murder, Grills's baked goods were so irresistible that people continued to eat them. One relative, offered candied ginger, couldn't resist and suffered neck and chest pain along with numb toes. Grills was arrested, charged with four murders and one attempted murder, but only convicted on one count. Her case was part of a wave of thallium poisonings in post-war Australia, involving dozens of cases, multiple trials, and 10 deaths.