On July 3, 2008 in Goettingen, Germany a 69-year-old former prostitute, publicly known as Lydia L., was sentenced to life imprisonment for arranging the murders of four men she had seduced for the purpose of robbing them of assets or by benefitting from life insurance proceeds Lydia had operated an old-fashioned lonely hearts racket using “match” advertisements targeting elderly victims She employed a 53-year-old male accomplice, called Siggi S. He received a sentence of 12 years in prison for three murders and one manslaughter. The crimes occurred between 1994 and 2000. The pair first met in 1987.
Once drawn into her web of “love,” she victim would be murdered either through overdose of drugs, or by suffocating him using a plastic bag – in order to simulate a natural death. Another victim was burned to death in his own home. In one case, the murder duo arranged a fake robbery in order to created a cover story for a murder.
The court ruled that Siggi S., who later went to police on August 27, 2007 and confessed the killings in court, had been less guilty because he had been psychologically in her thrall, somewhat like a smart mother ordering round a weak-willed adult son.
Prosecutors believe that over a period of twenty years Lydia L. had murdered more than a dozen men during the course her career as a lonely hears scammer.
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The court ruled that Siggi S., who later went to police on August 27, 2007 and confessed the killings in court, had been less guilty because he had been psychologically in her thrall, somewhat like a smart mother ordering round a weak-willed adult son.
Prosecutors believe that over a period of twenty years Lydia L. had murdered more than a dozen men during the course her career as a lonely hears scammer.
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Partial list of victims:
1986 – Louis Geller, from Hessian Biebertal, died Jan. 5, 1986; earlist victim whose name is known.
Feb. 1991 - Paul Passon, 83; husband #3, murdered during a fake robbery; Bad Ems, 6 months following wedding
Circa 1992 – As with William S., master mason in the Sauerland. His children filed a lawsuit claiming their father was killed by Lydia.
Apr. 23, 1995 - Paul Graf, 81, burned to death after having been given drugs put into soup; Zweibrücken, body found in Volkerode in Thuringia
Jul. 13, 2000 - Gerhard Gauger, 71; drugged, then suffocated with plastic bag
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For links to other cases of woman who murdered 2 or more husbands (or paramours), see Black Widow Serial Killers.
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For more on the Heart Balm Racket, see: