Episode 561: “Jolly Jane” Toppan: Angel of Mercy (Part 2)

Jane Toppan built a successful nursing career through manipulation and charm

Jane Toppan, a medically trained nurse with a history of employment at hospitals such as Mass General and Cambridge Hospital, secured her positions in the medical field and maintained a veneer of success through her ability to manipulate and charm influential individuals.

Toppan leveraged recommendations from respected physicians to secure employment at hospitals and as a private nurse, despite suspicions surrounding her patients' unexpected deaths

Despite rising suspicions surrounding the unexpected deaths of her patients, Toppan continued to find work in the nursing profession. Her career was bolstered by letters of recommendation from well-respected physicians and surgeons, which allowed her to secure employment both at prominent hospitals and in private nursing roles.

Toppan carefully cultivated an image of competence and innocence to avoid detection

Jane Toppan's ability to avoid arrest for a considerable amount of time stemmed from the image she cultivated of herself – an image marked by competence and innocence.

Toppan was able to evade suspicion for years by ingratiating herself with influential people and presenting a fa ...

Jane Toppan, once a trusted nurse, committed a series of chillingly remorseless murders among patients, family members, and acquaintances, revealing a deeply disturbed and dangerous individual.

Toppan systematically killed numerous patients, family members, and acquaintances

Jane Toppan's murderous endeavors spanned a wide range of victims, including her own sister, whom she killed and delighted in the act. The charges against Toppan included the deaths of three of the four members of the Davis family, whom she killed with lethal doses of morphine and other poisons. Toppan also displayed a bizarre and ongoing interest in her sister's husband even after her sister's death, showing a chilling lack of remorse for her actions.

Toppan murdered her own sister and several members of the Davis family, displaying a chilling lack of remorse

Jane Toppan killed the Davis family helper, elderly couples, her landlords, a friend, and countless patients, often with a grin and tender caresses as her victims succumbed to her poisoning. She returned to a Cape Cod cottage, owned by Alden and Mary Davis, where she had previously killed her sister. Despite her debt, Alden and Mary Davis continued to invite Jane back to their cottage each year. Jane's murderous spree saw the demise of Mary Davis, who vainly attempted to collect a debt from Toppan, and later, Alden Davis, who died after consuming water Jane gave him. After the death of Alden Davis, Jane entered a frenzy, convincing another member of the Davis family, Minnie, to drink poisoned cocoa wine and administering an additional dose of morphine to ensure her death. Disturbingly, while Minnie’s son Jesse laid in bed with Jane upstairs, his mother was dying downstairs.

Toppan killed an elderly couple, her landlords, a friend, and countless other victims, often in gruesome ways

Ash Kelley expresses shock over Jane Toppan's actions, noting that a chain of mysterious deaths followed her wherever she went. Toppan's motives included eliminating obstacles to her desires, and she admitted to killing three women who stood in her way. At one point, she considered killing George Nichols and his sister but was interrupted by the arrival of the police. Alaina Urquhart explains that Toppan had a pattern of viewing certain individuals as hurdles to her goals, leading to her attempts to "demolish" entire families, including the Bannisters and ...

The case of Jane Toppan, a nurse involved in several suspicious deaths, unfolded into an investigation that led to her being tried and found not guilty by reason of insanity, resulting in her life commitment to a mental institution.

Suspicions about Toppan's involvement in the deaths of the Davis family led to a police investigation

Captain Paul Gibbs, interacting with Jane Toppan and observing the sudden and mysterious deaths surrounding her, harbored suspicions about her involvement in the deaths of the Davis family.

Captain Paul Gibbs and a fellow passenger, Ira Cushing, grew increasingly suspicious and pushed for exhumations and autopsies

Convinced that the deaths were not from natural causes, especially after he had seen the day before her death that Minnie Davis hardly seemed ill enough to die the next day, Captain Paul Gibbs observed Jane Toppan acting secretively and giving injections to Minnie Davis. Following Minnie's death and Toppan's strong objection to an autopsy, suspicions further deepened. When Alden Davis died shortly after appearing healthy during a train trip, Ira Cushing and Gibbs, leveraging their contacts, initiated the plan for the exhumation and autopsy of the Davis family members.

Investigators were able to gather evidence of Toppan's use of poisons to murder her victims

Evidence supporting the idea of poisoning mounted as the details of Toppan’s interactions with Mary Davis suggested potential foul play. Toppan administered injections of varying doses of atropine and morphine to Mary, manipulating her fragile state, which was indicative of intentional poisoning.

Toppan's trial resulted in a "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict

As Jane Toppan's trial commenced, she faced serious allegations backed by her own confession and the evaluations of a panel of alienists.

The prosecution presented Toppan's confession and the findings ...

Jane Toppan, after a careful examination by a panel of alienists, was found to be suffering from severe mental disturbances that warranted her confinement to a mental institution due to the threat she posed to society.

Toppan was found to be severely mentally disturbed, with a "degenerate type of insanity"

Toppan's behaviors, which included constant lying and making outrageous claims, led a panel of doctors to determine she had homicidal mania and that she was insane. The alienists recognized that Toppan had exercised "a cool judgment, sagacious and sound," in the commission of the murders, but that she was "insane and irresponsible" while committing the homicides. They diagnosed her condition as "constitutional," meaning she would never recover, and she would be a "constant menace to the community" if released.

Toppan's mental and physical health deteriorated during her confinement

Two years after her arrest, reports indicated that Jane Toppan had become emaciated and had lost the high spirits she previously exhibited. It was speculated that she might not live very long. Initially hopeful for release, Toppan became defiant and uncooperative upon realizing her confinement would be extended indefinitely. She reverted to pettiness and spiteful gossip, devel ...