---
title: "Wife, Nurse, Mother, Murderer: The Crimes of Daisy de Melker"
description: "The shocking true story of Daisy de Melker, South Africa's first female serial killer, who poisoned two husbands and her own son for financial gain in the early 20th century."
url: https://casualcriminalist.pub/article/wife-nurse-mother-murderer-crimes-daisy-de-melker.md
canonical: https://casualcriminalist.pub/article/wife-nurse-mother-murderer-crimes-daisy-de-melker
datePublished: 2026-06-26
dateModified: 2026-06-26
author:
  - name: Dana Ortiz
    url: https://casualcriminalist.pub/author/dana-ortiz
publisher: Casual Criminalist
image: "https://media.casualcriminalist.pub/cdn-cgi/image/width=1600,height=900,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/JlOxjcw1O8s/hero.jpg"
type: Article
contentHash: e3590ee491709e193e14e3f04f46aca44522010a0c110af20e957ee26182c844
tokens: 44
summaryUrl: https://casualcriminalist.pub/article/wife-nurse-mother-murderer-crimes-daisy-de-melker.md.summary.md
---

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The shocking true story of Daisy de Melker, South Africa's first female serial killer, who poisoned two husbands and her own son for financial gain in the early 20th century.
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