The Savage Seamstress - Cincinnati's Gruesome Serial Killer

The Gruesome Murders by Cincinnati's "Savage Seamstress"

Cincinnati, Ohio has seen its fair share of gruesome murders over the years. But few have captured the public's attention quite like the savage crimes of serial killer Lizzie Halliday, better known as the "Savage Seamstress."

The Murder Spree Begins

Lizzie Halliday, born Eliza Margaret McNally, was an Irish immigrant who moved to Cincinnati in 1854. By all accounts, she was an excellent seamstress and dressmaker, catering to the wealthy women of Cincinnati high society. However, behind the facade was a deeply disturbed woman with a horrific capacity for violence.

In the late 1800s, Cincinnati police discovered the body of Lizzie's first husband, George Halliday, dead from repeated axe blows to the head. Lizzie claimed it was a burglary gone wrong, but many suspected she was the true killer. With no evidence to convict her, she walked free.

A Trail of Victims

After George's death, Lizzie continued working as a seamstress. She also went through a succession of lovers, five of whom ended up dead at her hands. Her preferred murder weapon was an axe, leading the press to dub her crimes as the work of the "Savage Seamstress."

In 1897, Lizzie was arrested after neighbors reported a foul stench coming from her home. Police found the body of her sister Annie McNally hacked to pieces and left to rot. Alongside Annie was the corpse of a local peddler who had disappeared days earlier after last being seen entering Lizzie’s home.

The Trial of the Savage Seamstress

Lizzie Halliday's macabre murder spree had finally caught up to her. At trial, investigators tied her to the deaths of up to 20 people, including multiple former husbands and lovers. The prosecution dubbed her a “human monster” with an insatiable taste for blood.

Yet despite the overwhelming evidence of her guilt, Lizzie pled innocence. She claimed police coerced her confession and that she was being victimized for her immigrant status. But the jury saw through her lies. After just 90 minutes of deliberation, they returned with a unanimous guilty verdict.

The Grisly Aftermath

In June 1897, the court sentenced Lizzie Halliday to death by hanging. But they would be denied their justice. On the eve of her execution, Lizzie used a handmade knife to slit her own throat in her cell. Ever defiant, her last act deprived the state of her death.

Today, the Savage Seamstress is remembered as one of early America’s most disturbing and deadly serial killers. While her crimes are now relegated to history books, her bloody legacy still lingers in Cincinnati, where some claim her troubled ghost still haunts the city streets she once prowled for victims.

FAQs

Who was the "Savage Seamstress"?

The "Savage Seamstress" was the nickname given to Lizzie Halliday, an Irish immigrant seamstress living in Cincinnati, Ohio in the late 1800s. She murdered at least 5 people with an axe, including her husbands and lovers, earning her the gruesome nickname.

Why did she kill her victims?

While her motives were never fully understood, it's believed Lizzie Halliday suffered from severe mental illness which drove her to commit violence. She may have also killed for money and possessions from her dead husbands and lovers.

How was she caught?

In 1897, neighbors reported a horrible smell coming from Lizzie's home. Police found the dismembered body of her sister and a missing peddler. This evidence finally tied Lizzie to the string of mysterious deaths around her.

What happened to the Savage Seamstress?

Lizzie Halliday was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. But on the night before her execution, she slit her own throat with a handmade knife, cheating the state of her execution.