Anna Maria Zwanziger

Who was Anna Maria Zwanziger?

Anna Margaretha Zwanziger was a Bavarian serial killer. She used arsenic, which she referred to as "her truest friend".

From 1801 until 1811, Zwanziger was employed as a housekeeper at the home of several judges in Bavaria. She would poison her employers with arsenic, and then nurse them back to health to gain their favour. She poisoned three people, and attempted to poison several others She killed four people, one of whom was a baby. Four others survived.

Zwanziger was judged guilty of murder and sentenced to death. Before she was beheaded, she said it was probably a good thing she was to be executed, as she did not think she would be able to stop.