# S5 Ep42: Mary Ann Cotton: Britain’s First Serial Killer

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/crimes-of-the-centuries-1330689/s5-ep42-mary-ann-cotton-britain-s-first-serial-killer
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/crimes-of-the-centuries-1330689/s5-ep42-mary-ann-cotton-britain-s-first-serial-killer.md
Podcast: [Crimes of the Centuries](https://stenobird.com/podcast/crimes-of-the-centuries-1330689)
Published: 2026-01-19T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://audioboom.com/posts/8835813
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/clrtpod.com/m/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8835813.mp3?modified=1772687014&sid=5034723&source=rss
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Duration seconds: 2928

## Resource

In the industrial villages of 19th-century England, death was common—but not this common. Over two decades, Mary Ann Cotton married, buried, and moved on with chilling regularity as children, husbands, and relatives died from what doctors called “gastric fever.” Only when forensic chemistry advanced—and one parish officer heard her say too much—did her pattern come into focus.

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## Transcript

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