Jane Toppan: The Poisoning Nurse Known as "Jolly Jane"
Early Life
Jane Toppan was an American nurse and serial poisoner who murdered patients, employers, friends, relatives, and members of families who trusted her with their care. Born Honora Kelley in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 31, 1854, she experienced an unstable and impoverished childhood. Her mother died when Honora was young, and her father, Peter Kelley, was reportedly an abusive alcoholic whose increasingly erratic behavior made him unable to care for his children.
In 1860, Honora and her sister Delia were placed in the Boston Female Asylum. In November 1862, Honora was sent to work as an indentured servant in the Lowell, Massachusetts, home of Ann Toppan. Although she was never formally adopted, she began using the Toppan surname and eventually called herself Jane. She remained connected to the family after completing her period of service and developed a particularly important relationship with the family's biological daughter, Elizabeth Toppan Brigham.
Nursing Career and Drug Experiments
In 1885, Toppan entered nursing training at Cambridge Hospital. She appeared cheerful, capable, and attentive, leading coworkers and patients to nickname her "Jolly Jane." Behind that pleasant public image, however, she secretly experimented on vulnerable patients with medications. She altered dosages, falsified medical records, and watched the effects of drugs on people who had no idea they were being used as test subjects.
Toppan primarily used morphine and atropine. Morphine could suppress breathing and cause unconsciousness, while atropine could produce confusion, agitation, an abnormal heartbeat, and other serious symptoms. By administering the drugs in varying quantities, she could make a patient improve temporarily, relapse, or die after what appeared to be a natural deterioration. Some accounts also connect her crimes to strychnine and other poisons.
Her conduct eventually caused concern. She was recommended for work at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1889 but was dismissed the following year. She later returned to Cambridge Hospital and was again discharged after allegations that she had administered opiates improperly. Despite these warning signs, she obtained work as a private-duty nurse. This gave her unsupervised access to patients' homes, food, medicine, and personal property.
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