Giulia Tofana: A poison magician

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Giulia Tofana

Giulia Tofana is a man who is considered a hero even after committing hundreds of murders. Those who supported his actions have somehow accepted the facts of his involvement in the murder. Giulia Tofana was born in about 1820. He died in 1859. At least 600 people have died from the poison created by it. Giulia Tofana used to kill a certain class of people directly or indirectly by applying poison. He killed those who thought they had no right to survive.

Source: Wikimedia Commons
The poison he is known to be the maker of is the aqua toafana. Named after Giulia Tofana. And this poison was so terrible that even after autopsy, the presence of that poison was not detected. Giulia Tofana is thought to be one of the most feared female serial killers in history. However, not much is known about this killer in history. 

As far as is known, Tofana was born in 1820 in the city of Palermo in southern Italy. He is known to have a daughter, though nothing more is known about that girl. At that time application of various poisons and poisonous substances was very common. And there were many who took it as a profession.

Aqua Tofana:

The most widely used and popular toxins at the time were cantarella, strychnine, hemlock, belladonna, foxglove, aqua tofana, and arsenic. Giulia Tofana's marketing strategy was different. Tofana used to sell poison to a certain class of women. Those who were unhappy in life. At that time the marriage system was fixed in advance. And if someone was unhappy in married life or was physically or emotionally abused, there was no effective way to get a divorce. There were many women who wanted to get rid of their husbands.

Many women used to come to Tofana. And described various horrific atrocities, including poverty, that were inflicted on them at home. Tofana wanted to help them. And the family, including the husband, wanted to free them by becoming widows to protect them from such abuse. He started a business of cosmetics in the south of Italy. His most popular product was aqua tofana poison. Which she used to sell as powder make-up.

But in reality Aqua Tofana had no make-up ingredients. It was a mixture of arsenic, lead and belladonna. Separately, one of these three is a terrible poison. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. Aqua Tofana was such a terrible poison that 4 drops of it was enough to kill a man.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Tofana's plan was to create and market the poison so that even poor women could buy it. So that all classes of women can buy it. And it will be profitable for a business. Aqua Tofana was a colorless, tasteless, and odorless poison. Aqua tofana was sold in a small bottle. And the bottle had a picture of Saint Nicholas on it. This bottle could be decorated with other cosmetic items on the dressing table of many women. The design of the bottle was such that no one could doubt it.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

The way Giulia Tofana was caught:

Tofana's poison business was going well like this. But the problem was solved around 1850. A female customer of Tofana sat down with an accident. Her husband's relationship with that woman was not going well. One day the woman took a bottle of Aqua Tofana from Tofana. And mixed in the soup made for the husband. But at the last moment, the woman changed her mind and snatched the bowl of soup from her husband's hand.

The woman's husband became suspicious and began questioning her. At one point the woman tells all about Tofana and her poison. And later her husband informed the authorities about this news.
But the beautiful Tofana was very popular. He could not be arrested because of his popularity. Tofana then applied for asylum at a church, and the church granted his request. Meanwhile, a rumor spread that Tofana had mixed the poison of his made Aqua Tofana in the water of Rome and its environs. Following the rumors, police again moved and forcibly took Tofana from the church for questioning.
After police interrogation and various tortures, Tofana admitted that his poison had killed about 600 people in Rome alone between 1833 and 1851. In 1859, Tofana was convicted along with his daughter and three of their housemaids. That year, his daughter and helpers, including Tofana, were executed. Thus ends the story of a silent assassin named Giulia Tofana.


References:
·         http://ahistoryofmystery.com/crimes/giulia-tofana-medieval-serial-killer/