Daisy Lousia C. De Melker a South African woman married men so she can kill them for financial gain. She was a nurse during her earthly days, which shows how she was able to lay her hands on the substance (poison) used to murder her victims.

Daisy was born on 1st June 1886 in Graham town in the Eastern Cape. She got married to her first husband William Alfred Cowley, a plumber in 1920 and murdered him by poisoning him with strychnine on 11 January 1923 in Bertrams.

On 11 January 1923 William became very ill, the first doctor did not consider it serious and when the second doctor arrived he was foaming at the mouth and in extreme pain. Willam passed away. The second doctor would not sign the death certificate as he had suspected strychnine poison. Daisy inherited £1795 from the death of her husband.

Daisy got married to her second husband who happened to also be a plumber. Robert Sprout was 46 years old. He became ill at one point and recovered then it happened again on a second occasion, this time Robert passed away. There was no autopsy done and the cause of death was noted as arteriosclerosis and cerebral hemorrhage, complications from strychnine. Daisy inherited over £4000, plus a further £560 from his pension fund.

Daisy traveled from Germiston to Turffontein to buy arsenic In February 1932, which she said was to kill a sick cat. Just a week later her son Rhodes became ill. He died on the Saturday and cause of death was noted as cerebral malaria. He was buried at New Brixton cemetery the following day. The motive for the murder of her son was never clear. It was suspected that he may have been pestering her with his father’s inheritance since he was approaching the age of 21.

This last murder made people suspicious and eventually, her dead husband's brother contacted the authorities. On15 April 1932 a court order was granted to have all three bodies exhumed. After investigations, Daisy De Melker was arrested a week later. Her trial lasted 30 days, she later confessed to the killing of her two husbands because of Insurance funds.

The Crown brought forward 60 witnesses. When it was time for the judge to sentence Daisy, he condemned her to death by hanging. She died at Pretoria Central prison.

De Melker was hanged on 30 December 1932. She was the second person to die by hanging in South Africa.


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