The Smiling Grandmother: Twelve Deaths and a Smile

The Smiling Grandmother: Twelve Deaths and a Smile: The Serial Murder of Nannie Doss A 50-year-old woman enters the police station after being arrested for multiple murders. She does not resist, does not cry. She only asks to take her romance magazine, where she looks for new partners while confessing to having poisoned twelve people over 25 years without being caught. How did the most beloved neighbor in the neighborhood become a serial killer? In this episode, we explore the hidden life of a woman who used romantic ads to select marital victims, took out life insurance on each husband, and collected all the policies without exception, building a house with the money from her victims. We investigate the arsenic sufficient to kill five men, the first failed attempt that should have exposed her, and the selective confession that never explained why she killed babies of her own blood. Victim: Nannie Doss (Nancy Hazel) Date: 1905-1965 Location: Alabama, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Tulsa Status: Life imprisonment (leukemia in prison) - She poisoned at least twelve people over twenty-five years before being captured after the autopsy of Samuel Doss. - She took out life insurance on each husband and collected all the policies without exception, building a house with the money from her victims. - She survived her first poisoning attempt on Samuel Doss in 1953; she adjusted the dose and killed him a year later with a plum pie. - Psychiatrists declared her legally sane in 1955, but the judge commuted her death sentence arguing insanity because he did not want to execute a woman. Nannie Doss, Alabama, Oklahoma, serial murder, homicide, arsenic, poisoning, criminal minds, criminal investigation, true crime, murderers, forensics, mystery, Spanish true crimeIf you'd like to listen to this podcast ad-free and access premium episodes, we invite you to try our subscription with a 14-day free trial at obomedia.com.© 2026 Created with OBOMEDIA technology. All rights reserved. This episode and its content (audio, text, and associated materials) are the property of their respective creator and are distributed under the OBOMEDIA name on platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Pocket Casts. Reproduction, distribution, editing, or total or partial commercial use is prohibited without prior written authorization. For permissions, licenses, and commercial inquiries: [email protected]