This Russian noble, who’s full name is Darya Nikolayevna Saltykov, was a sadist and serial killer, infamous for torturing and murdering over 100 women in the 17th century.

She became a widow at 30 and inherited a huge estate. She then started inviting women of all ages to stay and visit, then they’d never leave. She was very careful and covert, but after a decade, people got suspicious. They petitioned the Empress to investigate, and after 6 years, they found her guilty of 138 deaths.

At the time, however, the death penalty had been non-existent for a decade, and the Empress knew that if she were to execute or punish the Saltychikha, she’d lose the support of the other nobles in Russia. So, she was clapped in irons, put on display in the town square, then ‘kept safely’ in the basement of a convent aka humanely imprisoned.