The Woman Who Murdered Babies for Money: The Story of Amelia Dyer

As well as relating the story, the authors explore the circumstances that enabled such crimes to be committed. Unregulated “adoption” was a widely acknowledged problem. The Child Protection Act did not yet exist. In Mrs. Dyer's case, though, such shameless profiteering did not, ultimately, go unpunished: the police finally located Mrs. Dyer, kept her under surveillance and then mounted a "sting" operation, using a young woman to pose as a potential customer. Amelia Dyer was arrested when she opened her front door to find two policemen on her doorstep. Finally confessing, she said, "You'll know all mine by the tape around their necks." She was hanged in 1896.