Perhaps the most interesting and gruesome killer I have ever stumbled upon in my searches of the interweb is Leonarda Cianciulli (1894-1970) - the soap maker of Correggio. Was she born evil? Was she just the product of her environment? What happened to make her a killer?

Leonarda was born out of wedlock in Avellino, Italy, in 1894 as a child of rape. If this wasn’t bad enough, her mother detested her as she reminded her mother of the event. There were at least two events in adolescence where Leonarda attempted to leave this world, though both ultimately failed.

As a young adult, she eloped with Raffaele Pansardi and a hope to find love and happiness. Yet, she was followed only by despair. Her family did not approve of the match and her home was destroyed in the 1930 Irpinia earthquake. Afterwards, they moved to Correggio, Italy.

Following Leonarda and Raffaele’s move to Correggio, they opened a shop where she dedicated her life to helping others. Here, she sold cakes, herbal remedies, soaps, and perfumes. During this time, it was said that she dabbled in the occult and was quickly selling these services as well

Even though all appeared to be getting better for Leonarda, she could not get past her hard times. She had numerous miscarriages and infant deaths. Of her pregnancies (which numbered into the teens), only four of her children survived and she dedicated her life to them. The deaths of her children fueled her fears and made her protective of her four remaining children.

It was this fear that pushed her to kill. Leonarda learned in 1939 that her son, Giuseppe, was going to join the army and she rushed to find ways to protect him. Of course, Leonarda felt that the only way to assure his safety was through human sacrifice.

With this, she began her killing spree, murdering three women in total – Faustina Setti, Francesca Soavi, and Virginia Cacioppo. The number is not the shocking part of her crimes, rather, what she did with them. She turned the body fat of the murdered women into fragrant, delightful soaps and their blood was mixed into her pastries - all of which were sold in her shop and tested by none other than herself.

Thankfully, she was arrested for the last murder. Virginia Cacioppo’s family grew suspicious and reported their fears to the police. As she was last seen going into Leonarda’s home, police started there. In true serial killer fashion, she denied all wrong doing until they became suspicious of her son. In another attempt to save him, she confessed and all the nauseating details surfaced. She was not put to death for her crimes though she did remain imprisoned until cerebral apoplexy killed her in 1970.

As with most serial killers, the world was enthralled by her twisted murders even after her death. I kept this article short and as light as possible but the gruesome details can be found easily on the internet. The Criminological Museum in Rome has official statements from the woman herself and even has the pot she used to boil her victims on display for those who are curious.