Mary Cowan

Mary A. Cowan (née Knight; March 8, 1863 – September 17, 1898), known as The Borgia of Maine, was an American serial killer who poisoned two husbands and four children between 1884 and 1894, and attempted to murder a third husband. Convicted of killing her step-son Willis Cowan in September 1894, Cowan was sentenced to life imprisonment and sent off to the Maine State Prison, where she died a few years later from an unspecified illness. Biography Mary A. Knight was born as one of several children to Jonathan F. Knights, a veteran of the Civil War, and Apphia B. Knights (née Sidelinger). She lived on rural family home in Plymouth until the age of 20, when she married the young farmer Willis W. Bean of nearby Dixmont. The couple had three children: Gracie, Alice and Mabel. At some point during their marriage, Willis expressed a desire to become a physician, a decision encouraged by Mary, who wanted to dabble in it as well. However, the family was poor, and they also had to take care of their infants. In 1884, Gracie was found smothered to death by a neighbor at the family home. When he informed Mary of the matter, she carelessly replied that she was aware of the fact, and that the child had died about half an hour ago. No official investigation was made, but residents of Dixmont suspected that she had killed little Gracie to get rid of her. In the following two years, Alice and Mabel died from peculiar stomach aches, but yet again, no investigation was conducted, and the deaths soon forgotten after the burials at the Plymouth cemetery. Despite these tragedies, Willis still decided to pursue his medical career, enrolling into a dubious institute that sold diplomas for $25. However, this was considered fraudulent, and soon, a state law was passed which prohibited the selling of fake diplomas, right before Bean could acquire it. Unperturbed by this setback, both husband and wife were deadset on getting diplomas, choosing to travel to an out-of-state institution in Ohio to get them. Before their trip, Willis confided to his parents that he would invest money in a farm, in which he would live after returning to Maine. Said farm was purchased and the mortgage given to the elder Bean, but it was never recorded. After borrowing some $200, the couple traveled to Ohio to enroll into an institution.