Although she may have looked like a typical Italian housewife in this colorized photograph, Leonarda Cianciulli was anything but. Nicknamed the “Soap Killer”, Cianciulli gained a notorious reputation as a serial killer and cannibal.
Wikimedia Commons - Leonarda Cianciulli - Colorized
The embodiment of true evil, Leonarda Cianciulli murdered her victims and made soap and teacakes from their bodies. She believed that she was cursed and needed to conduct human sacrifices to ease the curse and protect her family.
A Disturbed Childhood
Leonarda with husband Raffaele Pansardi. Source: vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net-Colorized
Leonarda Cianciulli was conceived during her mother’s rape. To make matters worse, her mother was forced to marry her rapist. Cianciulli was born on April 18, 1894 and grew up in the most poverty stricken regions of Italy. When Cianciulli’s father died, her mother quickly remarried. Her new stepfather wasn’t any better than her real father. She was physically and emotionally abused by her stepfather and her mother. In desperation, she attempted suicide twice while still in her teens.
Cursed on her Wedding Day
Leonarda Cianciulli colorized with glasses. Source: Wikimedia Commons
Leonarda Cianciulli’s mother hoped to marry her off to a wealthy, prosperous man. Instead, in 1917, she eloped to a man that her parents disapproved of because he was much older than her and because he had a poor social status. Cianciulli’s life got worse after her marriage, and she believed that her mother had put a curse on her. She carried this belief with her throughout her life. Indeed, Cianciulli and her new husband experienced a series of setbacks. Their home was destroyed in an earthquake. Cianciulli was arrested and served time for fraud. And then there were problems with their children. Leonarda Cianciulli became pregnant seventeen times. Three of the pregnancies ended in miscarriage. Ten of her children died in infancy. Only four survived to adulthood. To keep her remaining children safe, Cianciulli relied on fortune tellers to predict their futures. When her oldest son became a member of the Italian Army, Cianciulli became convinced that the only way to keep her son safe was to engage in human sacrifice.
A Horrific Crime
Source: i.ytimg.com-Colorized
Finally, Leonarda Cianciulli achieved some financial stability when she opened a soap shop. But she still feared for her children. Frequent visits to a palm reader and fortune teller further convinced her that she needed to take drastic steps to keep her children safe. In 1939 and 1940, Cianciulli murdered three women by poisoning their drinks and then hacked them to pieces with an axe. What she did next was truly horrifying. Leonarda Cianciulli drained the blood from her victims and used it to make teacakes. She then boiled their flesh and used it to make soap. She gifted her friends and neighbors with the cakes and sold the soaps in her shop.
Arrested
Leonarda Cianciulli mugshot-Colorized. Source: Wikipedia
Leonarda Cianciulli was finally arrested for her crimes about five years later. During her trial, she gave graphic details of how she used her victims’ corpses, to the shock and horror of the public. She was sentenced to thirty years in jail and three years in a criminal insane asylum.
