The deadly angel makers of Nagyrév who mass murdered their husbands and poisoned 300 people
Madame Julius Fazekas was stewing arsenic fly-paper on the stove.
She stood stirring at the stove as the water simmered in the pot. Fazekas pulled at the threadbare shawl around her shoulders. It was cold and very late at night. But she was the only midwife and healing woman in the village. She was used to being woken up at night for help.
Behind her, Mrs. Takacs sat hunched on a stool, rocking silently with her arms wrapped around herself. Her husband had been drinking again and he had railed at her in a drunken rage in their home. She fled to Fazekas’ house when he started using his fists on her.
The water in the pot rose to a furious boil.
Fazekas removed the pot from the stove and skimmed off the top of the water. She turned around and placed a small vial of liquid onto the kitchen table. The candlelight flickered on Mrs. Takacs’ stony face. She stared unblinkingly at the corked bottle in front of her.
Fazekas turned away to attend to her stove. After a moment, there was a rustle of cloth and a light breeze. When Fazekas turned back to look, both Mrs. Takacs and the bottle were gone from the house.
“They died from poison and this was a…
