Elizabeth Bathory

On August 21, 1614, Elizabeth Báthory, the world's most prolific female serial killer, died at the age of 54. From the article:

"Elizabeth Bathory Biography
(1560–1614)
May 21, 2020
Hungarian countess Elizabeth Bathory is thought to have murdered hundreds of young women in the early 17th century.
Who Was Elizabeth Bathory?
Countess Elizabeth Bathory, or Erzsébet Báthory, was a wealthy and powerful Hungarian noblewoman whose relations included an uncle who was king of Poland and a nephew who was prince of Transylvania. In 1610 she was accused of gruesome acts of serial murder and confined to her home of Castle Čachtice, where she remained until her death. Bathory is reputed to have killed at least six hundred victims, earning her a Guinness World Record for most prolific female murderer. Her actions resulted in a nickname of the "Blood Countess" and may have been a source of inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula. However, it's possible Bathory was not guilty of all the crimes that have been laid at her feet.

Early Life and Marriage
Bathory was born in Nyírbátor, Hungary, on August 7, 1560.

At the age of 11, Bathory, who was considered a beautiful and well-educated girl, became engaged to Count Ferenc Nadasdy. Some accounts of her life include her giving birth to an illegitimate child, fathered by another man, before her marriage.

A 15-year-old Bathory married Nadasdy on May 8, 1575. The couple's first child was born 10 years later, in 1585. Bathory gave birth to five children. Two died as infants, but two daughters and a son survived.

As her husband was a soldier who was often off fighting Ottoman Turks, the couple spent most of their marriage apart. However, he may have schooled her in techniques of torture when they were together. After Nadasdy died in January 1604, Bathory took control of her extensive estates.

Crimes
Bathory was accused of a haunting litany of crimes against both female servants and minor noblewomen who'd come to her for training and education. Most of her alleged assaults and murders took place after she was widowed in 1604.

Some of Bathory's victims were covered with honey and left outside for insects to devour. During colder parts of the year young women might be stripped naked and forced into deadly ice baths. Bathory sometimes tortured girls by driving needles into their fingers, cutting their noses or lips or whipping them with stinging nettles. She would bite shoulders and breasts, as well as burning the flesh, including the genitals, of some victims. The intimate nature of Bathory's attacks suggests a sexual motivation, though it's impossible to know with certainty what compelled her to act.

Depictions of Bathory often mention her bathing in the blood of virgin victims in an attempt to recapture her lost youth. However, this depraved action isn't backed up by contemporaneous witness accounts (which otherwise didn't shy away from gore). The first mention of Bathory's blood baths came 100 years after her death and thus seems to be an invention.

Capture
On December 29, 1610, Count György Thurzó, who oversaw judicial matters as the lord palatine of Hungary, arrived at Bathory's Castle Čachtice to investigate the countess' alleged crimes against women of noble birth (any mistreatment of servants was not a concern to authorities). He reportedly surprised Bathory in the middle of tormenting a victim and in response immediately imprisoned her in her home (her high status meant she would not be jailed as a common criminal)."