country death_place death_date birth_place cause penalty birth_date victims article_title name
united states old city jail , charleston , south carolina 18 february 1820 charleston , south carolina june 2015 execution death by hanging 1793 dave peeples -lrb- '' escaped '' -rrb- , unidentified other murder ross victims -lrb- '' escaped '' -rrb- , john lavinia fisher
 lavinia fisher
lavinia fisher

lavinia fisher -lrb- 1793 -- february 18 , 1820 -rrb- is reported by some legends to have been the first female serial killer in the united states of america .
her origins are unknown ; however , fisher resided in the united states for much of her life .
she was married to john fisher , and both were convicted of highway robbery -- a capital offense at the time -- not murder .
historians have begun to question the veracity of the traditional legend and some assert that lavinia fisher never killed anyone .
some , however , believe she would kill her victims by crushing their heads between her legs .
she was however an active member of a large gang of highwaymen who operated out of two houses in the backcountry near charleston , the five mile house and the six mile house .
it is not clear whether the six mile house was a hotel , but it did serve as a hideout for a number of outlaws .
it is often claimed that mary surratt was the first woman to be hanged in the united states , but lavinia was hanged 40 years earlier .
