Nannie Doss, often portrayed as a sweet grandmother with a warm smile, harbored a dark secret that would shock her community and beyond. Over the years, her entire family seemed to fall victim to tragic and untimely deaths, raising eyebrows and sparking fierce investigations.
Eventually dubbed the “Giggling Granny,” Doss confessed to murdering 11 family members. Her case became a sensational story that captivated the nation, and today there is a renewed interest in her chilling crimes.
Doss was born in 1905 in Calhoun County, Alabama, into a troubled home under the strict control of her abusive father, Jim Hazle. He kept her and her sisters from school and social activities, insisting they dress conservatively and work the family farm. This oppressive upbringing, along with a head injury Doss suffered in her youth, contributed to her later erratic behavior.
Throughout her tumultuous life, Doss had five husbands, starting from the age of 16, as pushed by her father. Her first marriage was to Charley Braggs, and they had four daughters. However, tragedy struck when two of her daughters died under mysterious circumstances, making Braggs suspicious and ultimately leading to their divorce.
Doss continued to marry, but her partners often met untimely ends. Her second husband, Frank Harrelson, died after consuming rat poison, while her subsequent husbands also faced strange and fatal circumstances involving poison. Notably, her final husband, Samuel Doss, died just over a year after their wedding, with a significant amount of arsenic found in his system. This raised enough suspicion that investigation authorities had to get involved.
The 1954 murder of her last husband led to Doss’s arrest and her confession to the series of murders that supposedly spanned nearly three decades, claiming the lives of not only her husbands but also her children and relatives. Initially sentenced to death for her crimes, a judge later deemed her insane, leading to a commuted sentence.
Nannie Doss ultimately spent her remaining years in prison, passing away at the age of 59 due to leukemia, exactly a decade after her arrest. Her story serves as a stark reminder of the potential darkness that can lie hidden behind familiar faces.
