Vera Renczi – Beauty is a Beast

Welcome to my parlour said the spider to the fly. Indeed. Although Vera Renczi was a stunningly beautiful woman (according to the standards of the time, I guess), she was also one of the most prolific female serial  killers in history, driven by a pathological need for devotion from men. I had included what I believed to be the image of Vera Renczi in this blog however this picture proved to be false. The picture has been presented as Vera Renczi on many, many internet postings (goes to show how reliable the internet can be). I have been dutifully informed by several readers that this is not her. if someone has a link to the real Vera Renczi (please stand up, please stand up), I would be much obliged.

In the meantime I have been warned by WordPress that if I don`t remove the image they will shut down my blog, calling it a DMCA Takedown Notice (whatever DMCA stands for).  A Gregor McKenzie of Highland Marketing, Perthshire, United Kingdom, lodged this complaint, stating it infringed upon his copyright. Considering how homely the picture is I wouldn`t have said that one out loud.

Renczi was a prize, even for serial killers. (watch video at 7:26). She was like a black widow except she didn’t marry most of her lovers. She wed exactly two men, to be precise especially since most of them were already married. She lured men into her life with her beauty and wealth. She controlled her environment very strictly, including the men themselves. Yet, in spite of her assets and adoring league of men, Renczi wasn’t a happy woman. In fact, she was pathologically jealous. Born in 1903 in Bucharest, Romania into wealth and privilege, by the age of 15 she was a “wild child” and engaged in numerous affairs, many of which involved men who were significantly older than she.  She became increasingly unmanageable by her parents and ran away from home with numerous boyfriends. This kid apparently, was a prototype for Madonna. Early childhood friends described Renczi as having a pathological desire for constant male companionship and possessing a highly jealous and suspicious nature.

Vera’s first marriage was to a wealthy business man. She chose him very carefully, as she did all of her victims. She was pregnant with her son, Lorenzo, at the time. Spending time alone with her son led to conjuring up scenarios which involved her husband cheating. She put an end to his imagined infidelity by spiking his wine and food with arsenic (nasty way to shuffle off your mortal coil). Arsenic is a “popular method” for poisoning one’s victim. It has been used throughout the centuries and is, in fact, still used today. Vera, kind-hearted lady that she was, only informed her lovers that she’d murdered them at the end of their intense suffering at her hands. Jealous and vindictive. Not a good combination. After observing the socially correct period of mourning she remarried.

In a matter of months Vera  claimed her second husband abandoned her. After two failed marriages, Vera made the decision not to remarry. However it did not stop her from taking lovers from all social classes: rich or poor, married or not, (although usually they were married), it did not matter to Vera. Here’s the odd thing. If Vera had even the slightest hint of infidelity (even hints she imagined), the men disappeared mere days after becoming involved with her, including the married ones. How can a married man be unfaithful to his clandestine lover? Only Vera could figure that one out. If the missing men were connected to her she would simply say that they had either been unfaithful or had abandoned her. watch intimacy and abuse

watch animotion obsession  Vera’s downfall came at the hands of the wife of one of her lovers. The woman became suspicious about her husband. She followed him one evening to Vera’s residence. When her husband failed to return home the woman returned to Vera’s residence, who denied she knew the woman’s husband. The woman went to the police. During a search of Vera’s house the police entered her wine cellar and stepped into a scene from the macabre. The cellar contained thirty-five zinc lined coffins which held male corpses in various stages of decomposition. I suspect the stiffs were her trophies. Over time the bodies mummified and the disgusting stench disappeared. At least she was organized in her necrophilic hoarding.

Vera was eventually arrested and taken to police headquarters at which time she confessed to killing each of the men. If she suspected that they were being unfaithful or if their attraction to her was waning, the men were quickly dispatched with a dose of arsenic. Vera confessed to killing her two husbands and her son, Lorenzo. There was no love lost between mother and son. One day while visiting his mother Lorenzo happened upon her secret in the basement and attempted to blackmail her, sealing his fate. Truly Lorenzo was cut from the same cloth as his mama. Soon Lorenzo joined the 34 men that had preceded him. Vera Renczi was convicted on thirty-five counts of murder and spent the rest of her life in prison. watch animation obsession Renczi has been posthumously analyzed by criminologists. The only theory that has been coined about Vera is that she was desperately seeking (not Susan) love. I never saw love expressed quite in that manner.