13-year-old Ida Schnell worked as a nursemaid in Munich, Germany. She was under the service of several families. She was described as being big for her age, dull and sulky. She didn't stay very long at each home. No one suspected the young teen of the deaths of their children until after the funeral of the 6th infant that died in her care. Each one had died sudden and mysterious deaths within six months and all under her care.
It was decided that they would exhume the body of the last victim, a 14-day-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Bichler of Ampermoching. The investigation revealed that the baby had been killed. The death was caused by a perforation of the child's soft skull with a sharp instrument. This was when it was confirmed that Ida had killed infants in her care. They tried exhuming two other victim's but they were too decomposed to tell the cause of death.
She was quickly questioned about Bichler's sons death. At first, she denied and said that his wound was from a fall. She would soon confess though. She stated that she hated hearing the baby cry and that she stuck her hairpin into his head until he stopped crying.
She would then go on and confess to doing it to the other babies that died under her care. She said that she had gotten into the habit of stabbing them in the back of the head with her hairpin until they stopped crying. She hated hearing them cry and wanted it to stop.
I could not find what had happened to the case and if Ida had served anytime in jail or an asylum.
SOURCES:
The Bundaberg Mail and Burnett Advertiser (19 Oct. 1907)
The Baltimore Sun (03 Nov. 1907)
Buffalo Evening News (04 Nov. 1907)
Buffalo Evening News (18 Nov. 1907)
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