The Giggling Granny

The Giggling Granny, the Lonely Hearts Killer, the Jolly Black Widow, and Lady Bluebeard are not names generally associated with a sweet, little old grandmother. However, Nancy (Nannie) Hazel Doss earned each and every moniker after her shocking confession in October 1954.

Nannie’s Early Life

Nannie Doss was born on November 4, 1905, in Blue Mountain (now a part of Anniston), AL to James and Louisa Hazel. She was one of five children, including one brother and three sisters. Nannie’s father was controlling and abusive and forced his children to stay home and work the farm rather than attending school.

When Nannie was seven, she and her family took a train to south Alabama to visit family. While on the trip, the train that her family was on stopped suddenly, causing Nannie to fall and strike her head. Afterward, she complained of terrible migraines and reportedly suffered from blackouts and bouts of depression. This injury would later be used as an explanation for Nannie’s future crimes.

As the Hazel daughters grew older, their father forbade the girls from doing anything to add to their appearances, such as wearing pretty clothes or makeup. They definitely weren’t allowed to be friends with boys, so the only romance in their lives, especially for Nannie, was reading romance magazines. Her favorite was the “lonely hearts club” section.

Nannie’s First Marriage

In 1921, Nannie began working in nearby Anniston, AL at the Linen Thread Company. It was here that she met Charles (Charley) Braggs when she was 16. She and Charley married after only five months of dating. Nannie moved in with Charley and his mother, who was very much like her father, manipulative and controlling. The couple, however, was quick to start a family, having four children one after another.

In 1927, it seemed like the Braggs’ happy marriage was falling apart. This was also the year that two of the four children mysteriously died just after eating breakfast. Their deaths were ruled to have been caused by food poisoning. Afterward, Charley left Nannie and their youngest daughter Florine to live with his mother, while he left with their oldest daughter, Melvina. After divorcing in 1928, Nannie moved back into her parents’ home with both of her daughters and began working at a local cotton mill. Charley Braggs was the only husband of Nannie’s not to die at her hand.

Round Two

Frank Harrelson of Jacksonville, AL met Nannie through, of all things, the “lonely hearts club” newspaper column. He wrote her poetry and she sent him her photo and risque letters. They married in 1929 and were together for 16 years. However, due to Frank’s alcoholism and violent temper, it was anything but a happy marriage. It is believed that Nannie’s unhappiness is what triggered her to kill her newborn granddaughter just after she was born by puncturing her brain with a hairpin. It is also believed that a few months later, she killed her two-year-old grandson, Robert, who died of asphyxia. After his death, Nannie collected a $500 life insurance policy that she had taken out on him.

One night, after Frank returned home drunk from partying with some friends who had just returned from the trenches of WWII, he raped Nannie. The next day, she flavored his beloved moonshine with rat poison. After his death on September 15th, 1945, it was determined that his cause of death was either due to food poisoning or some other ailment.

Husband #3

Officially widowed, Nannie found love once again in the “lonely hearts” column of the newspaper. This unfortunate soul was Arlie Lanning of Lexington, NC. They were married within two days of meeting and Nannie moved to Lexington. In the eyes of Arlie’s family and friends, she was the perfect wife however, after two and a half years of marriage, Arlie became ill and died. It was suspected to have been a heart attack brought on by the flu, coupled with his history of drinking.

Arlie’s home was left to his sister in his will, but after his death, it mysteriously burned down before the sister could claim it. Nannie temporarily lived with her mother-in-law, who coincidentally died in her sleep just as Nannie collected the insurance check for Arlie’s house and was preparing to move out.

Dovie, Nannie’s sister was in the final stages of cancer, so Nannie moved in with her to “care for her”. It’s no surprise that Dovie also passed away not long after Nannie moved in.

Husband #4

Nannie decided that since she had been unable to find her “soulmate” through the classifieds, that she would change up her tactic a bit. Nannie joined the Diamond Circle Club, a singles club. Here, she met husband #4, Richard Morton of Emporia, KS.

Nannie moved with Richard to Kansas after they married in 1952. Richard wasn’t a drinker, but unfortunately for him, he was a cheater. Nannie was initially unable to pay much attention to Richard’s indiscretions, as she was occupied with her mother.

Louisa Hazel had moved in with Nannie and Richard after Nannie’s father passed away in January 1953 and she had fallen and broken her hip. She only spent three days at the home when she began having severe stomach pains and died. Three months later, in May of 1953, Richard downed a thermos full of coffee that Nannie had mixed with arsenic and perished as well.

Her Final Victim

Nannie married Samuel Doss of Tulsa, OK in June of 1953. His previous family had been casualties of a fatal tornado that struck their home in Madison County, AL. He was also a Nazarene minister who didn’t drink or commit adultery and wasn’t violent or abusive. Nannie, however, still found enough wrong with him to plan his death. Samuel reportedly forbade television and magazines that were not deemed educational or inspirational in the home. This meant that Nannie could no longer fantasize while reading her romance novels. She left him for a short time until he agreed to place her name on the bank account and take out two life insurance policies on himself, with her as the beneficiary.

In the fall of 1953, Samuel was admitted to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. In truth, Nannie had laced a prune cake that she had made with poison, however obviously not enough. Samuel was treated and released on October 5, 1953. On October 12th, the impatient Nannie doused his coffee with arsenic, which did the job.

Nannie’s Confession

The doctor who had treated Samuel Doss while he was in the hospital had his suspicions about the man’s illness, but he had no proof. When he died just days after being released, he convinced Nannie into allowing him to complete an autopsy. He told her that by researching the illness that killed her husband, they could possibly save the lives of others.

During the autopsy, enough arsenic to kill a horse was discovered in Samuel’s system. Police were notified and Nannie was arrested.

Nannie confessed to the murders of four of her five husbands. She would not, however, admit that she played any part in the deaths of her other family members. The exhumation of several bodies confirmed that their cause of death was arsenic poisoning.

Nannie blamed her childhood head injury and her “search for the perfect mate, the real romance in life” for her awful crimes. Nonetheless, in 1954, she was found guilty of murder by the state of Oklahoma. She was also charged with murder by the states of North Carolina, Kansas, and Alabama, but she was never tried for those crimes.

Had Nannie been put to death by electric chair, she would have been the first woman in Oklahoma history to have been executed, but two years after her trial a judge declared her legally insane, saving her from the chair. She was sentenced to life in prison and died of leukemia on June 2, 1965, on the tenth anniversary of her incarceration.

The press dubbed her the “Giggling Granny” because of her demeanor during police interviews. She laughed and smiled every time she described the crimes that she committed.

Sources:

en.wikipedia.org

www.encyclopediaofalabama.org

allthatsinteresting.com

***Note: Story previously published on Medium by author***