Linda Burfield Hazzard
Encyclopedia
Linda Hazzard was a fiery orator
and doctor
, who was implicitly killing her patients by exhausting diets.
Although she had been convicted of at least one murder, she continued to "heal" her patients.
Scientists currently believe that during her lifetime, particularly her active years, Hazzard suffered from a mental or emotional illness that has yet to be officially labeled or defined.
to earn a medical degree as a "fasting
specialist". Fasting had heretofore been considered a quack
medical cure, popular with "health faddists" of the time. In 1908 she published a book, Fasting For The Cure Of Disease, promoting fasting as a cure for virtually every ailment, including cancer
.
She created a "sanitarium", Wilderness Heights, in Olalla, Washington
, where inpatients fasted for days, weeks or months, on a diet of small amounts of tomato and asparagus juice and occasionally, a small teaspoon of orange juice. While some patients survived and publicly sang her praises, more than 40 patients died under her care, most from starvation. Local residents referred to the place as "Starvation Heights". She assured people that her method was a panacea
for all manner of ills, because she was able to rid the body of toxins that caused imbalances in the body.
In 1912 she was convicted of manslaughter
for the death of Claire Williamson, a wealthy British woman, who weighed less than 50 pounds at the time of her death. At the trial it was proved that Hazzard had forged Williamson's will and stolen most of her valuables. Williamson's sister, Dorothea, also took the treatment, and only survived because a family friend showed up in time to remove her from the compound. She was too weak to leave on her own, weighing less than 60 pounds. She later testified against Hazzard at trial.
Hazzard was sentenced to 2 to 20 years in prison, which she served in the Washington State Penitentiary
at Walla Walla
. She was released on parole on December 26, 1915 after serving two years, and the following year Governor Ernest Lister
gave her a full pardon. She and her husband, Samuel Christman Hazzard, moved to New Zealand, where she practiced as a dietitian and osteopath until 1920.
In 1920 she returned to Olalla, Washington
and opened a new sanitarium, known publicly as a "school of health" since her medical license had been revoked, and continued to starve patients until it burned to the ground in 1935; it was never rebuilt.
Linda Burfield Hazzard died in 1938 while attempting a fasting cure on herself.
February 1- Saw Dr. Hazzard and began treatment this date. No breakfast. Mashed soup dinner. Mashed soup supper.
February 5 through 7- One orange breakfast. Mashed soup dinner. Mashed soup supper.
February 8- One orange breakfast. Mashed soup dinner. Mashed soup supper.
February 9 through 11- One orange breakfast. Strained soup dinner. Strained soup supper.
February 12- One orange breakfast. One orange dinner. One orange supper.
February 13- Two orange breakfast. No dinner. No supper.
February 14- One cup of strained tomato broth at 6 p.m.
February 15- One cup hot strained tomato soup night and morning.
February 16- One cup hot strained tomato soup a.m. and p.m. Slept better last night. Head quite dizzy. Eyes yellow streaked and red.
February 17- Ate three oranges today.
February 19- Called on Dr. (Dawson) today at his home. Slept well Saturday night.
February 20- Ate strained juice of two small oranges at 10 a.m. Dizzy all day. Ate strained juice of two small oranges at 5 p.m.
February 21- Ate one cup settled and strained tomato broth. Backache today just below ribs.
February 22- Ate juice of two small oranges at 10 a.m. Backache today in right side just below ribs.
February 23- Slept but little last night. Ate two small oranges at 9 a.m. Went after milk and felt very bad. Ate two small oranges 6 p.m.
February 24- Slept better Wednesday night. Kind of frontal headache in a.m. Ate two small oranges 10 a.m. Ate on and a half cups hot tomato soup at 6 p.m. Heart hit up to ninety-five minute and sweat considerable.
February 25- Slept pretty well Thursday night. Ate one and a half cups tomato broth 11 a.m. Ate one and a half cups tomato broth 6 p.m. Pain in right below ribs.
February 26- Did not sleep so very well Friday night. Pain in right side just below ribs in back. Pain quit in night. Ate 1 and a half cups tomato broth at 10:45 a.m. Ate two and a half pump small oranges at 4:30 p.m. Felt better afternoon than for the last week....
This diet continued more or less unchanged until his hospitalization on March 28. He died that afternoon, just before his coworker was to tranfuse blood.
. The book was adapted for the stage by Portland, Oregon
playwright Ginny Foster. It debuted as a part of the National New Play Festival in July 2008. It was announced in January 2009 that the book was optioned by producer Jason Fogelson and Pulitzer Prize
-winner Tracy Letts
for a film adaptation. Letts will write the script.
Dr. Hazzard is profiled through re-enactments and interviews in the Investigation Discovery Network show, "Deadly Women" in its first episode entitled "Obsession".
1909
1910
1911
1913
- British doctor who extracted money from his patients before murdering them.
and doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, who was implicitly killing her patients by exhausting diets.
Although she had been convicted of at least one murder, she continued to "heal" her patients.
Scientists currently believe that during her lifetime, particularly her active years, Hazzard suffered from a mental or emotional illness that has yet to be officially labeled or defined.
Career
Hazzard was the first doctor in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to earn a medical degree as a "fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...
specialist". Fasting had heretofore been considered a quack
Quack
A quack is a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not possess.Quack may also refer to:* Quack , an independent-comics series published by Star Reach in the 1970s...
medical cure, popular with "health faddists" of the time. In 1908 she published a book, Fasting For The Cure Of Disease, promoting fasting as a cure for virtually every ailment, including cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
She created a "sanitarium", Wilderness Heights, in Olalla, Washington
Olalla, Washington
Olalla is a small unincorporated community in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located on Colvos Passage on Puget Sound just north of the Pierce County county line. Olalla used to be larger than Port Orchard, county seat of Kitsap County...
, where inpatients fasted for days, weeks or months, on a diet of small amounts of tomato and asparagus juice and occasionally, a small teaspoon of orange juice. While some patients survived and publicly sang her praises, more than 40 patients died under her care, most from starvation. Local residents referred to the place as "Starvation Heights". She assured people that her method was a panacea
Panacea
In Greek mythology, Panacea was a goddess of healing. She was the daughter of Asclepius and Epione. Panacea and her five sisters each performed a facet of Apollo's art: Panacea was the goddess of cures, Iaso was the goddess of recuperation, Hygieia was the goddess of disease prevention, Aceso was...
for all manner of ills, because she was able to rid the body of toxins that caused imbalances in the body.
In 1912 she was convicted of manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...
for the death of Claire Williamson, a wealthy British woman, who weighed less than 50 pounds at the time of her death. At the trial it was proved that Hazzard had forged Williamson's will and stolen most of her valuables. Williamson's sister, Dorothea, also took the treatment, and only survived because a family friend showed up in time to remove her from the compound. She was too weak to leave on her own, weighing less than 60 pounds. She later testified against Hazzard at trial.
Hazzard was sentenced to 2 to 20 years in prison, which she served in the Washington State Penitentiary
Washington State Penitentiary
Washington State Penitentiary is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Walla Walla, Washington...
at Walla Walla
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
. She was released on parole on December 26, 1915 after serving two years, and the following year Governor Ernest Lister
Ernest Lister
Ernest Lister was the eighth Governor of the state of Washington. He was sworn into the office in 1913 and remained in it until his death six years later.-Further reading:...
gave her a full pardon. She and her husband, Samuel Christman Hazzard, moved to New Zealand, where she practiced as a dietitian and osteopath until 1920.
In 1920 she returned to Olalla, Washington
Olalla, Washington
Olalla is a small unincorporated community in Kitsap County, Washington, United States. It is located on Colvos Passage on Puget Sound just north of the Pierce County county line. Olalla used to be larger than Port Orchard, county seat of Kitsap County...
and opened a new sanitarium, known publicly as a "school of health" since her medical license had been revoked, and continued to starve patients until it burned to the ground in 1935; it was never rebuilt.
Linda Burfield Hazzard died in 1938 while attempting a fasting cure on herself.
The Earl Edward Erdman Diary
On March 28, 1910, Earl Edward Erdman, a City of Seattle Civil Engineer, died of starvation in the Seattle General Hospital. He had kept a diary which detailed Hazzard's treatment during the preceding weeks that provides an insight into the treatment Hazzard prescribed to her patients. The following are excerpts from his diary:February 1- Saw Dr. Hazzard and began treatment this date. No breakfast. Mashed soup dinner. Mashed soup supper.
February 5 through 7- One orange breakfast. Mashed soup dinner. Mashed soup supper.
February 8- One orange breakfast. Mashed soup dinner. Mashed soup supper.
February 9 through 11- One orange breakfast. Strained soup dinner. Strained soup supper.
February 12- One orange breakfast. One orange dinner. One orange supper.
February 13- Two orange breakfast. No dinner. No supper.
February 14- One cup of strained tomato broth at 6 p.m.
February 15- One cup hot strained tomato soup night and morning.
February 16- One cup hot strained tomato soup a.m. and p.m. Slept better last night. Head quite dizzy. Eyes yellow streaked and red.
February 17- Ate three oranges today.
February 19- Called on Dr. (Dawson) today at his home. Slept well Saturday night.
February 20- Ate strained juice of two small oranges at 10 a.m. Dizzy all day. Ate strained juice of two small oranges at 5 p.m.
February 21- Ate one cup settled and strained tomato broth. Backache today just below ribs.
February 22- Ate juice of two small oranges at 10 a.m. Backache today in right side just below ribs.
February 23- Slept but little last night. Ate two small oranges at 9 a.m. Went after milk and felt very bad. Ate two small oranges 6 p.m.
February 24- Slept better Wednesday night. Kind of frontal headache in a.m. Ate two small oranges 10 a.m. Ate on and a half cups hot tomato soup at 6 p.m. Heart hit up to ninety-five minute and sweat considerable.
February 25- Slept pretty well Thursday night. Ate one and a half cups tomato broth 11 a.m. Ate one and a half cups tomato broth 6 p.m. Pain in right below ribs.
February 26- Did not sleep so very well Friday night. Pain in right side just below ribs in back. Pain quit in night. Ate 1 and a half cups tomato broth at 10:45 a.m. Ate two and a half pump small oranges at 4:30 p.m. Felt better afternoon than for the last week....
This diet continued more or less unchanged until his hospitalization on March 28. He died that afternoon, just before his coworker was to tranfuse blood.
In popular culture
Hazzard is the subject of a nonfiction book, Starvation Heights, by Gregg OlsenGregg Olsen
Gregg Olsen is a Gregg Olsen is a Gregg Olsen is a [[New York Times]] and a USA Today bestselling [[author]] of eight nonfiction books and six novels, most of which are crime-related...
. The book was adapted for the stage by Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
playwright Ginny Foster. It debuted as a part of the National New Play Festival in July 2008. It was announced in January 2009 that the book was optioned by producer Jason Fogelson and Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winner Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts is an American playwright and actor who received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County.-Biography:...
for a film adaptation. Letts will write the script.
Dr. Hazzard is profiled through re-enactments and interviews in the Investigation Discovery Network show, "Deadly Women" in its first episode entitled "Obsession".
Victims (partial list)
1908- Mrs. Elgin Cox
- Daisey Maud Haglund (Mother of Ivar's restaurant founder Ivar HaglundIvar HaglundIvar Haglund was a Seattle folk singer and the "flounder" of Ivar's.-Background:Ivar Haglund was born in Seattle, Washington. Ivar Haglund was born to pioneers Johan Ivar Haglund, a Swedish immigrant and Daisy Hanson Haglund, daughter of Norwegian immigrants...
, whose official cause of death was stomach cancer. She would have starved to death without Hazzard's assistance) - Ida Wilcox
1909
- Blanche B. Tindall
- Viola Heaton
- Eugene Stanley Wakelin (Died from a bullet in the head.)
1910
- Maude Whitney
- Earl Edward Erdman
1911
- Frank Southard
- C.A. Harrison
- Ivan Flux
- Lewis Ellsworth Rader
- Claire Williamson
1913
- Ida J. Anderson
- Mary Bailey
See also
John Bodkin AdamsJohn Bodkin Adams
John Bodkin Adams was an Irish-born British general practitioner, convicted fraudster and suspected serial killer. Between the years 1946 and 1956, more than 160 of his patients died in suspicious circumstances. Of these, 132 left him money or items in their will. He was tried and acquitted for...
- British doctor who extracted money from his patients before murdering them.
Further reading
- Olsen, Gregg. Starvation Heights : The True Story of an American Doctor and the Murder of a British Heiress, Warner Books, 1997. ISBN 0-446-60341-4
- Demon Doctors: Physicians as Serial Killers Tucson: Galen Press, Ltd., 2002.
External links
- Starvation Heights Official Starvation Heights website by book author Gregg OlsenGregg OlsenGregg Olsen is a Gregg Olsen is a Gregg Olsen is a [[New York Times]] and a USA Today bestselling [[author]] of eight nonfiction books and six novels, most of which are crime-related...
. - Demon doctors; Physicians as serial killers
- Full report of the State v. Hazzard appeal case