This is the second article in a series on history’s more obscure serial killers. If you missed the first entry, you can find it here.

Baby farming.

Those are two words that really, really don’t belong together. For anyone who is wondering, baby farming is the “business” of taking care of, or adopting, babies in exchange for money. These were typically illegitimate children whose parents either couldn’t afford to take care of them long-term, or simply didn’t want them. Sometimes the baby farmers would promise to find them homes with wealthy families. Hey, maybe some of them did! Unfortunately for the little ones in this story, they ended up in the backyard. [Editor’s note: We’re not talking about playing on a jungle gym, folks.]

So here we are in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It’s the late 19th century, and you’re in trouble because you had a baby out of wedlock, and people don’t look kindly on you. Let’s be honest, they probably call you a whore, and maybe you are, but you gotta do what you gotta do. You still don’t have the funds to care for your illegitimate baby, however. Life is hard. What do you do? Why, you put an ad in the paper, of course! Maybe there’s a kind soul out there who is willing to take in your precious bundle of gurgles for the little money you can offer them.

Enter Sarah and John Makin, who are more than happy to take that unlawful creature off your hands. Forever. If you love your kiddo and have any decency in you, you’ll regret this decision for the rest of your life.

The Makins were well-versed in the art of baby farming. They turned to that particular career after John was injured and could no longer work a normal job. Wait, so this is what I should have been doing the whole time I was unemployed?! Missed opportunity, folks. It’s also worth noting that they had ten children of their own. Ten. Ten. Eleven if you count Sarah’s child from her first marriage. Despite producing so many Makins, they apparently weren’t that fond of children, because … they killed a lot of babies. And this is where this horribly true story gets disturbing.

It’s not clear when exactly the Makins decided to turn to murder, but they sure knew how to go about it. In their minds, killing the infants was more cost-effective than taking care of them long term. Sure, they were given money for their services, but it wasn’t enough to survive in the long run, and wouldn’t it be easier to dispose of the babies? After all, they could still squeeze money out of the parents, which they often did. At that point, they would claim the child died of natural causes, usually within mere days of receiving them, and then the parents would pay for funeral costs. Or the Makins would just up and move when the questioning mother or father would try to arrange a visit. They moved fifteen times, running the same exact operation everywhere they went.

They weren’t caught until 1892, when the bodies of two victims were discovered buried and heavily decomposed in their backyard. I wonder how they tried to talk their way out of that one.

Overall, the Makins murdered at least a dozen babies, possibly more, and every backyard of every house they had ever lived in was dug up, only to reveal more bodies. They were both tried and sentenced to death, but being female and all, Sarah was granted clemency and released on parole in 1911. Because that’s fair, you guys.

More than anything, my biggest question is this: how much did their children know, and how involved were they? Two of the Malkin daughters testified against their parents, but they—or possibly their sisters—were the ones who petitioned to have their mother released, as well.

In case you’re worried, baby farming isn’t really a thing anymore, and this case helped make that possible. It wasn’t even the first example of baby farmers killing their charges, but it is the one that pushed lawmakers to axe baby farming and put unwanted or orphaned children under the supervision of the state. Yay for orphanages and foster homes!

Moral of the story: don’t give your children to strangers, and don’t kill babies. Why am I stating the obvious? Because some people have to be told.

Until next time!