British Heiresses Went to Trusted Doctor for Alternative Treatments. One Starved to Death, the Other Wound Up Emaciated

In the early 20th century, a woman believed to be Washington State’s first female serial killer,  portrayed herself as a “gifted healer” and allegedly grifted hundreds of people into starving themselves through an alternative medicine regimen she promoted as the key to better health. 

According to Smithsonian Magazine, at least a dozen people are believed to have starved to death while under the supervision of Dr. Linda Hazzard, who gained a medical license through a state loophole that allowed for practitioners of alternative medicines to obtain accreditation. In total, Hazzard recruited hundreds of followers, according to the Washington State archives, many of whom would later turn out to rally in support of her when she ultimately went on trial for the murder of one of her patients. But it was two British heiresses’ harrowing experience with Hazzard that ultimately led to the practitioner’s prison sentence.

PEOPLE is looking back at the early 1900s case after Hazzard’s life and controversy surrounding her treatments has gained renewed attention on social media. Here’s what happened.

Hazzard’s Belief in Extreme Fasting

Growing up in Minnesota, Hazzard studied under Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey, who the Washington State archives describe as a pioneering figure in the fasting movement that took hold in some parts of North America around the turn of the 20th Century.

Hazzard would later move to the Seattle area in 1908 and self-publish a book, titled Fasting for the Cure of Disease, which laid out her medical philosophy, and also the groundwork for her claims of innocence. Hazzard once wrote in her own 1908 book that, “[d]eath in the fast never results from deprivation of food, but is the inevitable consequence of vitality sapped to the last degree by organic imperfection,” according to Starvation Heights, a 2005 book about the controversial doctor and her practices in the Pacific Northwest.

The Williamsons’ Journey to ‘Starvation Heights’

The title of Gregg Olsen’s 2005 book about Hazzard referenced locals’ nickname for the doctor’s institute in Olalla, Wash.: The Institute of Natural Therapeutics. According to Smithsonian, the institute’s idyllic backdrop, with open fields where patients could imagine animals roaming free, helped convince the doctor’s dozens of patients that her practices were legit. The property was once owned by a state legislator; it was later revealed Hazzard overtook the land and would transfer her patients there after they began treatment and were well on their way to an unhealthy weight. 

Two sisters from England, Claire and Dora Williamson, were taken there after hiring Hazzard to put them on her fasting regimen.

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The Williamson sisters’ childhood nurse, Margaret Conway, grew concerned as they continued the treatment, dropping to as low as 50 lbs. while drinking no more than two cups of broth per day, according to the Washington State archives. By the time Conway traveled to Seattle to check in on the women, Claire had died and Dora was “emaciated,” according to the archives, and Hazzard had used Dora’s failing health to gain control of her guardianship through the state – a tactic prosecutors later alleged Hazzard used on other patients, allowing her to amass her wealth.

Dora was finally removed from Hazzard’s care after local British Vice Consul C.E. Lucien Agassiz learned of her situation and arranged for her freedom. The Williamson sisters’ case proved to be the beginning of the end for Hazzard and her practice, as Claire’s death resulted in media coverage and public scrutiny, according to the Washington State archives.

Later, the case led to Hazzard being put on trial for murder.

Hazzard’s Arrest & 1911 Murder Trial

Hazzard was finally arrested on August 15, 1911 in Kitsap County on first-degree murder charges in connection with Claire Williamson’s death.

Ultimately, Hazzard was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to perform hard labor at a state penitentiary in Walla Walla, Wash. After two years, Hazzard was released and, according to Smithsonian, she was later pardoned for her crimes. She briefly moved to New Zealand before returning to Olalla, Wash., to continue building her “school” for fasting. By 1935, according to the magazine, Hazzard’s institute had burnt down.

Three years later she fell deathly ill while fasting in an attempt to heal herself and later dying from her own touted therapy.