Emily Chan
Later, Hazzard told her the reason behind Claire’s death. She claimed that some drugs Claire had taken during her childhood had shrunk down her internal organs and led to liver failure.
Margaret knew something was fishy. When she saw Claire’s body, all her features seemed off. Once she arrived in Olalla, she discovered that Dorothea was only 50 pounds. The sisters had also signed over their estates to Hazzard, and Dorothea had made Hazzard’s husband her power of attorney.
Margaret was unable to get Dr. Hazzard to let Dorothea leave. In the end, the family had to come and pay $1,000 for Dorothea to leave the property.
In August 1911, Linda Hazzard was arrested on charges of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison, and her medical license was revoked.
A group in New Zealand petitioned for her release, claiming that she made great contributions to the medical field. In 1915, the governor of Washington granted her a pardon, and she moved to New Zealand.
In New Zealand, her patients kept dying, but she found wild success, inheriting estate after estate. Eventually, she went back to Washington and built a school. It burned down in 1935.
To this day, it’s unclear exactly how many people starved to death under Hazzard’s care. Hazzard died in 1938 after undergoing her own starvation cure.
