Caroline Grills earned the nickname Aunt Thally for the thallium she slipped into the tea and food of relatives and neighbours, a slow, trusted poisoner convicted in Sydney in 1953 after several deaths in her circle were finally traced back to her cheerful hospitality.
Sentenced to life, she was sent to the State Reformatory for Women, where she settled into prison life with the same warm, motherly manner that had once made her so welcome at other people’s tables. She kept making tea for fellow inmates right up until her death on 6 October 1960.
She never publicly expressed remorse for her crimes, dying as she had lived behind bars: smiling, sociable, and giving no hint of guilt.
