Leonarda Cianciulli: The Soap-Maker of Correggio | Morbid | Podcast

Having lost several children to childhood illnesses, Leonarda Cianciulli was very protective of her surviving children and was willing to do anything to protect them. So, when the deeply superstitious Leonarda was warned by a fortune teller that all her children would die at a young age, the forty-six-year-old shopkeeper determined that the best way to keep her son alive was to offer human sacrifices in exchange for Giuseppe’s safety. Ove the course of a year, Leonarda murdered three local women and disposed of their bodies with caustic chemicals, using any remaining biological evidence in the creation of soaps, candles, cookies, and cakes, which she shared with others in her community.
Thank you to the lovely David White, of Bring Me the Axe podcast, for research assistance :)
References
Baltimore Sun. 1946. "Rendered her friends to wax, she says." Baltimore Sun, April 28: 3.
Eddy, Cheryl. 2015. The Superstitious Murderer Who Turned Her Victims Into Cake And Soap. June 23. gizmodo.com/the-superstitious....
Green, Ryan. 2019. The Curse: A Shocking True Story of Superstition, Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism. Unknown: Independent.
Museo Criminologico. 2006. The Correggio soap-maker. September 12. www.museocriminologico.it/corr....
Ortiz, Genoveva. 2022. The Deadly Soap-Maker of Correggio: The True Story of Leonarda Cianciulli. unknown: True Crime Seven.
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[@shanehutchinson6350]

Man, this gave me whiplash!! Can't believe she was so convinced of the curse being real that she ran to confess EVERYTHING just at the point her son was arrested. He wasn't necessarily tried and convicted then and there, it was only an arrest. Wouldn't we think with there being zero other evidence he was involved, it would just go away? Just goes to show how genuinely she believed in the curse. *shudders*

[@Kit_is_lost_05]

Sometimes I completely forget that Amazon music gets these sooner then KZbin and question why they posted to twice 😂

[@mariawarren5624]

love catching these early while I work.

[@mikegay8511]

You gals killed this one. This is unreal to believe.

[@susannoggy2898]

This was chilling on so many levels. 😢

[@daniellefolsom]

Just got to the crunchy tea cakes... and... *blerch* I'm not ok gals! had to pause so I didn't throw up.

[@nalabatch]

i had to listen to the ReWatcher before coming back to Morbid

[@MushroomBrat666]

Totally called it going that way. Sweeney todd

[@girlwithtiger5233]

Wow. I wonder if hatred for her own mother played into this. Because you'd think if she wanted to "protect" her son, she'd have picked a male victim?

[@camnicole900]

When was this?

[@shanehutchinson6350]

I found it verrrrry fucking gross that in a fit, she forced Giuseppe to bathe with the human-fat-soap and then immediately go eat the human-blood-laced tea cakes. Was it victim specific? Was there some reason she felt so insanely obligated to be sure HE bathed in and ate of THAT exact person? 🤔 A million questions on this one. Definitely a re-listen tonight when im at work. Killer episode gals, thanks. 🤝👏

[@antoBN]

Yes! Basically the fat from the other victims was not up to her standards, the cakes weren’t either. That’s why she went for a third victim who she liked because she thought the previous ones didn’t work because they weren’t real sacrifices since she didn’t care about those women. When she saw that her fat was white and the soap and cakes were up the her standards, for her it meant that it worked so she went to use it on her son.

[@goose7218]

Did you guys go ghost hunting with Sam and Colby? If so, is there a video? And could you tag it??

[@Beadknotafrayed]

Cringe awful!

[@savannacoalson4546]

Hi guys!! I love your podcast and think you’re both fucking amazing, I have a story from my home town I’d like you guys to think about doing. It’s about a woman name Natalie Cochran from Daniels, WV. You won’t be disappointed when you do some research on it and it SHOOK our community to say the least and she has JUST been indicted on a Murder charge today. Love you girlies and keep it fucking weird. 🫶🏼🤘🏼