| Diane O'Dell | |
| Birth Place: | Orwell Township, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Date: | 1982/1983/1985 |
| Locations: | Sullivan County, New York |
| Country: | United States |
| Victims: | 3–4 |
| Motive: | Children were illegitimate Fathers of children abandoned her |
| Conviction: | Second-degree murder |
| Penalty: | Life imprisonment |
| Conviction Status: | Incarcerated |
| Weapon: | Asphyxiation |
Diane O'Dell (born 1953) is an American female serial killer who was convicted of murdering three of her 12 children. She was also investigated for the disappearance of another child.[1] O'Dell regularly traveled with the corpses.[2] The bodies of the three dead newborns were found in May 2003 in a storage shed O'Dell rented and abandoned in Safford, Arizona.[3]
By all accounts, she murdered them because they were illegitimate. O'Dell told police the babies died at birth between 1981 and 1984.[4] She kept the three babies in a storage unit for over ten years. When she defaulted on her rent, her landlord cleared out her possessions and discovered the corpses.[5] The case became known as 'The Babies in Boxes Murder Case'.[6]
In her 2003 trial, the jury rejected three counts of first degree murder, but unanimously found her guilty of second degree murder.[7]
In 2004, she was sentenced to life in prison. She will be eligible for parole in 2029.[8]