Mariam Soulakiotis

Mother Superior Mariam Soulakiotis (c. 1883–23 November 1954) (Greek: Μαριάμ Σουλακιώτη), also known as Mariam Soulakiotou (Greek: Μαριάμ Σουλακιώτου) and in the press by the moniker The Woman Rasputin (Greek: Η γυναίκα Ρασπούτιν), was a Greek Orthodox abbess and convicted serial killer active between 1939 and 1951. Greek authorities indicted Soulakiotis in February 1951 on charges including homicide, fraud, forgery of wills, blackmail and torture. Sentenced to life in 1952, Soulakiotis died in Averoff Prison [el] in 1954.

Soulakiotis was alleged to have committed her crimes in the Peukovounogiatrissas Monastery (Greek: Μονή Παναγίας Πευκοβουνογιατρίσσης) near Keratea, Greece. As of 2008, the monastery remains open and still has members which believe she was innocent and which venerate her as a saint.

Religious life

Soulakiotis was an avid Old Calendarist and a follower of the Matthewite sect, which the mainstream Greek Orthodox Church considers to be in schism. She, together with Archbishop and hieromonk Matthew (Karpathakis) of Besthena, founded the monastery in 1927. After the death of Abp. Matthew, Soulakiotis succeeded him as abbot.

Crime

Soulakiotis' alleged modus operandi was to encourage wealthy women to join the convent, and then torture them until they donated their fortunes to the monastery; once the money was donated, Soulakiotis would embezzle it and in some cases kill the donor. Reuters reported that at the time of her arrest she had amassed three hundred properties across Greece this way along with "gold and jewels worth thousands of pounds."

Soulakiotis also demanded strict adherence to ascetic practices among those in the convent, which police alleged led to the unnecessary deaths of 150 children from tuberculosis. Victims of Soulakiotis' administration of the monastery also variously accuse her of torturing them, starving them, falsely imprisoning them, and beating them. Soulakiotis denied all the charges against her until she died, terming them «κατασκευάσματα του σατανά» ("Satanic fictions").

The number of Soulakiotis' victims is a matter of some debate; the most commonly cited figure of 27 murders and 150 negligent homicides by neglect comes from medical testimony during her trial.