Offender Record · OFF-2026-007
Amy Archer-Gilligan (photo from the Radford University biography)
Amy E. Archer-Gilligan
Also known as Amy Duggan, Sister Amy, Sister Theresa
Sex
Female
Race
White
Height
5'3"
Born
1873
Custody
Deceased
States
CT
Distinguishing featuresHeight 5'3" as documented by Radford University serial killer biography.
Custody
Deceased at Connecticut Hospital for the Insane, Middletown (formerly Connecticut Valley Hospital)
Custody record at the facility
Transferred to Connecticut Hospital for the Insane in 1924 following declaration of insanity; remained incarcerated there until death on April 23, 1962 at age 88-89.
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Summary of the record
Amy Archer-Gilligan was a nursing home proprietor in Windsor, Connecticut who was convicted of second-degree murder in 1919 and sentenced to life imprisonment for arsenic poisoning. She was initially tried for five counts of murder in 1917 but charges were reduced to one count: the murder of Franklin R. Andrews. Her first conviction for first-degree murder was overturned on appeal; in her retrial she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. In 1924 she was declared insane and transferred to Connecticut Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, where she remained until her death on April 23, 1962.
Documented Arrests, Charges and Convictions
Dispositions are shown exactly as the cited records report them. Pending charges are updated when a court acts; a record with no remaining conviction or pending charge is removed from the site.
Offense date May 29, 1914, Windsor, Connecticut
Murder of Franklin R. Andrews by arsenic poisoning
Connecticut State Police, Hartford County State's Attorney · Hartford Superior Court · Connecticut common law murder · Arrested May 08, 1916 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: First trial: death by hanging (June 18, 1917); Second trial: life imprisonment (July 1, 1919)
Franklin R. Andrews, a 61-year-old resident at the Archer Home, died on May 29, 1914. Andrews had been in good health and was seen gardening hours before his death. Autopsy revealed his stomach contained enough arsenic to kill half a dozen strong men. Amy Archer-Gilligan was initially tried for five murders but charges were reduced to this single count. She was convicted of first-degree murder on June 18, 1917, sentenced to death, but conviction was overturned on appeal. In second trial (June 1919), she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
SourcesAmy Archer-Gilligan; Amy Archer-Gilligan: Entrepreneurism Gone Wrong in Windsor; Amy Archer-Gilligan; Amy Archer-Gilligan
Places Lived, Worked and Frequented
Each place and date range comes from a cited record. Dates marked approximate are as reported. Know a place that is missing? Use Edit record under the photo; a moderator reviews it before it appears.
CT
Milton, Connecticut
1873 – 1890 · Born and raised in Milton (now part of Litchfield area), Connecticut
New Britain, Connecticut
1890 – 1890 · Attended New Britain Normal School
Newington, Connecticut
1901 – 1904 · Lived and worked as caretaker for John D. Seymour in his home; later managed boarding home for elderly operated by Seymour heirs after his death
Windsor, Connecticut
1907 – 1916 · Owned and operated Archer Home for the Elderly and Infirm on Prospect Street north of Windsor Green
Windsor, Connecticut
May 08, 1916 – May 08, 1916 · Arrested on May 8, 1916 on murder charges
Hartford, Connecticut
May 08, 1916 – Jun 1917 · Hartford county jail pending trial
Wethersfield, Connecticut
Jun 1917 – Jul 1924 · Wethersfield State Prison (Wethersfield Prison) serving life sentence following second conviction
Middletown, Connecticut
Jul 1924 – Apr 23, 1962 · Connecticut Hospital for the Insane (Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane, now Connecticut Valley Hospital) following declaration of insanity in July 1924
Photographs by Year
Amy Archer-Gilligan (photo from the Radford University biography)
Photo from en.wikipedia.org
Photo from www.windsorhistoricalsociety.org
Photo from www.grunge.com
Amy Archer-Gilligan
Old fashioned hospital bed next to portrait of Franklin Andrews
Hartford Courant featuring Amy Archer-Gilligan
Timeline
Oct 31, 1873
Amy E. Duggan born in Milton, Connecticut (then part of Litchfield area) to James Duggan and Mary Kennedy Duggan, eighth of ten children.
1897
Amy Duggan married James Archer.
Dec 1897
Daughter Mary J. Archer born to Amy and James Archer.
1901
Amy and James Archer began employment as caretakers for elderly widow John D. Seymour in Newington, Connecticut.
1904
John D. Seymour died; his heirs converted the house into a home for the elderly managed by Amy and James Archer.
1907
Amy and James Archer moved to Windsor, Connecticut and purchased a redbrick house which they opened as the Archer Home for the Elderly and Infirm.
1910
James Archer died suddenly from Bright's disease, shortly after Amy had taken out an insurance policy on him.
Nov 25, 1913
Amy Archer married Michael Gilligan, a 57-year-old widower and wealthy man in good health.
Feb 20, 1914
Michael Gilligan died suddenly three months after marrying Amy; official cause listed as acute bilious attack; Amy later inherited his entire estate via a will found to be forged in her handwriting.
May 29, 1914
Franklin R. Andrews, a 61-year-old resident of the Archer Home, died after appearing in perfect health and working in the garden hours before his death.
Dec 03, 1914
Alice Gowdy died at the Archer Home.
May 08, 1916
Amy Archer-Gilligan arrested and charged with murder of Franklin Andrews and other residents of the Archer Home following investigation by Hartford Courant and state police.
May 09, 1916
Hartford Courant publishes first article describing the Archer Home as a murder factory.
Jun 18, 1917
Trial began for Amy Archer-Gilligan on charge of murdering Franklin R. Andrews; jury convicted her of first-degree murder after approximately four hours of deliberation.
Jul 13, 1917
Amy Archer-Gilligan sentenced to death by hanging for first-degree murder of Franklin R. Andrews.
1918
Amy Archer-Gilligan's first conviction and death sentence overturned on appeal by Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors due to procedural errors and improper admission of evidence.
Jun 12, 1919
Second trial of Amy Archer-Gilligan began in Middletown, Connecticut; she pleaded insanity.
Jul 01, 1919
Amy Archer-Gilligan pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Franklin R. Andrews and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Jul 1924
Amy Archer-Gilligan declared insane and transferred from Wethersfield State Prison to Connecticut Hospital for the Insane in Middletown.
Apr 23, 1962
Amy Archer-Gilligan died of natural causes at Connecticut Hospital for the Insane in Middletown at age 88 or 89.
Sources
Solve the Case is never the original source. Each item below is the public record a statement on this page rests on, with an archived copy where one exists.
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Archer-Gilligan, Amy“Amy Archer-Gilligan (October 1873 – April 23, 1962) operated the Archer Home for the Elderly and Infirmed in Windsor, Connecticut, and was convicted of second-degree murder.”
Law enforcement release · Windsor Historical Society ·
Amy Archer-Gilligan: Entrepreneurism Gone Wrong in Windsor“Amy Archer-Gilligan was arrested on May 8, 1916, and charged with the murder of Franklin Andrews and other residents of the home. Four weeks later, Amy Archer-Gilligan was convicted and sentenced to hang.”
News report · Murderpedia ·
Amy Archer-Gilligan“On June 18, 1917, a jury found her guilty, and she was sentenced to death. Archer-Gilligan appealed and was granted a new trial in 1919. She pleaded insanity, while Mary Archer testified that her mother was addicted to morphine.”
News report · History.com ·
Arsenic and Old Lace: The Real Murders Behind the Halloween Classic Film“In 1924, the state transferred her to the Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, where she remained until her death in 1962.”
Other · Grokipedia ·
Amy Archer-Gilligan“Her first trial began on June 18, 1917, in Hartford, where she was convicted of first-degree murder for Andrews' death after just four hours of deliberation, resulting in a death sentence by hanging.”
Other government record · Wikipedia ·
Amy Archer-Gilligan“Amy Duggan Archer-Gilligan (October 31, 1873 – April 23, 1962) was a nursing home proprietor and serial killer from Windsor, Connecticut who murdered at least five people by poisoning them.”
News report · The Darkside of Humanity ·
The Archer Home For Chronic Invalids: Amy Archer-Gilligan And The Perils Of Unregulated Eldercare“After a four-week trial, on July 18, 1917, the jury found Amy Archer-Gilligan guilty of first-degree murder.”
News report · Grunge ·
Details You Didn't Know About Serial Killer Amy Archer-Gilligan“She was sentenced to life in prison and began her sentence at Wethersfield State Prison before being moved to the Connecticut Valley Hospital, then referred to as a state hospital for the insane.”
Other government record · Connecticut History ·
Windsor's Murder Factory“It only took 4 hours for a jury to convict Amy Duggan Archer Gilligan of operating, what the Hartford Courant labeled, a murder factory.”
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