Offender Record · OFF-2026-100
Virginia Belle Jaspers (photo from the Radford University biography)
Virginia Belle Jaspers
Sex
Female
Race
White
Height
6'0"
Weight
200 lbs
Born
1924
Custody
Deceased
States
CT
Distinguishing featuresDescribed as 'mannish' in appearance with a 52-inch waist; tall and unattractive
Custody
Sentenced November 1956 to 10-20 years; died April 2004 of natural causes (document). Document notes no records show she was ever actually incarcerated at Niantic, though sentence specified that facility.
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Summary of the record
Virginia Belle Jaspers pleaded guilty in 1956 to murdering three infants by shaking them while employed as a babysitter and nanny in Connecticut. She was sentenced to 10 to 20 years at the State Prison for Women at Niantic, Connecticut, with 7 years required before parole eligibility. Jaspers died of natural causes in April 2004 at age 80.
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 Jun 1948, New Haven, Connecticut
Murder of an infant
New Haven Police Department; Connecticut State authorities · Connecticut Superior Court · Arrested Aug 1956 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 10 to 20 years; 7 years must be served before parole eligibility
First known victim in June 1948, Cynthia Hubbard, who died with autopsy findings of internal bleeding, swollen brain, and bleeding eyes. Death was attributed to 'weak brain' or 'congenital weakness.' Jaspers was re-hired to care for the family's second child, whom she did not harm.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Jaspers, Virginia Belle
Offense date Dec 1951, Connecticut
Murder of an infant
Connecticut authorities · Connecticut Superior Court · Arrested Aug 1956 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: included in single sentence for all murders
Second victim Jennifer Malkan, one month old, died in December 1951. Death was attributed to aspiration; infant was cremated without autopsy. Jaspers claimed she shook the child to 'get a bubble up.'
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Jaspers, Virginia Belle
Offense date Aug 24, 1956, New Haven, Connecticut
Murder of an infant
New Haven Police Department · Connecticut Superior Court · Arrested Aug 27, 1956 · Convicted Convicted · Sentence: 10 to 20 years; 7 years must be served before parole eligibility
Third victim, 11-day-old Abbe Kapsinov, died August 24, 1956. Parents demanded an autopsy after observing the circumstances. Jaspers shook the baby because it refused its bottle; victim lost consciousness within 5 seconds. Jaspers confessed to this murder and also confessed to breaking Bruce Schaefer's leg in January 1955 and shaking Robert Saidel.
SourcesRadford University serial killer biography: Jaspers, Virginia Belle; Unknown Gender History: Virginia B. Jaspers, Baby Sitter Serial Killer - 1956
Pattern and Background
Victim counts and the pattern of the offenses as stated by courts, agencies and the cited reporting. Suspected counts are what officials have said publicly, not a finding of this site.
3
Victims convicted
2
Victims confessed
0
Victims suspected
Active years
1948–1956
Victim profile
Children
Stated motive
Anger or revenge
Range from home
local
Confessed
Yes
Education
high school
Marital history
Never married
Children
0
Died
2004-04 · natural
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
New Haven, Connecticut
approx. 1924 – present · Born in New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
approx. 1930 – 1942 · Elementary and middle school through high school; later attended St. Agnes Home for Unwed Mothers for nursing program
New Haven, Connecticut
Sep 1942 – Aug 1956 · St. Agnes Home for Unwed Mothers nursing program (1942-1943 approx.), then employed as baby nurse/nanny for various families in New Haven and surrounding Connecticut towns (Hampton, Woodbridge)
New Haven, Connecticut
Aug 27, 1956 – Aug 27, 1956 · Arrested for murder of Abbe Kapsinov
New Haven, Connecticut
Aug 27, 1956 – Nov 15, 1956 · Held in custody pending trial and sentencing; held under $50,000 bond
Niantic, Connecticut
Nov 15, 1956 – Apr 2004 · State Prison for Women at Niantic (document specifies this was sentence location, though document notes no records confirm she was ever actually incarcerated there)
Timeline
1924
Virginia Belle Jaspers born in New Haven, Connecticut.
Sep 1942
Jaspers began St. Agnes Home for Unwed Mothers nursing program.
Jun 1948
First known murder: Cynthia Hubbard died in Jaspers' care; death attributed to 'congenital weakness' without suspicion.
Dec 1951
Second victim Jennifer Malkan, one month old, died; death attributed to aspiration and victim was cremated.
Jan 1955
Jaspers broke three-week-old Bruce Schaefer's femur by throwing him into crib; family expelled her from home.
Aug 24, 1956
Jaspers shook 11-day-old Abbe Kapsinov to death in New Haven; parents demanded autopsy.
Aug 27, 1956
Jaspers arrested for Abbe Kapsinov's murder; confessed to three infant deaths and injuries to at least two other children.
Aug 28, 1956
Jaspers held under $50,000 bond; held in custody pending trial.
Nov 15, 1956
Jaspers pleaded guilty and sentenced to 10-20 years at State Prison for Women at Niantic, with 7 years minimum before parole eligibility.
Apr 2004
Jaspers died at age 80 of natural causes.
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 government record · Wikipedia ·
York Correctional Institution“Janet S. York Correctional Institution is Connecticut's only state prison for women, located in Niantic, Connecticut.”
News report · Unknown Gender History blog ·
Unknown Gender History: Virginia B. Jaspers, Baby Sitter Serial Killer - 1956“Police said Monday that a 200 pound pediatric nurse had admitted shaking to death three infants because they got on her nerves or refused to take their formulas.”
Other · Radford University Department of Psychology ·
Radford University serial killer biography: Jaspers, Virginia Belle“Miss Jaspers pleads guilty. Miss Jaspers debated while in jail if she was going to keep her plea of innocence.”
Other · Rooftop Publishing ·
Lilacs in the Rain: The Shocking Story of Connecticut's Shaken-Baby Serial Killer“Virginia Jaspers from the 1940s and 50s...had shaken, twisted, squeezed, and slapped babies in the 1940s and '50s--killing three and injuring twelve others.”
Discussion
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