Lê Thanh Vân
Lê Thanh Vân (5 December 1956 – 26 October 2005), nicknamed The Cyanide Witch, was a Vietnamese con artist and serial killer. From 1998 to 2001, she and her husband Đinh Văn Khảm (also known as Dìu Dãnh Quang) poisoned at least 13 people with cyanide to steal money and belongings. The killings happened in several places, including Ho Chi Minh City, Đồng Nai, and Bình Dương.
Vân used several aliases, such as Lee Ly Lan and Lâm Anh Đào, and often pretended to be a professional or to help people, then fed them poisoned drinks or food. She was eventually caught in October 2001 after police found cyanide and connected multiple deaths to her.
Her trial began in 2004. Prosecutors sought the death penalty for murder, robbery, and illegal possession of poison. She was found guilty and sentenced to death; her husband received a lengthy prison term (initially 21 years, later reduced to 17 on appeal). Vân’s appeal failed, and her request for a pardon was denied.
She was executed by firing squad on 26 October 2005 in Thủ Dầu Một. Reports say she resisted and cried when told her pardon was denied, and she did not eat her last meal.
The case sparked discussions about crime prevention and the dangers of poison, highlighting the need for vigilance and better investigative methods.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 12:17 (CET).