Linda Hazzard: The Starvation Doctor

The Birth of a Deadly Doctrine

On December 18, 1867, in Carver, Minnesota, a young girl named Lynda Laura Burfield was born into the world. She was the eldest of seven children born to Montgomery and Susanna Neil (née Wakefield) Burfield. Little did anyone know that this child would grow up to become one of America's most infamous figures in the realm of alternative medicine—known not for healing, but for a deadly doctrine that would claim numerous lives. Linda Laura Hazzard, as she would later be known, became notorious for her controversial fasting treatments, earning the macabre nickname, "The Starvation Doctor."

The Path to Infamy

Though Hazzard never held a medical degree, she found a way to practice medicine in Washington State thanks to a loophole that allowed some practitioners of alternative medicine to be licensed without formal degrees. She became a fervent disciple of fasting, a method she claimed could purge the body of toxins and cure nearly any ailment. Her beliefs were bolstered by her association with Dr. Edward Hooker Dewey, a well-known advocate of fasting.

Over the years, Hazzard would pen several books extolling the virtues of fasting, including "Fasting for the Cure of Disease" (1908), "Diet in Disease and Systemic Cleansing" (1917), and a revised edition of her first book, retitled "Scientific Fasting: The Ancient and Modern Key to Health" (1927). Her writings attracted a following, and she soon set up a sanitarium in Olalla, Washington, known as Wilderness Heights. There, she subjected her patients to extreme regimes of starvation, often with deadly results. The locals had another name for her establishment—"Starvation Heights."

A Trail of Tragedy

The tragic tales emerging from Wilderness Heights seemed endless. Patients were put on diets consisting of mere morsels—tomato and asparagus juice, with the occasional inclusion of orange juice. While some survived and even praised Hazzard's methods, many others perished. Hazzard often attributed these deaths to undiagnosed illnesses like cancer or cirrhosis, but the local community believed otherwise. They claimed these victims died of starvation.

Among the most high-profile cases was that of Claire Williamson, a wealthy British woman who died in 1912 weighing less than fifty pounds. Her death led to Hazzard's downfall. The trial that followed revealed that Hazzard had forged Williamson's will and stolen her possessions. Claire's sister, Dorothea, barely survived the ordeal, weighing less than sixty pounds when she was rescued. She later testified against Hazzard, leading to a conviction for manslaughter.

The Conviction and the Aftermath

In 1912, Linda Hazzard was sentenced to 2 to 20 years of hard labor at the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. Despite her conviction, she served only two years before being released on parole on December 26, 1915. The following year, she received a full pardon from Governor Ernest Lister, with the condition that she move to New Zealand. There, she continued her practice as a dietitian and osteopath until 1920, despite legal troubles for using the title "Doctor" without proper registration.

Hazzard eventually returned to Olalla, where she opened another sanitarium under the guise of a "school of health" since her medical license had been revoked. Her career in fasting treatments continued until 1935, when the sanitarium was destroyed by fire and never rebuilt.

A Grim Legacy

Linda Hazzard's life ended in a grim twist of irony. On June 24, 1938, at the age of 70, she succumbed to the very methods she had promoted, dying of starvation while attempting her own fasting cure. Her legacy is one of death and deception, with numerous fatalities linked to her treatments.

The list of those who perished under her care is long and haunting:

• 1908: Lenora (Mrs. Elgin) Wilcox, Daisey Maud Haglund, Ida Wilcox
• 1909: Blanche B. Tindall, Viola Heaton, Eugene Stanley Wakelin
• 1910: Maude Whitney, Earl Edward Erdman, L. E. Rader
• 1911: Frank Southard, C.A. Harrison, Ivan Flux, Claire Williamson
• 1912: Mary Bailey, Ida Anderson, Robert Gramm, Fred Ebson

The Diary of Earl Edward Erdman

One of the most chilling insights into Hazzard's methods comes from the diary of Earl Edward Erdman, a civil engineer from Seattle who died of starvation on March 28, 1910. His diary meticulously documented the harrowing details of his treatment under Hazzard’s care.

From February 1, he began with no breakfast, followed by mashed soup for lunch and dinner. His diet fluctuated between oranges and thin tomato broth, leading to severe dizziness, pain, and, ultimately, death.

Conclusion

Linda Hazzard's story serves as a cautionary tale of the dangers of unchecked alternative medicine and the devastating impact of blind faith in unverified treatments. Her life and actions remain a stark reminder of the potential for harm when the promise of miracle cures meets a desperate and trusting public.

Sources

• Linda Hazzard on Wikipedia

References:

• Perper, Joshua A.; Cina, Stephen J. (2010). When Doctors Kill: Who, Why, and How. Copernicus Books.
• Holmes, Ronald M.; Holmes, Stephen T. (2009). Serial Murder (Third ed.). Sage Publications, Inc.
• Hazzard, Linda Burfield (2017). Fasting for the cure of disease. Physical Culture Publishing Company.
• Hazzard, Linda Burfield (2007). Scientific fasting: The ancient and modern key to health. Kessinger Publications.
• Lovejoy, Bess (October 28, 2014). "The Doctor Who Starved Her Patients to Death". Smithsonian Magazine.
• Olsen, Gregg (2005). Starvation Heights: The True Story of an American Doctor and the Murder of a British Heiress. Warner Books.