Brewer's: Locusta

This woman has become a byword for one who murders those she professes to nurse, or those whom it is her duty to take care of. She lived in the early part of the Roman empire, poisoned Claudius and Britannicus, and attempted to destroy Nero; but, being found out, she was put to death.

Source: Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, E. Cobham Brewer, 1894
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