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Elisabeth WieseGerman serial killer from Hamburg
Country:
 Germany |
Content:
Elizabeth Wiese: The Angel-Maker of St. Pauli
Elizabeth Wiese, a German serial killer from Hamburg, was executed for the murder of five children. Born in 1850, she initially worked as a midwife. After marrying the merchant Heinrich Wiese, Elizabeth already had a daughter named Paula. However, when she faced accusations of performing illegal abortions, Elizabeth could no longer continue her usual profession. As her financial situation deteriorated, tension between her and her husband escalated. She made several attempts on his life, first by poisoning his food and then by trying to slit his throat while he slept. However, these attempts were unsuccessful, and Elizabeth found herself behind bars, charged with multiple crimes.
A New Business Venture
After her release from prison, Elizabeth offered her services as a "child placement assistant" for women who were unable to raise their own children or had illegitimate children. Initially, she charged a one-time fee from the mothers for placing the children with adoptive parents. However, if the adoptive families returned the children, Elizabeth disposed of them. She would then inform the mothers that the children had found homes with wealthy families in distant countries. In reality, Elizabeth poisoned the children with drugs such as morphine and burned their bodies in the apartment's furnace. Eventually, suspicions about the fate of the children grew, leading to an investigation.
A Dark Path
Once Elizabeth ceased her operations involving infants, she forced her own daughter into prostitution. Paula escaped to London but returned to Hamburg, where she became pregnant. Elizabeth drowned Paula's newborn child and burned the body in the furnace. When the police began investigating the case, they searched Elizabeth's apartment and discovered morphine and poisons hidden within her secret compartment. Due to her residence in St. Pauli, a suburb of Hamburg, she became known as "The Angel-Maker of St. Pauli" or "The Child Killer of St. Pauli." On October 15, 1904, Elizabeth Wiese was found guilty of fraud, immoral earnings, and the murder of five children. She was executed by guillotine on February 2, 1905.
A Cinematic Retelling
In March 2010, a film about Elizabeth Wiese's life was released in Germany.
