Ane Cathrine Andersdatter was born on October 20, 1829, in Karrebæk, Denmark. 

Ane Cathrine Andersdatter became a mother several times, but her story is marked by tragic actions. In January 1853, she gave birth to her first daughter in Copenhagen. The father did not want to take responsibility, which left Andersdatter in a difficult situation. She decided to travel to Ringsted to find someone to adopt her child. On her way, she stopped by a ditch and drowned her baby before burying the body in a nearby field. The remains were never found.

Her second child was a boy born in April 1855. This time, Andersdatter did not feel she could care for him either. After considering asking the father for help and deciding against it, she threw her son into a well, where he was later discovered a month later. However, the police could not find any evidence, and the case was closed without finding her.

In 1856, Andersdatter had a third child, but this time she took the baby to live with her mother. In 1861, without informing the father, she became pregnant again. She gave birth to another son in February and made plans to give him away to a family after claiming he could be taken care of. But on March 5, she chose to drown this child as well. She drove to a well, waited until nightfall, and threw the baby in, returning to her lodging and lying about the child's whereabouts.

When the body was found later that month, the police arrested her. She confessed her crimes, admitting to all three killings. During her trial, many judges wished to pardon her due to her difficult situation as a servant and single mother, but she was still sentenced to death. On December 21, 1861, she was executed by beheading in Rødovre Mark.