Antonio Boggia was born on December 23, 1799, in Carate Urio, a town near Lake Como in the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1824, at the age of 25, he faced legal issues, including charges of fraud and unpaid debts. To evade prosecution, Boggia fled to the Kingdom of Sardinia, where he was later involved in a violent altercation leading to charges of attempted murder. Imprisoned for this offense, he managed to escape during a revolt and returned to the Lombardy-Venetia region. 

Settling in Milan, Boggia secured employment at Palazzo Cusani, the headquarters of the Austrian military command, leveraging his proficiency in the German language. He worked there as a fireman and resided on Via Gesù. In 1831, Boggia married and moved with his wife to Via Nerino 2, residing in a building owned by Ester Maria Perrocchio, who would later become one of his victims.

Antonio Boggia committed his first murder in April 1849. The victim was Angelo Ribbone, who was robbed of 1,400 svanziche. Boggia dismembered Ribbone's body and hid the pieces in a basement on Stretta Bagnera.

On February 26, 1850, Giovanni Murier reported that his mother, Ester Maria Perrocchio, aged 76, was missing. Judge Crivelli led the investigation. He found a fake power of attorney document that made Boggia the administrator of Perrocchio's property. Crivelli also uncovered Boggia's previous charge from 1851 for an attempted murder with an axe.

Witnesses from Boggia's residence on Via Nerino stated they saw him with heavy bags in a warehouse on Stretta Bagnera. During a search there, they found Ester Perrocchio's body buried in a niche. They discovered two more fake power of attorney documents in Boggia's apartment, one for Ribbone's belongings and another for the shop of Pietro Meazza, who was also missing.

A search of Meazza's cellar revealed the bodies of both Ribbone and Meazza, along with a third body later identified as Giuseppe Marchesotti. Boggia confessed to all four murders during his trial and claimed insanity.

He was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. The execution took place on April 8, 1862, near Porta Ludovica and Porta Vigentina. This was the last death sentence for a civilian in Milan until World War II. Following his execution, Boggia's body was buried, but his head was displayed at the Ospedale Maggiore, and later it was given to the criminologist Cesare Lombroso. In 1949, Boggia's head was moved to the main cemetery in Milan due to hospital downsizing.

In October 2009, a large metal cleaver associated with Boggia was found in a collector's market. It is currently displayed at the Museo di Arte Criminologica di Olevano di Lomellina.