Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann was born on December 13, 1863, in Neuruppin, Kingdom of Prussia. Little is known about his early life, but it is recorded that he had troubling and sadistic tendencies. As a young man, he was involved in serious criminal activities that led to multiple convictions for child molestation. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fondling a ten-year-old girl and for the brutal rape of a four-year-old girl, who sadly died soon after the judgement.

After serving his time, Großmann's life took a different turn during World War I. He made a living by selling meat on the black market. Some locals claimed that he sold more than just regular meat. He also operated a hot dog stand near a train station close to his home. There were rumors that the meat he sold included remains of victims, as he reportedly disposed of bones and other inedible parts in the river nearby. These rumors grew when pieces of missing women were discovered in local canals, leading some to suspect that he had harmed many women and girls throughout his life.

On August 21, 1921, Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann was arrested in his apartment in Berlin. Neighbors heard screams and loud bangs, then silence. Police arrived and found the body of a young woman on the bed. She had been recently murdered.

Many neighbors noticed that Großmann had many female visitors over the past few years, mostly young women in poor condition. While many entered his apartment, very few left. It is unclear how many victims he had. Only the final victim's body was discovered, but bloodstains in the apartment suggested he had killed at least three others in the weeks before his arrest.

Reports from 1921 claimed that Großmann had confessed to about twenty murders over two decades. In 1922, another report stated he admitted to killing four women. Some estimates suggested that up to fifty women might have entered his apartment, never to be seen again.

Großmann was charged with murder, but he never stood trial. He hanged himself in his prison cell before the trial could be completed, leaving many of his potential crimes unconfirmed.