Christine Schürrer was born on June 30, 1976, in Hanover, Germany. Her life changed when she was 11 years old. At that time, her father left the family, and she had little contact with him after that. As a teenager, she became an exchange student and traveled to New York City. While there, she lived with relatives in Manhattan and studied in Oklahoma as well.

After returning to Germany, Christine settled in Göttingen. She spent six years studying history at the university. Following her studies, she traveled to Athens, Greece. In Athens, Christine worked at a local hostel and also took on roles as a historian.

After a year in Athens, Christine returned to Hanover for work. However, she eventually went back to Greece, this time to Crete. While on the island, she met a Swedish man and started a romantic relationship with him. This man was later revealed to be the stepfather of her future victims. 

Christine Schürrer arrived in Sweden in the summer of 2007. She initially settled in Södermalm, a central part of Stockholm, before moving to an apartment in Skarpnäck, a suburb. During her time there, she attempted suicide for the third time and was hospitalized. On 17 March 2008, Schürrer took a train to Arboga. She went to the house of 23-year-old Emma Jangestig, the mother of two small children. When Emma answered the door, Schürrer entered and attacked her with a hammer, hitting her 15 times. Afterward, Schürrer attacked Emma's two children, Max, who was 3 years old, and 1-year-old Saga, causing fatal injuries to their heads.

Before the attack, Schürrer had visited Arboga on two occasions earlier in March, likely to track down Emma. The police arrested Emma’s ex-boyfriend, the father of the children, but released him the next day after confirming he was not involved in the crime. Schürrer was first arrested in Germany on 22 March 2008 but was released the same day. On 24 March, German police sent DNA evidence to Sweden for testing. During this time, Emma began to regain consciousness in the hospital and identified Schürrer as her attacker. Investigators reviewed surveillance footage from the Arboga railway station, which confirmed Schürrer's presence there at the time of the murders.

Schürrer left Sweden on 18 March and returned to Germany. She was apprehended again on 30 March, following an arrest warrant issued by Swedish authorities, and was later brought to Sweden to stand trial. On 26 August 2008, she was found guilty of the murders and the assault. After being evaluated psychologically, even though Schürrer refused to cooperate, she was deemed fit for sentencing. On 14 October 2008, she received a life sentence in prison, and she would be deported from Sweden if released. Schürrer appealed the sentence, but the appeal was rejected on 16 February. In March 2012, she was transferred to a women’s prison in Vechta, Germany. She is one of the few women in Swedish history to be sentenced to life imprisonment.