Elisabeth Wiese was born on July 1, 1853, in Bilshausen, Lower Saxony, Germany. She grew up in a time when women had limited opportunities. As a young woman, Elisabeth became a midwife. She had a daughter named Paula before she married Heinrich Wiese, a tradesman.

After Elisabeth Wiese was released from prison, she began offering her services to mothers who needed help raising their children. She told them she could find rich families who would adopt their babies. In return, she charged them a one-time fee. However, she did not always pay the adoptive parents. When they returned the children to her, she then claimed the babies had been adopted and murdered them instead. Wiese poisoned these infants with morphine and disposed of their bodies by burning them in a stove in her apartment.

Wiese’s actions raised suspicions among the community. Investigations into her activities began. To cover her tracks, she distanced herself from the babies, even forcing her daughter, Paula, into prostitution. When Paula returned home after becoming pregnant, Wiese drowned her newborn baby and burned the body in the stove.

As police began their investigation, they searched Wiese’s apartment. They found a stockpile of morphine and other poisons. This led to the discovery of the tragic fate of the missing children. Eventually, on October 10, 1904, Wiese was convicted of fraud, living off immoral earnings, and the murder of five children.

Elisabeth Wiese was sentenced to death and executed by guillotine in February 1905. She became known as "the angel-maker of St. Pauli," a name that reflected the dark truth of her crimes.