Hans Erwin Hagedorn was born on January 30, 1952, in Eberswalde, Brandenburg, East Germany.

On May 31, 1969, Erwin Hagedorn killed two nine-year-old boys, Henry Specht and Mario Louis, in a forest in Eberswalde, East Germany. He used a knife to attack them. Their bodies were not found until two weeks later. Both boys had deep cuts to their necks. One of the victims was cut so severely that his head was severed due to the rotting of the body. Investigators began an extensive search and analysis, but this initial investigation did not lead to any immediate answers.

On October 7, 1971, Hagedorn killed another boy, Ronald Winkler, who was 12 years old. This murder happened in the same area and followed a similar method as the earlier killings. Soon after, a boy reported being sexually harassed the year before Hagedorn's first murders. This report contributed to police efforts in the case. Hagedorn was arrested on November 12, 1971. He confessed to killing all three boys during questioning.

In May 1972, Hagedorn was convicted of three counts of murder, sexual abuse, and attempted sexual abuse. He received a death sentence. East Germany had abolished capital punishment for juvenile offenders in 1952, so he could only face execution for the adult murder he committed in 1971. His appeal for clemency was denied by the East German state leader, Walter Ulbricht. Hagedorn was executed by a single shot to the back of the neck on September 15, 1972. His body was cremated and secretly buried.

Hagedorn was the last regular criminal executed in East Germany. The executions for political crimes continued until the practice was abolished in the 1980s. The officer who executed him was Hermann Lorenz, a known figure who had executed many others during his career. In interviews, he stated that none of the people he executed showed signs of resistance or fear as they were taken to the death chamber.