Evelyn MacLean was born on October 13, 1920, in Beamsville, Ontario. Her parents, Donald and Alexandra MacLean, were Scottish immigrants. When Evelyn was one year old, her family moved to Hamilton, Ontario. They lived at 214 Rosslyn Avenue. Her father, Donald, was an abusive alcoholic who had a collection of firearms. He worked as a streetcar conductor for the Hamilton Street Railway. Donald later stole $200,000 from his employer.

When she was 24 years old, she married John Dick. John was 39 and came from a Mennonite family that had migrated to Canada to escape the Russian Revolution. He also worked for the Hamilton Street Railway. Shortly after their marriage, Evelyn began an affair with another man named Bill Bohozuk. This affair started just days after her wedding. Within three months, she separated from John. Another three months later, John Dick went missing.

After John Dick was reported missing, five local children discovered a human torso on Hamilton Mountain near Albion Falls. The condition of the victim allowed the authorities to identify him as John. His head and limbs had been removed. Evidence later revealed that these body parts were disposed of in the furnace of Evelyn Dick’s home. Following this, Evelyn, her father, Donald MacLean, and Bill Bohozuk were charged with murder. Although Bohozuk was implicated by Evelyn, he was ultimately cleared of any wrongdoing.

Evelyn and her father faced trial in 1946. The trial attracted large crowds due to the shocking nature of the crime, especially when it was revealed that Evelyn had a "black book" detailing her sexual encounters. It was revealed that she had been intimate with around 150 men. During the trial, she claimed that one of those men was the judge's son. The jury found her guilty, and she was sentenced to death by hanging. However, with the help of a new lawyer, she appealed the decision and won an acquittal. Donald MacLean was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact and served four years in prison.

In the course of the investigation, a partly mummified body of an infant was found in the attic of Evelyn's home, encased in cement inside an old suitcase. This body was identified as that of her son, Peter David White. The discovery led to a second murder trial for Evelyn in 1947. She was once again convicted and received a life sentence. Evelyn served eleven years in Kingston’s Prison for Women before being paroled in 1958.

After her release, she assumed a new identity and job, effectively disappearing from public view. Her legal file was sealed following her pardon in 1985, which marked the end of her public notoriety.