Ferdinand Wittmann was born on 11 September 1836 in Koblenz, then part of the German Confederation. He trained as a bookbinder and, in 1859, set up his own bindery in Wollin. Between 1860 and 1865, he married four times—a sequence of unions that would become tragically suspicious.

His first marriage was to Emilie Maria Gehm on 16 November 1860. The couple had two sons—Johannes (or Hugo, depending on sources) and Louis. But tragedy soon followed: Emilie fell gravely ill between 3 and 16 September (year unspecified), despite hospital treatment, and died. Her death certificate cited endometritis as the cause. Wittmann then collected life insurance from a firm named Germania.

That same pattern repeated: his son Johannes fell ill on 31 January 1863 and died on 2 February 1863 under the care of the local Sanitätsrat Schmurr. Wittmann’s second wife, Auguste Charlotte Höhn, whom he married on 15 June 1863, died on 22 December 1863. The third wife, Auguste Kornotzky (or Kornitzki), whom he married on 1 April 1864, also died on 15 August 1865. In October 1865, he married the widow of a drowned ship captain named Böse, becoming stepfather to her orphaned daughter, Georgine Auguste Alwine Böse. On 13 July 1866, they welcomed a new child together. The family then moved to Poznań. But his new wife fell ill on 17 September 1866 and died the next day; attending physicians (Oberstabsarzt Mayer and Dr. Laube) were unable to determine the cause.

Meanwhile, the stepdaughter Georgine fell ill on 22 October 1865 and died overnight between 23 and 24 October; the doctor diagnosed meningitis.

Ferdinand Wittmann’s string of tragedies began with his marriage to Emilie Maria Gehm on 16 November 1860, producing two children—Johannes (also known in some sources as Hugo) and Louis. But what seemed like a growing family soon turned deadly. Between 3 and 16 September 1862, Emilie fell ill and, despite treatment by the local physician, passed away; her death certificate blamed endometritis, though suspicions lingered. Wittmann then collected a life insurance policy from the Germania company, adding a chilling financial note to her demise.

The pattern repeated quickly. His son Johannes fell sick on 31 January 1863 and, under the care of Sanitätsrat Schmurr, died on 2 February 1863. Not long after, Wittmann remarried on 15 June 1863 to Auguste Charlotte Höhn—but she, too, died on 22 December 1863.

Without pause, Wittmann entered a third marriage on 1 April 1864 to Auguste Kornotzky (also spelled Kornitzki). That union ended with her death on 15 August 1865. Then, on 17 October 1865, he wed the widow of a ship's captain named Böse—thus becoming stepfather to her daughter Georgine Auguste Alwine Böse. Together, they had another child, born on 13 July 1866, and moved to Poznań with his new family and his surviving son Louis.

Soon, tragedy struck again: Wittmann’s wife fell ill on 17 September 1866 and died the following day. Physicians Oberstabsarzt Mayer and Dr. Laube could not determine the cause of her sudden death. Adding more sorrow, his stepdaughter Georgine fell sick on 22 October 1865, received treatment (morning and evening) the next day, but died overnight between 23–24 October—with Dr. Wiener attributing her death to meningitis.

Those layers of unexplained fatalities didn’t go unnoticed. At the request of Edmund Bärensprung, the Chief of Police in Poznań, an autopsy was performed on Wittmann’s most recent wife to uncover the truth under the surface. Investigations deepened—with exhumations beginning on 17 October 1866, when Georgine’s body was dug up, followed by the graves of Emilie, Hugo/Johannes, and Auguste Höhn on 29 April 1867, all from Wollin’s Protestant Cemetery.

The mounting evidence finally led to a jury trial, originally scheduled for 17 February 1868, but the court proceedings formally opened on 22 June 1868. Wittmann’s defense counsel was future Justice Councilor August Dockhorn, while prosecutor H. Schmieden represented the charges before the appellate court in Poznań. 

In the end, Wittmann was found guilty. He was initially sentenced to death, but on 14 April 1870, that sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in a Zuchthaus (prison), ensuring the sixfold poisoner would never walk free again. In 1868, Wittmann died by execution.