Martha Charles, who would later be known as Needle, was born on April 9, 1863, in Morgan, South Australia. Her father passed away when she was very young.

In 1870, Martha's mother, Mary Charles, married Daniel Foran, and they had two more children. The family was very poor and lived in a small two-room house in North Adelaide. Martha claimed that her mother often beat her with a stick or rope. When she was 12, her stepfather assaulted her.

At the age of 13, Martha left home and began working as a housekeeper. When she was 18, she married Henry Needle in 1882. The marriage started off happy, and they had three daughters named Mabel, Elsie, and May. In 1885, the family moved to Richmond, a suburb of Melbourne.

However, after the move, Martha and Henry's relationship started to fall apart. Martha was an attractive woman who enjoyed socializing, while Henry was shy and jealous. He often beat her, causing further strain on their marriage.

On February 23, 1885, Mabel Needle died after a short illness. Martha Needle, her mother, said Mabel "seemed to fade." Martha collected £100 from Mabel's life insurance. On October 4, 1889, Henry Needle, who was insured for £200, died from a mysterious illness. In 1890, Elsie and May Needle also died, leaving doctors puzzled. Martha spent most of the insurance money on a fancy family grave and visited it often.

In 1891, Martha moved into a house attached to a saddlery business owned by Louis Juncken and his brother Otto in Richmond. Martha began an affair with Otto in 1893, but Louis and another brother, Herman, didn't approve and tried to stop their engagement. In 1894, Louis got sick and died from what was thought to be typhoid. In June 1894, Herman came to Melbourne to settle his brother's affairs. After eating a meal Martha made, Herman got very sick but recovered. He fell ill again after another meal and fully recovered, but a third meal left him in severe pain. Dr. Boyd treated Herman for suspected poisoning and sent a sample of his vomit to a lab. The analysis showed it contained arsenic.

Dr. Boyd informed the police, and they set a trap. They asked Herman to have Martha make him lunch again. After being served tea, Herman "blew the whistle," and detectives arrived to find Martha trying to upset the teacup. The tea was found to have enough arsenic to kill five people.

Martha was arrested and charged with attempted murder. Louis Juncken's body was exhumed and tested for poison, as were the bodies of Henry Needle and the three Needle girls. All were found to have deadly levels of arsenic. Martha was then charged with Louis Juncken's murder. The trial lasted three days. Martha pleaded not guilty but was found guilty and sentenced to death.

While in jail, Martha received visits from friends. In her final letter to Mrs. Owen, she wrote, "Try not to grieve too much for me." On October 22, 1894, she was executed at 8:00 am. When asked for her last words, she said, "I have nothing to say."

Martha Needle was the third of four women hanged at the Old Melbourne Gaol. Her death mask is still there. Later, during the Great Depression, stones from the gaol, including headstones, were used to build walls to protect beaches. Martha's headstone, with her initials and execution date, is visible in the Green Point wall.