Martha Wise was born on April 18, 1883, in Hardscrabble, Ohio. Her parents were Wilhelm Carl Hasel and Sophia Elizabeth Gienke, both of whom worked as farmers. Martha was the fourth child in a family that included three brothers and one sister. Her brothers were named Frederick and Paul, and her sister's name was Emma.

In 1906, Martha met a man named Albert Wise at a box social. Albert was much older than her, and they soon got married. However, there was no wedding ring given to Martha on their wedding day. Their marriage was troubled from the start. Martha moved to Albert's farm, which was about 50 acres in size. Living on the farm was hard, and she found that Albert expected her to work like a farmhand instead of treating her as a wife. She had to do heavy farm work, like plowing fields and caring for animals, even while she was pregnant. Along with these tasks, she also managed household duties like baking and cleaning.

Martha and Albert had five children together. Their first child, Walter Austin, died shortly after birth. The couple's other four children—Everett, Gertrude, Kenneth, and Lester—survived. During this time, Martha found a strange comfort in attending funerals. She often went to every funeral held in or near Hardscrabble, regardless of whether or not she knew the person who had died. When asked about this behavior, she simply said that she enjoyed funerals.

In 1922, Albert Wise passed away suddenly. Martha was now a 40-year-old widow with four children to care for. After Albert's death, her unusual interest in funerals became even more evident. She not only attended funerals but also started openly crying and expressing sorrow during these events, regardless of who had passed away.

Martha Wise was involved in a series of poisonings that resulted in several deaths among her family members. In Thanksgiving 1924, members of her family, including her mother Sophie, started to experience severe stomach issues. While most in the family recovered, Sophie's condition got worse, and she died on December 13, 1924. After Sophie’s death, other relatives also began falling ill. By New Year’s Eve, relatives such as Lily Gienke and her husband Fred also showed similar symptoms. Tragically, both Lily and Fred died by February 1925. In total, seventeen family members became sick with the same ailments during this time, and some were left partially paralyzed.

Following these deaths, the authorities began an investigation. The county sheriff discovered that Martha had purchased large amounts of arsenic from a local drug store. An autopsy on Lily revealed arsenic in her body. When questioned, Martha initially claimed she bought the arsenic to kill rats but later confessed to using it to poison her family. She stated she added it to water buckets and coffee pots that her family used.

Martha was arrested and indicted for the murder of Lily Gienke on April 7, 1925. Her trial started on May 4, 1925. During the trial, Martha claimed she was mentally ill and stated that her former lover had ordered her to commit the murders. The defense faced challenges, including tragic events involving potential witnesses who were supposed to support Martha’s case. Ultimately, the jury deliberated for an hour before finding her guilty of first-degree murder. The jury did recommend mercy, which led the judge to sentence her to life in prison.

In 1962, after years in prison for good behavior, her sentence was commuted to second-degree murder, and she was paroled at age 79. However, her family would not take her in, and she had nowhere to go. Within three days, she returned to prison because she had no other options. Martha Wise passed away in prison on June 28, 1971.