Martin Roháč was born in or near Velká Bíteš, in the historical region of Moravia, part of the Kingdom of Bohemia during the 16th century. Precise details about his early life are not known due to the lack of archival records from that period. However, historical accounts confirm that he served as a soldier in the war between the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Turks between 1566 and 1568, which ended with the Peace of Adrianople.

Following the demobilization of Habsburg troops after the ceasefire, Roháč, along with a group of fellow former soldiers, turned to a life of violent crime. The post-war period had left many men jobless, disillusioned, and armed. Roháč became the ringleader of one such group.

Roháč and his gang exploited their military training and the chaos of post-war Central Europe to execute a string of violent crimes between 1568 and 1571. They ambushed unsuspecting merchants and tradespeople, stripping victims of money, clothing, and even weapons. Notably, in one day in Hustopeče near Brno, they murdered three men and stole skirts from women—illustrating both their greed and contempt for human life.

When the gang's brutality peaked, only Roháč, Miča, and Čech remained. In a macabre turn, they murdered pregnant women in several towns, performing ritualistic mutilations, carved fruit motifs into their bodies, removed unborn organs, and cooked the hearts, lungs, and livers. Consumed by some twisted belief, they thought these rituals would embolden them for further atrocities.

In early 1571, Mikuláš Miča was captured in Tišnov and, under torture, confessed to the group's crimes, leading authorities to Martin Roháč, who was arrested in his hometown of Velká Bíteš. Upon his arrest, Roháč also confessed under torture to the full scale of the atrocities.

The trial and sentencing were conducted in Brno, and due to the unspeakable nature of the crimes, the ruling was designed to match the barbarity of the offenses. On 7 February 1571, Roháč was sentenced to death by torture: removal of finger bones at the pillory, torn flesh via pliers, limb manipulation, and the wheel, intended both as punishment and deterrent. and public execution, alongside six accomplices. On 17 February 1571, in front of Brno spectators, these merciless punishments were carried out by the executioner along with Roháč’s six accomplices.