Piroska Jancsó-Ladányi was born on January 15, 1934, in Törökszentmiklós, Hungary. She was the daughter of Borbála, who had a difficult early life. Borbála was born on May 1, 1909, as one of 16 children. Tragically, 12 of her siblings died in infancy. At the age of 8, she lost her father, which left the family in a challenging financial situation. Borbála had to drop out of school to help support her family.

As a teenager at the age of 16, Borbála began offering sexual services to support herself. This decision led to her being shunned by her peers. She worked as a maid for male farmers while also engaging in sexual relationships. Borbála had five children, with Piroska being born to a local farmer named Gyula Ladányi. Another of her children, József, was born to a Jewish merchant, Lipót Weisz, who was later deported and never returned.

Piroska and her family lived in a building at 171 Red Army Road, which was considered a brothel by people in the community. The house was described as a simple farmhouse with a few rooms. Borbála and Piroska often had visitors looking for sexual services, and they received payments in various forms. Unfortunately, both Borbála and Piroska contracted sexually transmitted diseases.

Piroska had a troubled childhood. At about 14 years old, she began to engage in sexual activities with Soviet soldiers. She often stole and drank alcohol during her free time. Though she completed her education up to the 5th grade, she had a keen interest in reading, particularly about human anatomy. A psychiatrist described her as having above-average intelligence and good verbal skills.

By 1952, Piroska had faced legal trouble for theft and had been arrested multiple times in different cities. An officer noted her immoral lifestyle, stating that she often stayed out late and lived a careless life. She experienced issues with her health, requiring treatment for her sexually transmitted diseases on three occasions.

In the summer of 1953, Piroska Jancsó-Ladányi met 11-year-old Marika Komáromi, who was herding cows. A few months later, on October 13, she encountered Marika again at a vegetable shop. Jancsó-Ladányi lured Marika to her house with the promise of fries. After they reached the house, Jancsó-Ladányi gave Marika a book to read, then strangled her with an electric wire. After the murder, she undressed the body, engaged in sexual acts with it, and then disposed of it in a well.

On June 9, 1954, Jancsó-Ladányi approached 13-year-old Piroska Hóppal at the market. She pretended to buy chickens but took Hóppal to her farmhouse instead. Once there, she strangled Hóppal with a wire. Afterward, she committed sexual acts with the corpse and stole money from the girl before discarding her body.

Later that summer, on August 9, Jancsó-Ladányi met 17-year-old Irén Simon and lured her to the farmhouse as well. She strangled Simon and, noticing that she had a venereal disease, decided not to engage sexually with her corpse. Instead, she disposed of Simon’s body in the well and took money from her clothes.

Just two days later, she encountered 12-year-old Marika Botos at a bus stop. Jancsó-Ladányi offered to help her get to her godmother's house. When they reached the farmhouse, she killed Botos with a cotton cord and again engaged in sexual acts with the body before throwing it into the well.

On August 14, Jancsó-Ladányi approached her fifth victim, 13-year-old Katóká Szőke, at a railway station. She lured Szőke under the pretext of helping carry a package. After reaching her farmhouse, Jancsó-Ladányi strangled her with a trouser strap, mutilated the body, and disposed of it in the well. She also sold Szőke's clothes at the market.

As the disappearances of the girls continued, community fear grew, leading to suspicions toward various outsiders. Eventually, on September 2, 1954, there was an attempt to strangle a woman named Istvánné Balászi. This incident led to the investigation of Jancsó-Ladányi. Police discovered clothing belonging to the missing girls when they searched her farmhouse. During this search, they found human remains in a well.

The investigation revealed five victims. Jancsó-Ladányi was arrested, and her mother was also implicated. Both were eventually sentenced for their crimes, and Jancsó-Ladányi was executed on December 12, 1954, by hanging.