Dagmar Johanne Amalie Overby (; 23 April 1887 – 6 May 1929) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

. She murdered between 9 and 25 children, including one of her own, during a seven-year-period from 1913 to 1920. On 3 March 1921, she was

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in one of the most noted

trials In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribun ...

Danish history The history of Denmark as a unified kingdom began in the 8th century, but historic documents describe the geographic area and the people living there—the Danes—as early as 500 AD. These early documents include the writings of Jordanes and ...

—one that changed

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

childcare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

. The sentence was later commuted to

life in prison Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

. Overbye was working as a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

child caretaker, caring for babies born outside of marriage, murdering her own charges. She

strangled Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and is one of two main ways that hangin ...

them,

drowned Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

them or burned them to death in her

masonry heater A masonry heater (also called a masonry stove) is a device for warming an interior space through radiant heating, by capturing the heat from periodic burning of fuel (usually wood), and then radiating the heat at a fairly constant temperature ...

. The corpses were either

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

, buried or hidden in the

loft A loft is a building's upper storey or elevated area in a room directly under the roof (American usage), or just an attic: a storage space under the roof usually accessed by a ladder (primarily British usage). A loft apartment refers to large ...

. Overbye was convicted of nine murders, as there was insufficient proof of the others. Her lawyer based the case on Overbye being

abused Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

herself as a baby, but that did not impress the judge. She became one of the three women sentenced to death in Denmark in the 20th century, but she – like the other two – was reprieved. She died in prison on 6 May 1929, at age 42. Notes relating to her case are included in the Politihistorisk Museum (Museum of Police History) in

Nørrebro Nørrebro (, ) is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is northwest of the city centre, beyond the location of the old Northern Gate (''Nørreport''), which, until dismantled in 1856, was near the current Nørreport stati ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

In popular culture

The Danish author Karen Søndergaard Koldste wrote a novel called ''Englemagersken'' (''The Angel Maker'') based on her. Teatret ved Sorte Hest in Copenhagen has performed a play named ''Historien om en Mo(r)der'' (''Morder'' meaning "murderer" and ''moder'' meaning "mother") based on her life. Overbye is a character in the 2024 film '' The Girl with the Needle'', directed by Poland-based Swedish director Magnus von Horn, where she is portrayed by

Trine Dyrholm Trine Dyrholm (; born 15 April 1972) is a Danish actress, singer and songwriter. Dyrholm received national recognition when she placed third in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix as a 14-year-old singer. Four years later, she again achieved national re ...

, a candy shopkeeper who quietly advertises she can get babies adopted for a fee, but in fact kills them after their families drop them off. The film premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overby, Dagmar Johanne Amalie 1887 births 1929 deaths 20th-century Danish criminals Danish female murderers Danish murderers of children Danish people convicted of murder Danish people who died in prison custody Danish prisoners sentenced to death Danish serial killers Female serial killers Filicides People convicted of murder by Denmark Prisoners sentenced to death by Denmark Prisoners who died in Danish detention Serial killers who died in prison custody Women sentenced to death

In popular culture

See also

References