Pigen med nålen: Dagmar Overbye, Denmark's Most Notorious Killer

The documentary explores the chilling story of Dagmar Overbye, who between 1913 and 1920 systematically killed infants in Copenhagen. Overbye ran an illegal adoption business, taking in children from unmarried mothers in exchange for payment. Rather than finding the children new homes, she strangled or drowned them and disposed of the bodies in brutal ways.

The film delves into the social context of the time, when unmarried mothers were heavily stigmatised and desperate to hide their pregnancies. Overbye exploited this vulnerability, building a business on other people's misfortune. Her crimes were only uncovered in 1920, when police found evidence of multiple killings.

The documentary examines the trial that shocked Danish society. Overbye was sentenced to death in 1921, though the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. She died in Møgelkær Fængsel in 1929.

Through archival material and expert interviews, the film offers a nuanced portrait of one of Denmark's most macabre criminal cases, raising questions about the social conditions that made her crimes possible.