On 3 March 1921, she was sentenced to death in one of the most noted trials in Danish history—one that changed legislation on childcare.
Overbye was working as a professional child caretaker, caring for babies born outside of marriage, murdering her own charges.
Her lawyer based the defense on Overbye being abused herself as a baby, yet that claim did not impress the judge.
The Danish author Karen Søndergaard Koldste wrote a novel called Englemagersken (The Angel Maker) based on her.
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 as 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.