She was the wife of a wealthy and successful tailor in the town of Ribe in Jutland and ran an inn in one of her husband's houses.
[2] [3] Didrik then gathered witnesses to support his cause and went straight to King Christian IV of Denmark, in 1639.
The king declared that the case should be opened again, and that Maren should bring 15 character witnesses to swear her free from the charges.
The judgement was; "Because Maren Spliid personally and here before the court as well as in earlier confessions, said that she had used sorcery, and thereby misused the holy sacrament of communion, we found her as a sorceress, and on her life suffer fire and stake".
She was given a half bottle of alcohol to steady herself with and a bag of gunpowder on her back to make the death quicker.