Journalist and author Kristina Antivakis presents Danske Drabssager, a Danish true-crime podcast that explores real criminal cases through the perspectives of people directly involved in investigations, prosecutions, and trials. The series focuses on murder and serious crimes, drawing on accounts from investigators, prosecutors, forensic experts, and defence lawyers. Now, a special spin-off series titled "Kriminelle Kvinder" (Criminal Women) has turned its lens specifically toward women who commit homicide and violent crimes—a shift that underscores how rare but significant these cases are in Danish criminal history.
The Criminal Women series examines who these perpetrators are, why they commit crimes, and what distinguishes their cases from those of male offenders. Rather than sensationalizing, the podcast takes a forensic and sociological approach, interviewing professionals who have worked extensively with criminal women, including police officers, prosecutors, forensic psychologists, psychiatrists, and defence lawyers. In at least one episode, the series features direct testimony from a woman who has served prison time for attempted murder, offering listeners an uncommon perspective on violent crime and incarceration.
One standout episode, "Kriminelle Kvinder, Del 1 – Kvinden bag rovmordet fra 1922" (Part 1 – The Woman Behind the 1922 Robbery-Murder), examines one of the most brutal assaults ever committed by a woman in Denmark. The case involves a notorious taxi-driver murder from 1922 attributed to a woman nicknamed "Musse Gadedreng." The episode includes historical analysis from Frederik Strand, a historian and head of the Danish Police Museum, placing the crime within its period context and exploring how such violence by women was perceived in early-20th-century Denmark.
Another episode, "Kriminelle Kvinder, Del 6 – Mit liv som kriminel" (Part 6 – My Life as a Criminal), features a woman named Malene, who has been incarcerated twice. Most recently, she served six years in prison for attempted murder of her partner. In her account, Malene describes her experience inside the prison system and what it means to serve a custodial sentence—providing candid insight into the lives of female offenders and the realities of Danish incarceration.
The timing of this series is significant. According to data presented in the podcast's 2025 episode, crime statistics reveal the rarity of female perpetrators in Denmark: in 2023, only 261 women received prison sentences compared with 4,133 men. This disparity highlights why cases involving female murderers capture particular attention and warrant deeper examination. Female offenders remain a statistical minority, both historically and in contemporary Denmark, making their crimes both anomalous and worthy of criminal-justice scrutiny.
