Enriqueta Martí
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Enriqueta Martí i Ripollés, AKA The Vampire of Barcelona, (1868 - 12 May 1913) was a Spanish serial killer, kidnapper and proprietor of a child brothel.
Biography edit
Martí worked as a prostitute in Barcelona. In 1909 she opened her own brothel which attracted many of Barcelona's rich citizens. Several of her clients expressed a desire for children. Martí accommodated this by going out into the street disguised as a pauper and abducting abandoned children before pimping them out to her wealthy clients.
In addition to this, Martí ran another business as a witch-doctor. She would abduct and kill children before disposing of their bodies by grinding them up and using the remains to make salves, ointments and other such things which she would sell to wealthy clients as cures for tuberculosis. She also offered immortality elixirs made from the children's blood. How many children she killed is unknown, as authorities were only able to confirm the deaths of twelve children.
During the Tragic Week of 1909 Martí was arrested on charges of running a brothel which offered the sexual services of children. She was later released without charge due to her influence over the ruling classes of Barcelona. Many more children were kidnapped for use as prostitutes or ointments, but as they were from poor families investigation was minimal.
On 10 February 1912 a little girl named Teresita Congost was abducted by Martí. By this point it had become apparent that the authorities had been ignoring a spate of child abductions and the widespread public outrage forced the police to mount a full-scale search. During the two-week search one of Martí's neighbours, a woman named Claudia Elías, saw a girl who she suspected was Congost looking out the window of Martí's flat. When she asked Martí if the girl was hers she shut the door without saying a word. Elías informed the police, who asked Martí for entrance to her flat under the pretence of complaints about excessive noise. They found two girls, one of whom was Congost.
When interviewed Congost told officers about how Martí had abducted her, physically abused her and forced her to call her "mama". She also claimed to have entered a room that Martí forbade her from entering and found a sack containing some bloody girl's clothes and a knife. The other girl, named Angelita, alleged that Martí had kidnapped a boy before kidnapping her and had brutally slaughtered him on the kitchen table in front of her.
Martí, already in custody, was now suspected of murder. Police searched her flat and found the sack Congost claimed to have seen, as well as another sack containing at least thirty human bones. In addition to this, they found fifty pitcher jars containing the remains of children who Martí had killed for her wares. A search of flats she had lived in previously was immediately ordered. One of the flats was found to contain human remains behind the walls, and another contained the skeletons of several babies. A list of names was found in one flat, believed to be either a list of her brothel clients or a list of people she had begged from.
Martí was incarcerated in the Reina Amàlia prison to await trial for murder, kidnapping and prostitution. She attempted suicide via slitting her wrists but was prevented by the police. The suicide attempt caused outrage, as the public wanted her to be convicted and executed via garrotte. Prison authorities placed her on suicide watch to prevent another attempt. In spite of this Martí did not live to see trial, as she was assaulted and lynched by fellow inmates on 12 May 1913.