Had Enriqueta Martí lived among us today her story would rival those of society’s most vile predators. The media would have relished making us squirm as it documented her depravity and marveled as we crashed servers and skyrocketed ratings in search of details. But she lived in another time. This was Barcelona of the early 19th century, a time of great social upheaval. One that would open the door of opportunity for someone of Martís’ uniquely soulless and entrepreneurial talent.
Serial Killer in Training
Little is known of Enriqueta Martí i Ripollés before she arrived in Barcelona in the early years of the 19th Century. What is known is that she did not arrive alone. She brought with her a brutal penchant for survival and an equally fierce desire to rise above a poverty that she would soon sadistically twist to her advantage.
She initially found lodging and employment in the homes of the aristocracy. But the role of servant girl did not sit well nor did it last; she was meant for grander things. Martí was nothing if not a quick learner. Her time smoothing the satin sheets and sweeping the great marble floors of Barcelona’s elite gave her the chance to observe. Here was opportunity and it was screaming at her. Her learning curve had to be steep, she had to study, overhear and look deep into the souls of the privileged. She must devise ways in which to provide services to placate those who had everything so that she might suckle at their many riches.
Prostitution and Wealth
Martís’ first foray into Barcelona’s underside was through prostitution. She quickly realized that although she had no material belongings, her body was a ready source of currency. Her numerous clients included many men of standing, men who would in the future come to her aid and indeed provide ready customers for her horrific product line to come.
Nothing in her life happened by chance, every detail another careful rung in her ascent toward power. Social tensions in the city reached breaking point in 1909. ‘La Setmana Tràgica’ (Tragic Week) would see much destruction of public property and with the increased police presence the discovery of the brothel from which Martí plied her trade. This could have been the end of her upward mobility and aspirations, but the ground work had been well laid. Certain hands had been shaken, certain legalities overlooked and the soon-to-be ‘Vampire of Barcelona’ had her freedom.
Child Prostitution and Murder
And so the darkest chapter in the life of Enriqueta Martí began. Again, feeding off information she gleaned from her exposure to the depravities of the rich she set to move into an entirely different line of work. She was no longer the poor girl who swept and polished, she was now a woman of some means. Her various apartments thoughout the city would be put to good use as she cleverly switched lodgings and personas to protect her horrible secret.
If all the stereotypes about witches were to personify then the result would probably pale against Enriqueta Martí. For now she was putting her experiences of fulfilling the dark sexual cravings of her illustrious clients behind her; instead pushing an entirely new offering to the fore.
Her targets became children, young children from Barcelona’s destitute Raval Quarter. She would prostitute them to the pedophiles and deviants who had for so long protected and frequented her brothels. She could at once appear impoverished, dressed in rags to entice her prey and then as evening fell, attend the lavish galas of the El Liceu (Barcelona Opera House) as gentry.
Barcelona’s Forgotten Children
As abhorrent as her new business venture was, still much worse was to come. Not content with satisfying her male clients she set about attending to the cosmetic needs of their wives and mistresses. She slaughtered a great number of her foundlings and extracted from them certain base ingredients.
Body fat, blood and ground bone were rendered to create a line of various elixirs and facial crèmes. But again, this was no chance endeavor - this was calculated cruelty for optimum gain. Martí knew that certain dark voids of high society craved the perceived age-slowing benefits of infant flesh; this was simple supply and demand.
Marti continued unabated before finally being discovered in 1912 by a vigilant neighbor who alerted police. Only two children were ever saved from the Barcelona witch's clutches, girls who were witness to scenes that no amount of artificial blood could ever do justice.
The fact that Enriqueta Martí was killed by fellow inmates as she awaited sentence was of little comfort to the families of those who died and of even smaller consequence to those who abetted her.
Resources:
Fernando Gómez, El misterio de la calle Poniente (The Mistery of Poniente Street) - Spanish
Marc Pastor, La mala mujer (The Bad Woman) - Spanish
Related Articles:
Why Female Serial Killers Kill
Black Widows – Female Serial Killers
Sources:
Tiny Cloud - A Terrible True Story of Horror and Social Hypocrisy
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