Diogo Alves
| Diogo Alves | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1810 Galicia, Spain |
| Died |
19 February 1841 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Cause of death | Hanging |
| Other names | O assassino do Aqueduto das Águas Livres, O Pancadas |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Conviction(s) | Murder |
| Killings | |
| Victims | 70+ |
Span of killings | 1836–1840 |
| Country | Portugal |
Date apprehended | 1840 |
Diogo Alves (1810 – 19 February 1841), also known as "O assassino do Aqueduto das Águas Livres" ("The Assassin of Águas Livres Aqueduct"), was a Spanish serial killer and robber who was suspected of killing over 70 people in Portugal from 1836 to 1840.
Biography
Diogo Alves was born in Galicia, Spain in 1810. He moved to Portugal at an early age.[1]
Starting in 1836, Alves would throw his victims off the Águas Livres Aqueduct after robbing them, simulating a suicide. Alves had obtained a false key to the aqueduct and it was only found out to be the work of a criminal after a family of four was killed.[2] The aqueduct was then temporarily closed. Alves had also started a gang by this time. He had a female companion, Gertrudes Maria, throughout some of the crimes. He was caught after murdering a doctor and his family during a robbery in 1840. Alves was sentenced to death and hanged on February 19, 1841 in Lisbon. He was suspected of killing over 70 people.[1] After his death, his head was kept in a jar of Formaldehyde[3] at the Escola Médico-Cirúrgica de Lisboa to later study the mind of a criminal and it is still intact today at the Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa. A Portuguese film, Os Crimes de Diogo Alves, was made in 1911 about his crimes.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 "O Último Condenado à Morte em Portugal". historiadeportugal.info. March 2, 2014. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- ↑ "Diogo Alves the Aqueduct Assassin". waymarking.com. Retrieved April 1, 2014.
- ↑ Miranda, Tiago. "AQUEDUCTS SERIAL KILLER". editorial.4seephoto.com. Retrieved April 1, 2014.