Children began to disappear from working-class districts of Barcelona in the years before the First World War, prompting police to examine the activities of a local woman who moved between domestic service and informal medical practices.
Enriqueta Martí lived in the city during a period of rapid industrial growth and social strain. Official records show she faced repeated accusations of child abduction, though many details remain disputed due to incomplete investigations at the time.
Contemporary accounts describe how families in the Raval and Poble Sec neighbourhoods reported missing sons and daughters between 1909 and 1912. Detectives eventually linked several of these cases to properties associated with Martí.
Background
Martí was born in 1868 in a village near Valencia and moved to Barcelona as a young woman. Census and court documents indicate she worked as a maid and later as a healer offering herbal remedies to families unable to afford physicians.
By 1910 she rented rooms in several buildings and maintained connections with individuals involved in prostitution. Police files note that she occasionally provided shelter to runaways and street children, a practice that later drew scrutiny.
Life in Barcelona
City archives record Martí’s frequent changes of address, often within the same narrow streets. Neighbours described her as reserved yet occasionally helpful with minor ailments. No formal medical qualification appears in surviving documents.
Economic pressures in the city at the time left many families vulnerable. Children sometimes worked or played unsupervised, increasing opportunities for strangers to approach them.
The Disappearances
Between 1909 and 1912, at least five children aged between three and nine were reported missing in central Barcelona. Official police reports list names such as Teresita Guitart and Angel Baltasar, though full case files have not all survived.
Parents described last sightings near markets or outside schools. Searches yielded no immediate results, and newspapers carried appeals for information without producing confirmed leads at the time.
Patterns noted by investigators
Detectives observed that several missing children had previously received minor treatments from Martí or her associates. One child who later escaped described being taken to an apartment where other children were held.
These accounts emerged only after arrests began, limiting their value as contemporaneous evidence.
Investigation and Arrest
In February 1912, police raided an apartment in the Calle de Poniente following a tip from a neighbour. Officers found two young children inside, one of whom had been reported missing. Bones and clothing fragments were also recovered from the premises.
Martí was taken into custody along with two other women. Further searches of additional properties linked to her produced more human remains, though forensic techniques of the era could not establish precise causes of death or identities.
Evidence gathered
Court documents mention jars containing ointments and preserved tissue samples. Prosecutors alleged these materials came from the missing children, yet defence arguments questioned the chain of custody and the scientific reliability of the examinations.
Public interest grew quickly, with newspapers printing sensational accounts that mixed verified police statements with unconfirmed rumours.
Legal Proceedings
Martí faced charges of kidnapping and murder. The case attracted widespread attention because of the victims’ ages and the alleged use of remains in supposed remedies.
She died in prison in May 1913 before a full trial could conclude. Official records list the cause as natural illness, though some contemporary reports speculated otherwise without supporting proof.
Legacy
The Martí case highlighted weaknesses in early twentieth-century child protection systems in Spain. Subsequent reforms improved record-keeping for missing persons and increased oversight of informal healers.
Modern historians treat the episode as an example of how poverty, limited forensic science and press sensationalism shaped public understanding of crime during that period.
Conclusion
The disappearances linked to Enriqueta Martí left lasting questions for Barcelona families and authorities. Available records show a pattern of abduction and suspicious remains, yet incomplete evidence prevented a definitive judicial outcome. The case continues to illustrate the challenges of investigating child crimes in an era before advanced forensic methods.
Bibliography
Archivo Histórico de la Ciudad de Barcelona. (1912) Expediente judicial sobre Enriqueta Martí. Barcelona: Ayuntamiento de Barcelona.
El Noticiero Universal. (1912–1913) Reports on the Martí investigation. Barcelona: various issues.
Gómez, J. (2005) Crímenes en la Barcelona del siglo XX. Madrid: Ediciones Akal.
La Vanguardia. (1912) Coverage of arrests and evidence in the Raval district. Barcelona: various issues.
Martínez, A. (2010) La Barcelona oculta: casos criminales 1900–1930. Barcelona: Editorial Barcino.
National Police Historical Archive. (1913) Summary report on child disappearances 1909–1912. Madrid: Ministerio del Interior.
Smith, R. (2018) Urban poverty and child welfare in early twentieth-century Spain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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