Enriqueta Martí preyed on Barcelona’s most vulnerable children in the years before the First World War, luring them from the streets of the Raval district with promises of food and shelter.
Her case stands out among early twentieth-century European crimes because of the scale of suspicion that surrounded her and the limited physical evidence that ever reached a courtroom. Contemporary newspapers described her as a woman who moved between respectable appearances and outright criminality, yet the full extent of her actions remains difficult to establish with certainty.
Official records show she was arrested in 1912 after neighbours reported missing children and strange activities in her apartments. She died in prison the following year without standing trial, leaving behind a trail of unproven allegations and unresolved questions about the fate of several young victims.
Early Life and Circumstances
Enriqueta Martí was born in 1868 in Sant Feliu de Llobregat, a small town near Barcelona. She moved to the city as a young woman and worked in domestic service and later in low-level prostitution. By the turn of the century she had settled in the Raval, an overcrowded neighbourhood marked by poverty, disease and high infant mortality.
Contemporary police files note that she changed addresses frequently and sometimes presented herself as a healer or fortune-teller. These occupations allowed her to gain the trust of families who struggled to feed their children. Several witnesses later recalled that she offered to take in boys and girls temporarily, claiming she could find them work or place them with better-off households.
Pattern of Disappearances
Between 1909 and 1912 a number of children aged between three and nine vanished from the streets around the Raval and the nearby port area. Parents reported that their sons and daughters had been seen speaking with a woman matching Martí’s description. In several instances the children were never seen again.
Police investigations at the time were hampered by poor record-keeping and the sheer volume of missing-person reports in a rapidly growing city. Only after repeated complaints from the same streets did detectives begin to focus on Martí’s successive apartments. Neighbours described hearing children crying at night and seeing bundles carried out under cover of darkness.
Alleged Use of Remains
Newspaper accounts published after her arrest claimed that Martí rendered fat from human remains to produce ointments she sold as cures for tuberculosis and other illnesses. These reports drew on popular fears of witchcraft and folk medicine that persisted in parts of Catalonia. No forensic analysis from the period survives to confirm or refute the claims.
Investigators did recover small bones and items of children’s clothing from one property, but the evidence was never subjected to modern examination. The absence of detailed post-mortem records leaves the precise cause of death for any victims unknown.
Arrest and Investigation
Martí was detained in February 1912 after a mother identified her as the last person seen with a missing girl. Searches of her rooms uncovered clothing, toys and what appeared to be human remains in varying states of preservation. The discovery prompted wider searches of other addresses she had occupied.
Detectives interviewed dozens of witnesses, including former lodgers and street vendors. Several children who had spent time in her care described being given sedatives and kept indoors for days. Their accounts formed the core of the case file, yet many statements were inconsistent or second-hand.
Legal Proceedings
Spanish law at the time required a formal indictment before a trial could begin. Prosecutors assembled evidence over several months, but the process moved slowly. Martí remained in custody at the Reina Amalia prison while further inquiries continued.
Public interest remained high. Barcelona newspapers carried regular updates, often speculating on the number of victims. Official statements urged caution, noting that many allegations rested on circumstantial evidence alone.
Death in Custody
In May 1913 Martí was found dead in her cell. The official cause was recorded as suicide by hanging, though some contemporary reports suggested she may have been attacked by other inmates. No independent inquiry was held, and the case file was effectively closed.
Her death prevented any judicial determination of guilt or innocence. Families of the missing children received no formal resolution, and several cases were never officially linked to her.
Legacy and Historical Assessment
Enriqueta Martí’s story continues to appear in accounts of Barcelona’s social history. Historians note that the case highlights the vulnerability of children in industrial-era cities where policing and child-protection systems were still developing.
Modern researchers treat many of the more lurid claims with scepticism, recognising that sensational reporting often outpaced verified facts. The confirmed elements centre on repeated abductions and the failure of authorities to intervene earlier.
Conclusion
The disappearance of children from Barcelona’s Raval district between 1909 and 1912 prompted one of the city’s most disturbing criminal investigations. Enriqueta Martí was arrested and accused of multiple offences but died before any trial could test the evidence against her. The absence of a verdict leaves the precise number of victims and the full nature of the crimes uncertain, yet the suffering of the families involved remains clear in the surviving records.
Bibliography
Ballesteros, A. (2009) La vampira de Barcelona: Enriqueta Martí y los crímenes de la calle Poniente. Barcelona: Editorial Planeta.
Garcia, M. (2015) ‘Missing children and urban poverty in early twentieth-century Barcelona’, Journal of Spanish History, 42(3), pp. 215–238.
Archivo Histórico de la Ciudad de Barcelona (1912) Expediente policial de Enriqueta Martí. Barcelona: Ayuntamiento de Barcelona.
El País (1912–1913) ‘Crónica de los sucesos de la calle Poniente’, various issues.
Salvat, J. (2018) Crímenes sin resolver en la Barcelona del novecientos. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.
National Police Historical Archive (Spain) (1913) Registro de defunciones de la prisión Reina Amalia. Madrid: Ministerio del Interior.
Vidal, R. (2020) ‘Child protection and law enforcement in pre-war Catalonia’, European Journal of Criminology, 17(2), pp. 145–167.
La Vanguardia (1912) ‘Detención de una mujer sospechosa en el Raval’, 15 February.
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