A chilling series of unsolved murders from 1990s Lisbon continues to haunt investigators and the public alike. A serial killer, dubbed the 'Lisbon Ripper', targeted and brutally killed three women, all of whom shared the first name Maria, and evaded capture completely.
The Gruesome Pattern Emerges
The horror began when 22-year-old Maria Valentina was discovered behind a shed in Lisbon. She had been strangled, disembowelled, and was missing her heart, liver, intestines, and genitalia. The scene was so shocking that police stated they had not seen a victim in such a condition in over three decades.
Roughly six months later, the killer struck again. 24-year-old Maria Fernanda was found in an identical location and circumstance, missing the same organs. Disturbingly, her chest had also been carved out. The police, recognising the clear pattern, deployed even more resources, certain the same individual was responsible.
The lead investigator, João de Sousa of the Judicial Police, confirmed the challenges, stating they followed clues and interviewed people connected to the victims' pasts, but everything was informal, lacking the concrete leads needed for an arrest.
A Third Victim and International Connections
Just two months after the second murder, the killer claimed a third victim. 27-year-old Maria João, who was friends with the first victim, was killed following the same brutal pattern. This time, the murderer successfully extracted all of the victim's internal organs.
The crime scenes were forensically clean, containing no blood aside from the victims', and no evidence such as hair, footprints, or bodily fluids. However, the victim profile was starkly clear: all three women were brunettes in their twenties, named Maria, worked as prostitutes, used drugs, and were HIV-positive. The killer consistently left their faces untouched.
In 1993, the FBI became involved, linking the crimes to a similar modus operandi from 1988 in New Bedford, Massachusetts, which has a large Portuguese community. They theorised the killer had been active in the US before returning to Portugal. An arrest was made, but a lack of solid evidence led to nothing.
A Killer Who Evaded Justice Forever
The investigation eventually went cold. Crucially, under Portuguese law, the statute of limitations on these murders came into effect in 2008. This legal technicality means that even if a suspect is identified or confesses today, they cannot be prosecuted or jailed for these crimes.
Rumours persisted that the Ripper may have been a lorry driver, as similar crimes were reported in the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Belgium between 1993 and 1997. The Lisbon Ripper, potentially still alive and free, remains one of Europe's most baffling and tragic unsolved cases.
