The Lisbon Ripper (Portuguese: O Estripador de Lisboa) was an unidentified serial killer who, between 1992 and 1993 murdered three prostitutes in Lisbon, Portugal.
Crimes
The first victim was 22-year-old Maria Valentina, nicknamed "Tina", who frequented the area around Avenidas Novas, Avenidas Defensores de Chaves and Avenida Cinco de Outubro. She was found on July 31, 1992, in a large cabin in Póvoa de Santo Adrião, lying in a pool of her own blood. She had been strangled, disemboweled, and some of her internal organs had been removed.
The second victim, 24-year-old Maria Fernanda, was found on January 27, 1993, in a large cabin in Entrecampos, by railway construction workers who were working at a nearby railway bridge. She was also disemboweled, and some internal organs had been removed.
The third and last victim was 27-year-old Maria João, a resident of the Santo António dos Cavaleiros ghetto who lived alone. She was found on March 15, 1993, near the location of the first victim (of whom she was a friend). Like the previous victims, she was disemboweled, but this time almost all her organs were removed.
All the victims were young brunettes named Maria, allegedly prostitutes and drug addicts, and were disemboweled with a sharp object that was not a knife, possibly a scalpel.
Investigations
First murders
When the Prevention Service of Homicide Department received a call about the first murder, members of the Judicial Police (PJ) who arrived at the scene were shocked at the brutality of Maria Valentina's murder. The corpse was then given to expert medical examiner Jose Sombreirero, who claimed to have never seen such a thing in 40,000 autopsies and 30 years of experience. In the subsequent investigation, it was revealed that the victim was either a prostitute or drug addict, known from childhood as "Tina". Throughout 1992, numerous telephone calls and anonymous letters were received about the murder. Each was investigated but all lacked solid evidence.
On January 27 of the following year, the Ripper attacked again, this time killing Maria Fernanda, whose body was found by railway workers. An entire police brigade was mobilized, but nobody doubted that the perpetrator was the same: the body had been shredded, with the same organs removed and near the same area. This time, the killer had also cut off her breasts in the cabin at Entrecampos. In the PJ's investigation, it was revealed that, like the first victim, Fernanda was a prostitute.
Judicial Police (PJ) The PJ opened the case on January 3, 1993, after the death of Maria Fernanda, investigating both her and Valentina's pasts. Six men worked 24 hours a day on the same case and sometimes even with the support of the drug trafficking department, which seconded employees from its nighttime surveillance brigade.
"There were clues between Lisbon and Cascais about several people relating to their past, but everything was informal, without enough evidence to arrest or even question anyone," lamented coordinator João de Sousa. The PJ knew that the serial killer (or serial killers) would murder again and soon, but lacked any clues to charge anybody.
On March 15, what the PJ feared happened again: the Ripper attacked and killed his third victim - Maria João. She had been mutilated in the same way as Fernanda and Valentina, but this time, all of her organs had been removed. Like the other victims, she too had either been a prostitute or drug addict.
However, there was little or no evidence found at the crime scene: no blood (except from the victims), hair, footprints, fingerprints, or glove material. The police had some suspects, but no evidence against them.
Ripper's profile
Coroner Jose Sombrereiro, through examining his crimes, determined that the Ripper was probably a solitary man, unrelated to his victims and most likely above suspicion. His crimes could be considered 'perfect', as there were no clues to any potential culprit.
The Ripper probably knocked his victims unconscious with strong blows to the head, something he had most likely practiced, then plucked out the heart, liver and lungs, lingering around the bodies but leaving no trace. He kept his victims' faces intact, never clearing away the blood. The three crimes were committed at night (probably at dawn, which explains the absence of witnesses).