Manuel Blanco Romasanta Was a Spanish psychopath who admitted having murdered 13 people in the 19th century, becoming the first serial killer to have records in the country. Sentenced to death, his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment as the first case of clinical lycanthropy.
And it is that the murderer, after confessing his crimes, ensured that he was not to blame for what he had done. According to him, he was the victim of a curse that made him a wolf. Therefore, he was also known as,"The Wolf Man of Allariz", the"Sacamantecas"or the"Man of the Sack", these last two nicknames because of the job he had.
Family life in Romasanta
Manuel Blanco Romasanta, was born on 18 November 1809 in the village of Regueiro, located in the province of Orense, a town belonging to the autonomous community of Galicia, where he lived with his parents Miguel Blanco and María Romasanta. A curiosity in the life of this assassin is that in his birth certificate appears as Manuela Blanco Romasanta, since at first believed that it was a girl. In fact it is said that she was raised as a girl until the age of six when a doctor discovered her true sex.
There are not too many details about his early life. But it is believed that he came from a wealthy family because Romasanta could read and write, a skill unusual for the time. In addition, the killer appeared to have been raised under Christian values, since according to records, at age 15 he and his two brothers received confirmation in April 1825.
Romasanta was described as a normal-looking, blond-looking boy with tender features, according to some historians. However, it is said that his stature was lower than the average, being this of only 1.37m. As a child he had mental agility and a lot of manual dexterity, something that can be deduced from the many trades he learned. He was a shopkeeper, tailor, peddler, carpenter, among others. And it was these skills that in the future became their way of life and those that would open the doors to the terrible road he undertook.
At the age of 21, Romasanta married Francisca Gómez Vázquez. They married on March 3, 1831, but happiness did not last long. In March 1834, his wife passed away. So far, the psychopath had not been released as a murderer, so it had nothing to do with Francisca's death. The fact of not having children made it easy for Romasanta to leave the place.
It changed its sedentary life to become a street vendor who would travel initially in different areas of the province of Esgos, to later cover the entire community of Galicia.
Being a widowed man and with only 24 years, decided to cross other places of Spain arriving even to Portugal. These trips not only allowed him to know different ways, but also taught him to move freely in the woods, a place where later he would commit his crimes.
His first crime
The first crime committed by Romasanta occurred in 1843 near the municipality of Ponferrada, located in the autonomous community of Castilla y León. It was a sheriff of the town.
It was said that this one was to seize him by a debt of 600 reales that he had with a merchant. After that supposed meeting, the bailiff appeared dead. And so they blamed him for homicide. But before being tried, fled to Rebordechao (Allariz), a mountainous locality located in Galicia.
In the following years, Romasanta began to mix little by little among the local population. Not only was he establishing personal relationships with them, he even became friends with many women, especially since he became a weaver, a trade almost exclusively for women. By that time he seemed to be a citizen rather than an exemplar. But it was after a long time settled in the town that began its long chain of murders.
Modus Operandi
It all started with strange disappearances in the village. Although at first no one noticed. It turns out that the Modus Operandi This assassin was based on accompanying women who left the village in search of a better life. Romasanta was offered as a guide because not only knew the roads but also ensured that they could find work for these people.
The first victim was a woman named Manuela García Blanco, who had a six-year-old daughter. In 1846 Manuela decided to look for its future outside of Galicia and thought to go to Santander to find a house to serve. Thus Romasanta, known as the traveling shopkeeper, offered to accompany her to her destination, to show her the way and help her settle in the new place. The woman said goodbye to her sisters and left with her little daughter. A few weeks later, the killer returned and assured that he had left it well placed in a priest's house.
Other women of the place, encouraged by the prospect of being able to get a better life like Manuela, decided to look for their way also in the company of the murderer. The second victim was Manuela's own sister, Benita. In 1847 the murderer persuaded her to go to her sister's and the woman left with her nine-year-old son. No one ever heard of the sisters or their children. Until that moment there was no suspicion, because the criminal made sure to write some letters that supposedly were sent by Manuela.
In 1850 Romasanta would attack another victim. It was Antonia Rúa, who also had a small daughter who was barely in her arms. He did so with a couple more women. At this point, however, many began to suspect that something might have happened to the women whom the man accompanied to that land which promised riches and happiness.
The distrust became greater when they discovered that the shopkeeper had sold some clothes of the people that supposedly had accompanied. Rumors also began to spread that Romasanta was selling ointment made of human fat. Everything that was said came to the murderer, who then decided to flee Galicia with a false passport.
Detention and confession of their murders
Romasanta began to be known by the locals as the man of the daub. The voice spread quickly and authorities began to relate the crimes. Being suspected of the murders, a search began to find his whereabouts. Thus, being in the town of Nombela, Toledo, was recognized by some people and was arrested in 1852.
After his arrest, Manuel Blanco Romasanta confessed twelve murders. However, in his statement he asserted that they were committed not in their human form but as a wolf. According to the murderer, he had a familiar curse that made him overcome by an irresistible force, which made him become a wolf. When he lost the human form, it was when he attacked his victims to devour them and feed on their flesh.
He said that the first time he was transformed he did it on the mountain of Couso. He fell to the ground and began to convulse. When everything stopped, he had become a wolf. He said he spent five days loitering with two more wolves he had found.
Later, when he recovered his body, the other two animals also did. Supposedly they were some Valencians whom Antonio and Don Genaro called. These, who also had the same curse, became their companions in misdeeds. He claimed to have gone out with them on multiple occasions to devour people.
However, after all these confessions, Romasanta claimed that he did not suffer from a curse but from an illness. He also stated that once he regained his human form, he could remember what had happened. This information was determinant for his sentence, that arrived the 6 of April of 1856.
Although his first statements certainly looked like the invention of a madman, the killer was examined by several doctors who certified his legal sanity. After the trial it was concluded that he was not crazy, that he did not suffer any mental illness.
In addition, his guilt had been determined beyond his confession. It was shown that he had sold the belongings of the missing persons, and also provided key information that led the authorities to the human remains of some of his victims. He was sentenced to death and to pay a fine of 1000 reais for each victim.
Reduction of sentence
However, the case had so much media attention that a French hypnologist who had been following the case decided to send a letter to the Minister of Grace and Justice. In this communication the specialist expressed doubts about the condition of the murderer, whether or not he suffered from lycanthropy.
The man claimed that he had healed others with hypnosis and asked to be hypnotized before he was executed. The hypnologist also sent a letter to Queen Elizabeth II requesting her intervention. In the end it ended up convincing her and later the Queen signed an order that reduced the sentence of the murderer of capital punishment to life imprisonment.
Not much is known about his death. Some place it on December 14, 1863 in Ceuta. However, it is also said that he died in 1854 in Allariz prison, two years after being locked up. The problem seems to be that there are no records. Although it is settled that entered the said prison, there is nothing that finds its exit, alive or dead.
On the other hand, in 2009, in a TVG Europe documentary, it was pointed out that the murderer may have died in the castle of San Antón (La Coruña).
Psychological profile of Romasanta
According to research by the Center for Research and Analysis of Violent and Sexual Crime (CIAC) on Romasanta, this story is an archetypal case of a serial psychopath.
The killer planned the time when he would commit the crime and made sure he was not seen. He was in charge of hiding the bodies so as not to be discovered and even forged letters to cover his tracks. He also took advantage of the belongings of his victims by selling them.
This behavior indicated to the experts that the murderer had the sanity enough to devise strategies that made him avoid justice. In addition, it is suspected that the criminal probably used some type of weapon to subject his victims.
This because according to the records, the man was not more than 1.37 m. of height. Which meant that it was difficult for him to be able to subdue the victims, especially some men, who, according to his confession, murdered.
With all these elements, the specialists assured that Romasanta fit perfectly in the classification of psychopath.
The films inspired by Romasanta
The case of Manuel Blanco Romasanta, rather than a real-life story, seems more like a story drawn from a screenplay. So much so that in fact the crimes of this psychopath came to the big screen with two tapes:"The forest of the wolf"and"Romasanta. The Hunt for the Beast".
"El bosque del lobo"is a Spanish drama film released in 1971. Written and directed by Pedro Olea and Juan Antonio Porto. The film was based on the novel entitled"El bosque de Ancines"written by Carlos Martínez-Barbeitoestá, which focuses on the case of Manuel Blanco Romasanta and the myth that he was a lycanthrope.
"Romasanta. The Hunt for the Beast"is a horror film of Spanish-Italian and British origin. It was released in 2004 and directed by Paco Plaza. This film is also based on a novel, but in this case is that of Alfredo Conde. The plot of this work is also based on the real story of Manuel Blanco Romasanta.