How Did Portugal's First Serial Killer's Head End Up in a Jar?

Diogo Alves

Over 177 years after his execution, serial killer Diogo Alves still frightens unsuspecting passersby who meet his cold gaze. His perfectly preserved head sits in a glass jar a the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine.

Born in Galicia in 1810, Alves worked from a young age as a servant in the homes of wealthy citizens in the capital. At 26, he started working in homes near the Aqueduct of Free Waters. This waterway brought water to the city and also served as a bridge and road for farmers and traders. This is where Alves began his string of murders.

Alves would wait on the bridge for people returning with the money they had sold their goods for. After robbing his victims, he pushed them off the 213-foot tall aqueduct. Police initially believed it was copycat suicides, but locals started to talk about an aqueduct killer.

Over the next three years, Alves sent 70 people to their doom, and police eventually shut the bridge down. Alves wasn’t done, however, he formed a gang to murder and rob the wealthy homes he had worked in but was eventually caught.

The Aqueduct Killer was executed by means of hanging, but his story didn’t end there. During this time, the era of enlightenment sparked curiosity about understanding the human mind. Many felt they could explain what made Alves evil by pursuing phrenology—a study of the bumps on one’s head. After Alves was dead, doctors severed his head and preserved it for study.

While the preserved head of Diogo Alves did not reveal the secret of evil, it has become an object of fascination at the college.