Scientists thought the best way to honor a serial killer must be to save the head as a memento of the crimes. Diogo Alves’ head has been preserved in a jar more than 180 years after he was hanged and beheaded after murdering more than 70 people in Portugal. His head looks fresh, considering the age of the severed head.
It’s not just a serial killer, as Alves has gathered the reputation of being one of the worst serial killers ever to have committed crimes in Europe. His criminal rampage sent shivers down spines centuries ago and he has earned the nickname “The Aqueduct Murderer.” People remember him as standing 200-foot-tall aqueduct and waiting for farmers to steal and kill. He would stage the victims’ bodies to look like suicide and it worked for a period of time.
Alves didn’t stop with farmers and he began robbing homes and murdering their residents. The police got a hold of him after the lengthy kill count and sentenced him to death for crimes. He was known as one of the last criminals to be hanged in Portugal.
His ruthless killing spree piqued the interest of scientists at the Medical-Surgical School of Lisbon. After he was hanged, his head was severed and preserved in a jar of formaldehyde, an embalming agent.
Now, people can witness the ruthless murderer’s yellow head that sits on a shelf and creeps people that pass in the anatomical theatre at the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Medicine. It’s a souvenir from his mark in the Portugal crime world.
In 1841, scientists believed that a person’s characteristics could be felt and measured through the skull. That belief was enough to inspire scientists to examine the head of the cold-blooded murderer. He might have been desensitized from the feeling of empathy but he’s still an object of interest for scientists.
Even though scientists were curious, they weren’t able to uncover the motive behind his killing rampage.
For those people eager to see Alves’ head, it’s off-limits for public viewing. The part of the university which keeps his remains is only open to students of the University of Lisbon.
Source: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/preserved-head-of-diogo-alves