Patagonian cannibal murders

Overview

The Patagonian cannibal murders refer to a series of killings and disappearances in rural Río Negro, Argentina, between 1904 and 1909. The victims were primarily immigrant peddlers from the Ottoman Empire, and although the true number was never established, estimates range from around 60 to as many as 155. The case became widely known in Argentina as *la matanza de los turcos* ("the murder of the turks").

Start of the Investigation

The formal investigation began in May 1909 in El Cuy, Río Negro, prompted by an April 15 complaint from merchant Salomon Daud, himself an immigrant from the Ottoman Empire. Daud reported that his brother-in-law, Jose Elias, and an employee named Ezen had left General Roca in August 1907 to sell merchandise in the region's hinterland and never returned. Police chief Torino personally took charge of the case. Following Daud's proposed travel route, Torino reached the town of Lagunitas, where shopkeepers were found in possession of goods allegedly belonging to the missing men. The shopkeepers, in turn, accused a nearby Mapuche community in Sierra Negra of the killings, a claim supported by local witnesses.

Arrests and Confessions

Torino began arresting Mapuche men from Sierra Negra. One of the first suspects, Juan Aburto, confessed that the two merchants had been lured to Sierra Negra with food and drink in January 1908, taken prisoner, killed, and that their organs were consumed in a ritual presided over by a "machi" (Mapuche sorceress). Aburto's confession implicated much of the community and claimed victims dated back to 1904. Ultimately, Torino obtained arrest warrants for 71 people out of roughly 200 suspects, and police recovered charred bones, rags, and other items believed to be tied to victims. Confessions also implicated local landowners, including a judge. The identity of the machi, described in testimony as an elderly, gravely ill woman, could not be verified through direct questioning due to her poor health.

Mismanagement and Collapse of the Case

The investigation attracted significant press attention, including a widely read February 1910 feature in the magazine *Caras y Caretas*. Additional complaints followed, including one from a man named Eldahuk alleging 155 disappearances. Federal Prosecutor Víctor Villafañe later found that Torino's confessions had been obtained through violence and were therefore inadmissible, and that physical evidence, including the charred bones, had not been properly forensically tested. Villafañe resigned in December 1911 after Judge Torres refused to release the suspects. Special Prosecutor De Rege, who succeeded Villafañe, concluded there was insufficient evidence to proceed and accused Torres of destroying evidence; Torres was removed from the case in April 1912, and all remaining suspects were released by May 1912, some having died in custody due to unsanitary conditions. Torino himself later lost his position and was arrested.

Aftermath

The case was never solved. Modern historians have debated whether the confessions reflected any truth or were exaggerated, possibly for personal notoriety or as part of broader efforts to justify persecution of Patagonia's indigenous population.