José María Jarabo
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José María Jarabo (28 April 1923 – 4 July 1959) was a Spanish
spree killer A spree killer is someone who commits a criminal act that involves two or more murders or homicides in a short time, in multiple locations. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics defines a spree killing as "killings at two or more locations w ...
, who between 19 and 21 July 1958, murdered four adults and an unborn baby. Jarabo was sentenced to
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
by
garrote A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spelli ...
and executed in 1959.


Early life

José María Manuel Pablo de la Cruz Jarabo Pérez Morris was born on 28 April 1923, in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
. A few years after his birth the family moved to
Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...
, in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Jarabo hated the United States and it was there he committed his first crime, trafficking of human beings, for which he was arrested and sentenced to a term of three years in prison. He was confined in a
psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...
in
Springfield, Florida Springfield is a city in Bay County, Florida, United States, east of Panama City. The population was 8,903 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Panama City– Lynn Haven–Panama City Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area. Springfield ...
, and a few years after his release he returned to Spain, in the 1940s. In Spain he befriended many wealthy people and began a career as a
professional gambler Advantage gambling, or advantage play, refers to legal methods used to gain an advantage while gambling, in contrast to cheating. The term usually refers to house-banked casino games, but can also refer to games played against other players, suc ...
, using the money that his mother sent him from
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
. According to Jarabo's friends, he was a terrible gambler and spent a lot of money on poker and
blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...
. In 1950 he began to drink and take drugs heavily, and as the years went by his financial situation became more dire because his mother stopped sending him money. Jarabo had a British girlfriend named Beryl Martin who wanted to sell a ring, which she gave to Jarabo, who sold it to businessmen Emilio Fernandez and Félix López for a small sum. A few months later Martin asked Jarabo to get the ring back; he decided to kill the two men instead of paying for it.


Murders

On 19 July 1958 Jarabo went to Emilio Fernandez's house, where a servant woman allowed him to enter after Jarabo stated he was a police inspector. Once inside, Jarabo waited for Fernandez, while the servant went to the kitchen to do some housework. Planning to murder Fernandez and not wanting to leave a witness, Jarabo took a clothes iron and hit the woman across the head. She tried to defend herself, but Jarabo grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed her to death. After killing the young woman, Jarabo hid and waited for his main target. When Fernandez arrived home, Jarabo shot him in the head, killing him. He then looked for the ring but did not find it. Amparo Alonso entered the house and saw Jarabo, who asked, "Who are you?" Jarabo again claimed that he was a police inspector, but the woman did not believe him and tried to run. Jarabo shot her, killing the pregnant Amparo and her unborn baby. Jarabo slept at Fernandez's house overnight and returned to his hotel the next morning. On 21 July, Jarabo went to the store where Félix López worked, hid and waited for him. When López arrived at the store Jarabo shot him in the head, killing him. The next day Jarabo took a bloody suit to the dry cleaners; they promptly notified police, and a few hours later he was arrested. Jarabo was tried and convicted of all five murders, receiving the death sentence for each of them, and was executed by garrote vil on 4 July 1959.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jarabo, Jose Maria 1923 births 1959 deaths Spanish spree killers Executed spree killers People executed by ligature strangulation Executed Spanish people People executed by Francoist Spain Spanish murderers of children Spanish people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Spain People from Madrid 1958 murders in Spain