This week, a very gory event took place in a pueblo on the outskirts of Murcia: a man chopped off his mother’s head with a kitchen knife, and then decided to walk around the main square, with his mother’s head wrapped in a sheet under his arm, informing passers by of the “load” he was transporting. This happened around 22.00 or 23.00 in the night, which is basically pedestrian rush hour in Spain, in the village of Santomera.

Well, of course the police came, took the man into custody, and returned the head to the body – as much as possible – in order to give the poor woman a proper burial.
All over the press and other media, it is said that this man suffered from schizophrenia, that he was known around Santomera as the “village madman”, and that the motive for this tragedy was the refusal from mum to give him his daily 100 €, from a sort of salary she paid him for running a café. Yeap, these were well-known people in the pueblo: the lady ran a cigarette shop and, next door, a small café-restaurant that she gave her son, so he would have a proper occupation.
So, as if it was not shocking enough that this violent murder took place, it involved people with faces; at least, for the inhabitants of Santomera.

People react in a mix to this story: they condone and feel appalled by this tragedy, but at the same time, crack jokes and laugh about the ridicule of the image of a chest-bare man, with a Rambo-like stripe on his forehead, walking around a typical Spanish village with his mum’s head under his arm, saying “Yeap, it’s my mum, and I love her, now that she’s shut up”. It’s horrific, but funny in a dark humour kind of way…

Nevertheless, it’s very sad.
Turns out that, in 2001, the mother appeared on television claiming that she feared for her life, as her son was mentally ill, and threatened her constantly. She asked for help from the Government, and she did eventually ask for a restraining order. However, neither she nor he ever respected it. In fact, she voluntarily broke the restraining order, allowing her son to work with her, allegedly because he was “doing better”.
That night, he went into the café and asked her for his 100 €. She refused for some reason, and they had an argument. Possibly running out of arguments, he took a kitchen knife, stabbed her and then chopped her head off. (which, by the way, must take a long time, since it’s not a guillotine…). And then…well, you know.

That night, a colleague of mine from work was driving home to Santomera, when he saw a huge commotion on the streets. He stopped and asked what was going on, and someone said: “This guy chopped off his mother’s head and was walking around with it under his arm.”
He didn’t believe it could be true.