Diogo Alves Preserved Killer Head

A Portuguese serial killer named Diogo Alves terrorized the area around Lisbon, Portugal, in the early 19th century by robbing and murdering travelers. Between 1836 and 1839, he reportedly pushed victims from the Águas Livres Aqueduct, causing their deaths far below. Authorities eventually arrested Alves after linking him to multiple murders and robberies. Portuguese courts sentenced him to death, and officials executed him by hanging in 1841. After the execution, scientists preserved the serial killer’s severed head in a jar, where it has remained on display at the University of Lisbon for nearly two centuries.

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