Dámaso Rodríguez Martín

Who is Dámaso Rodríguez Martín?

Dámaso Rodríguez Martín, better known as "El Brujo", was a Spanish serial killer who, in 1991, was responsible for three murders in the Anaga mountain area.

His first murder was November 11, 1981 when he killed a young man who was with his girlfriend in his car in the area of El Moquinal. Dámaso was a "voyeur" who liked to watch couples having intimate relations. He then killed the young man and beat and sexually assaulted the girl in the car with the body. He then drove the body and the girl to "Llano de los Viejos", where he abandoned them. Investigators from the National Police asked around the area about a violent individual, who knew the mountains and also strolled about at night looking for couples. All information pointed to Dámaso. "El Brujo" was sentenced to 55 years in prison for murder, rape, theft of a firearm and unlawful possession of weapons.

Dámaso escaped from prison on January 17, 1991 and fled to the mountains of Anaga. He then killed a couple of German hikers. It seems that they begged for their lives, but he had no compassion. The woman was raped and strangled. "El Brujo" was the most wanted criminal by the State Security Forces in Spain at the time. These events overshadowed the celebration of the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife that year.