December 26, 1953 - Margarita Sánchez Gutiérrez
Operating within domestic and social settings where trust was presumed, she used poisoned food and drink to target those close to her — a method that made detection difficult and extended her pattern of harm across multiple victims before suspicion solidified. Four people died; three others survived. Her case stands as an example of how violence concealed within everyday hospitality can evade scrutiny for considerable time.
From Wikipedia
Margarita Sánchez Gutiérrez (born 26 December 1953, in Málaga), also known as the "Black Widow of Barcelona" and "The Black Widow of Hospitalet", is a suspected Spanish serial killer who received her name for her method of murder – by poisoning the food and drinks she offered her victims, similar to the black widow spider. She managed to kill four people and poisoned three others who managed to survive. All of the victims were close to her, including family members and neighbours.
When she moved to Catalonia she first lived in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, on Riera Blanca Street, where she was known as "la bizca". This was a modest neighbourhood of workers, where she was considered a troubled woman, but without a criminal record. According to neighbours, she was prone to insults and street fights, and had debts in some shops in the area; she was greedy and seemingly illiterate according to what she declared to the police. In 1991 Margarita moved with her husband, Luis Navarro, and their children Sonia and Javi to their in-laws' floor, partly because they had been discouraged but also to take care of her husband's father. Margarita and Carmen Nuez, her mother-in-law, did not get along because apparently, the latter was a woman of authority and great character.
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