On March 8, 1939, a laborer working in the sewer system at the corner of 7th Avenue in the Marianao area of Havana made a shocking discovery: a carefully wrapped leg placed inside a fabric sack. He rushed to find a policeman, and soon a crowd gathered as news of the grisly find spread. Police secured the area, examined the severed limb, and searched the sewer before transporting the remains to the mortuary, wondering whether more body parts would surface. The discovery quickly became the main topic of conversation across Cuba.
Radio broadcasts and newspapers gave the case widespread attention, and the public eagerly followed every development, huddling around their radios each evening to learn whether additional remains had been found or washed up along nearby shores. Days later, more neatly wrapped body parts were found in the Misdio Mero district of Guanabacoa and taken to the mortuary. The investigation was led by Israel Castellanos, the director of forensic identification. He noted that the limbs had been cut with precision, possibly by a surgeon’s scalpel or a butcher’s knife, and believed the person responsible had some medical knowledge.
Doctors managed to assemble almost the entire body, but the head was still missing. Police speculated whether this might be the work of a serial killer, given the distinctive hallmark of wrapping severed limbs in fabric sacks. The public was both excited and relieved when an evening radio broadcast announced that the victim’s head had been discovered. It was found in the depths of a latrine in the Batabanó district, where a group assigned to clean the pits stumbled upon a neatly wrapped object that turned out to be a human head.
The discovery once again dominated headlines, and detailed images of the skull were promptly displayed in newspapers. With the body now complete, detectives found it easier to establish factors such as age and race. Cuba’s diverse population added complexity to the identification process. A family living near the latrine told police they believed the remains were those of Celia Margarita Mena, the girlfriend of René Dalgo, noting that the couple frequently visited and had spent much time there.
To be sure, an X-ray of the teeth was published in newspapers, prompting a dentist to come forward saying the teeth matched those of one of his patients. He presented his evidence to the forensic team in Havana, led by Dr. Jorge Castroverde and Dr. Carlos Criner, confirming the young woman’s identity as Celia Margarita Mena.
Police interviewed neighbors who shed light on the relationship between René and Celia. Among them was Ana Margarita, a close friend of Celia’s, who described her as a great flirt who reveled in attention and showcased herself with confidence. She was always impeccably presented, with fashionably styled hair and flawlessly applied makeup. Ana said Celia had an obsession with the Max Factor brand and noted that while Celia was loyal to René, the relationship was marred by constant clashes over her flirtatious behavior.
She believed René had started to regret forsaking his medical studies to be with her. Another neighbor recounted an incident when René returned to their apartment and found Celia absent, then discovered her engaged in conversation with another neighbor, a sight that fueled his fury. What followed was a tumultuous confrontation marked by vehement arguments. On other occasions, arguments often started when Celia would ask René for money to buy more cosmetics.
The owner of a hardware store revealed a chilling detail, telling police that René Dalgo had purchased wax paper and a canvas sack at his García del Río hardware store, a business positioned just across the road from the tenement building where the couple lived. People living in the same block shared insights with police and the press, including the fact that Celia was illiterate and had never acquired the ability to read or write during her time in Havana. It was René who shouldered the responsibility of writing to her family on her behalf. With these revelations, a sinister profile began to take shape.
René Dalgo, once perceived as a fine upstanding young man with a great future, now found himself cast as a cold-blooded killer who had ended the life of his innocent girlfriend in a rage-fueled act. René was arrested in February 1940 and taken into custody. Following all the evidence presented to him, he confessed to causing the death of Celia Margarita Mena, although he claimed it had all been a tragic accident. He said that on March 2, 1939, following a heated argument, his mounting jealousy reached a breaking point.
The sacrifices he had made for her, including leaving his promising medical career, had started to weigh heavily on his mind. The living situation in a dingy top-floor room within a rundown tenement had amplified his frustrations. Fueled by anger, he lashed out, striking her in a fit of rage. The impact caused her to fall, and her head collided with a concrete floor, fracturing the base of her skull.
He said he attempted to revive her, but it proved futile, and he believed Celia was dead. He added that the tenement bustled with occupants coming and going, making it impossible to move the body without being noticed. Instead, he opted for a grim solution and decided to dispose of her in stages. He placed her in the bathtub and inflicted a deep cut into her knee using his shaving blades.
Her reaction startled him—she awoke and started to complain. Shocked and in panic, he struck her again, and this time she died. The police were not convinced by his story. The lie detector had recently been introduced to the country, and René became the first person in Cuba to undergo this new form of interrogation.
However, despite being questioned 38 times, the test results failed to yield a conclusive outcome. Despite his claims that the tragedy had initially been an accident, the mounting evidence spoke otherwise. He was brought to trial, and in a lengthy and painstaking legal process, he was eventually found guilty and sentenced to 28 years in prison, which he would serve on the Isle of Pines. While there, René transformed into a model inmate, marked by his extraordinary intelligence and peaceful demeanor.
He assumed roles of leadership and instruction among his fellow prisoners. During his incarceration, he even got married, his wife being a young woman from Pinar del Río, and together they had two children. Despite this, prison life took a toll on his physical appearance, causing a notable deterioration. His once youthful looks were replaced by the effects of guilt and the passage of years, leaving behind a weathered countenance that mirrored the weight he bore for his terrible crime.
René’s path took a surprising turn when he was granted a pardon and released after serving just 13 years. He returned to Havana to live with his wife and children. A few years later, the Cuban Revolution took place, and on January 1, 1959, the 26th of July Movement successfully ousted dictator Fulgencio Batista and established a government led by Fidel Castro. The revolution marked a turning point in Cuba’s recent history.
Eventually, René found work as a caretaker in the Santiago de las Vegas bus station. As time went by, fewer people remembered him. Nevertheless, he became quiet and withdrawn and did not really engage in too many conversations with colleagues. Following this, he took a position in a funeral parlor.
At this point, the young workers had no idea who he was, and many were born years after the crime was committed. It is said that his past would haunt him, and he would sometimes shout, “I didn’t kill her. ” René Dalgo died in 1992.