Monday, November 30, 2015

The Last Execution in Tenerife



     The wooden cart rocked slowly over the cobblestones down from the chapel in Our Lady of the Snows Convent and out between the fishermen's cottages before making its way towards a dusty plain to the east of Puerto de la Cruz. Two men, guarded by four members of the Provincial Guard, were seated at the rear together with the bailiff, a judicial clerk and two priests. The prisoners' hands were shackled behind their backs and their foreheads dripped beads of dirty sweat. 


The Lady of the Snows Convent was destroyed by fire in 1925

     It was 2nd June, 1881 and a typically humid morning in the Orotava valley, with that familiar low cloud hanging against the sloping hills. But their sweat was caused, not by the sticky warmth of early summer but by sheer terror. The Supreme Court had sentenced them to die by the dreaded garrote vil

     Shortly afterwards almost the entire population of Puerto de la Cruz, summoned to witness the execution as an example, held its breath. They watched as Manuel Brito and Pedro Armas were seated and tied, almost with compassion, to the two wooden posts which had been erected specially for them the previous evening. To begin with the silence was broken only by the sea punishing the nearby rocks just beyond the flat piece of land which separated the town from San Carlos cemetery and the San Felipe fortress.
The last execution in a sketch by Marcos Baeza Carrillo

     The officiating priest was thankfully brief. The authorities also stood in respectful silence. But there was horror in their eyes as the executioner, who had been brought out from Seville specially for the occasion, began to turn the wooden handles of the garrote at the back of the condemned men’s necks one by one and their imploring cries drowned the waves on the rocks. The fearful screams were the consequence of their crime. Their gradually reddening faces and desperate choking gasps was their cruel penalty. As the screws twisted behind the wooden posts the ropes pulled on the metal bands, tightenening gradually and with torturous agony around the men’s necks until they suffocated.

     Theirs was the last public execution in the Canary Islands and historians remember it as a horrible event. They had been accused of murdering James William Crighton Morris, a British resident who had arrived in Puerto de la Cruz in 1873. He was only 24 and had been sent to Puerto a year after joining his uncle Thomas Miller's firm in Grand Canary to be a part of the Miller's subsidiary in Tenerife, known as Miller and Son. 

     Peter Spence Reid managed the firm in Puerto de la Cruz but later broke away from Thomas Miller to found his own enterprise which became known as Thomas Miller Reid and Company. Young Morris was chief cashier. That may well have been his downfall. He is thought to have been a bit of a loner and historians suggest he had a weakness for women and possibly for wine. He also hung keys from his pocket watch chain. They were the keys to the company offices and safe.


Peter S Reid in his latter days

     Manuel Brito and Pedro Armas each had ambitions. Brito was 36. He was married with two children but apparently had a lover in Santa Cruz with whom he wanted to disappear to South America. His friend, 44 year old Armas also had a family but just hungered for money. They worked out a plot to rob James Morris of the company takings. Having studied the foreigner's liking for women and wine, they persuaded him that a local girl was interested in meeting him close to the San Felipe fortress.



The San Felipe fortress by Alfred Diston (belongs to a private collection in Madrid)

     The murder took place was on Sunday, 25th November, 1878. It was an overcast, dark and chilly evening. The younger of the two local men dressed up as a woman and hid while Armas led the victim to the chosen rendezvous. When Morris was close enough Brito threw a handful of clay into his eyes before they both beat him up and stabbed him several times. They took whatever possessions he carried on him, his gold pocket watch, a gold locket, a small revolver and the safe keys which dangled enticingly from his watch chain. 


The same dusty, executioner's plain became the town's football pitch many years later

     Brito and Armas had a risky plan worked out. First they returned in the dark to Peter Reid's offices in what was then known as Calle del Sol where they removed the contents from the safe. In total they stole over 20,000 Reals, the silver and copper coins of the period which they shared out and hid. To this day the coins have not been recovered. 

     Getting rid of the body was only their second priority. This they did in the early hours of the following morning when in those days nobody would be about. They carried the unfortunate Morris to the nearby San Carlos cemetery and placed his body in an existing tomb belonging to an aristocratic lady, the Marchioness of San Andrés and Viscountess of Buen Paso who died in 1853. In their haste to replace her tombstone, it cracked. That was to be their undoing.

The San Carlos Cemetery with Mt Teide in the background

     When company employees opened up the offices on the following Tuesday morning nobody suspected James Morris of going off with the cash even when he failed to turn up to work as punctually as always. Although they had apparently locked the safe again after removing the money, the thieves, in their eagerness to find more money, had left the offices in considerable disarray, with documents and other items strewn all over the wooden floor. On the contrary, whilst investigations were kept very discrete, there was immediately grave concern for the fate of young Mr James Morris.

     Three days after the crime there was a funeral for a child who had died of pneumonia. The burial ceremony at the cemetery was delayed because the gravedigger refused to do his job until the required official permit had been issued by the municipal judge. Mourners were forced to stand around waiting for the document to arrive. As fate would have it a local blind man, Juan García Olivera, sensed something strange in the air. He told the gravedigger there was a bad smell somewhere in the cemetery and pointed to where he thought it was coming from. It was rotting flesh and it was coming from a cracked tombstone. It had attracted the attention of greenbottle flies. They have a habit of laying their eggs in cadaver tissue within hours of death. When the tombstone was removed they found a decomposing body. Of course it was poor James Morris. An autopsy revealed he had been severely beaten and then stabbed. 


The trial of Brito and Armas is classified as a "celebrated legal case"

     Investigators discovered that Brito and Armas had befriended el inglés in a local tavern and they were arrested and taken, first to the jail in La Orotava and then to the prison in Santa Cruz where they admitted the crime. Three years later they met their own death, horribly garrotted, close to the very spot where they had murdered the accountant, James Morris.    

                           
(Certain images have been reproduced from internet with no personal financial gain intended.)

By John Reid Young
Author of The Skipping Verger and Other Tales, a collection of short stories set in Tenerife.

      

21 comments:

  1. I have been reading this story in Spanish... very interesting..

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes, it is a fascinating story, and especially for me as as Peter S Reid was my great grandfather.

    ReplyDelete
  3. John, I sent you a message on FB. My great great grandfather was Pedro Armas and I have so many questions about the family he left behind. Thank you for your story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi my name is Jose and pedro armas was my great great great grandfather! this means we are related! im trying to learn more about my family. I have information about pedros sons i come from his some Tomas Armas Betancourt and i woud really like contact you so we can share information!! i would greatly appreciate it if you messaged back!

      Delete
    2. Hi, Pedro Armas Lopez is my 3rd great grandfather as well so that makes us cousins. I have more information about Pedro Armas Lopez and his children, grandchildren, etc. if you'd like to know more and find out how we're related!

      Delete
    3. Hello John, Henry and Jose... Since I read this article written by John... I have been wondering if Pedro was not one of my ancesters. I am currently researching for my ancestors in Tenerife with the help of a genealogist. Would Henry and Jose have any information regarding Pedro by any chance? Where was he born for example? The name of his wife or parents... this would help me in my search. Very sweet day to all of you xxx

      Delete
    4. Good morning Nathalie. I hope you get some feedback from either Henry or José or both. I have been expecting a call at some point from someone else who is also searching for some connection. If I do, I shall ask him to contact you. All the best, John.

      Delete
    5. Good evening John... it is funny but I have this feeling that we are connected. I am working with an historian/genealogist from Santa Cruz... She is already on the case... I will let you know very soon what she has found? Let's see! It was great to meet you, our guided trip with you was amazing! Thank you again! xxx

      Delete
    6. Wow, Nathalie! That would be amazing if you could find out more. Let me know what you can dig out! I'm so glad we met. It was such a pleasure to share a little bit of life with you and your lovely family.

      Delete
  4. Hello. How amazing! I have been travelling and am only just catching up on mail, etc. I will have a look at your message and reply to your FB message as soon as I can. Thank you for getting in touch. All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It seems my article has connected two or three of you. I am very pleased and hope it brings you all a lot of pleasure and knowledge about your connections and relatives. All the best.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nathalie! There are three of us here. I'm Jose Betancourt and am a professor of photography. I was just there visiting the island and spoke to John about you. I'm sorry we missed each other. The other Jose and Henry are my relatives from the Armas branch. I would like to talk through whats app if possible. Send me a message through my website or school address-
    josebetancourt.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Jose... So far I am not sure anylonger if I am related to Pedro Armas but i am still looking. This is what i have found on He was 45 years old when he died. He was a mason by profession, married in Puerto de la Cruz.
      He was married and living with his wife Emilia Bethencourt Cruz and their eight children: Pedro, Julia, Manuel, Emilia, Emilia, Tomás, Aurelio, Domingo and Isabel, aged 18, 16, 14, 13, 12, 7, 5 and 2 years of age respectively.
      Pedro Armas was the son of Pedro Armas and of Ana Antonia López from La Gomera, he married Emilia Betancourt daughter of Francisco Betancourt and Manuela de la Cruz, all natives of El Puerto 8th of July 1854. (folio 16 vto).

      At this stage, I am still looking into my grandad's past, it will be difficult to find anything as he was a never declared by a dad...I am not sure if these information will help you but I hope they will! I am still looking into my grandad's past, our paths may join again! Take care xxx

      Delete
    2. My email is: tempovision68@gmail.com

      Delete
    3. Hello Natalie. It's nice to hear from you and hope you are all well. I am passing this on to José Bethencourt as I'm sure he will be very interested. Also your email. Good to hear you are still digging! I am very tied up with tours again, thank goodness. All the best,John

      Delete
    4. Hi, this is actually so crazy to see, but I'm actually also related to you guys as I am Jose's younger brother, not Betancourt, the other Jose and I don't know if my brother has seen any of your responses as I haven't seen this article in a pretty long time but if you have any questions for him and you haven't been able to ask because of difficulties reaching him, you can email me at daviddelatorre0520@gmail.com He's the one that has all the research on our ancestors tracing back to I think he told me like 1492 or something I might be wrong but I'm pretty sure that's what he told me. it's cool how we are all related and this article brought some of us together so I hope you guys are out there somewhere living a good life.

      Delete
  7. Good morning John... Thanks for passing these info on to Jose! Still digging on my side! We may come back to Tenerife just after Christmas this year so we may meet again! Take care John and good luck with all your tours! very best wishes. Nathalie

    ReplyDelete
  8. Interesante historia!! Pedro Armas Lopez fue mi tatarabuelo y Tomas Armas Bethencourt mi bisabuelo. Q placer encontrar a familiares. Gracias John, Henry, Jose y Nathalie por compartir sus comentarios.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me alegro mucho que vayan encontrándose ustedes, descendientes de ilustres antepasados a raíz de mi blog. Feliz año.

      Delete