At the beginning of the 20th century, Morocco witnessed one of the most disturbing criminal cases in its modern history. In the ancient city of Marrakesh, a man named Hajj Mohammed Mesfewi committed a series of murders that shocked both Moroccan society and the international press.
Mesfewi became known as one of the earliest documented serial killers in Moroccan history, responsible for the murder of at least 36 young women. His crimes, the dramatic discovery of the victims, and the brutal punishment that followed turned the case into a sensational story reported in newspapers across Europe and the United States.
Who Was Hajj Mohammed Mesfewi?
Hajj Mohammed Mesfewi lived and worked in Marrakesh at the turn of the twentieth century. Outwardly, he appeared to be an ordinary craftsman. He worked as a shoemaker and small trader, and in some accounts he also acted as a public letter writer, helping illiterate customers compose letters.
Behind this seemingly normal life, however, Mesfewi was carrying out a series of horrific crimes.
According to historical reports, Mesfewi operated with the help of an elderly woman in her seventies, sometimes identified in historical sources as Annah or Rahali. Their method was deceptively simple but deadly.
Young women who visited Mesfewi’s shop were offered wine or a drink that had been secretly drugged. Once the victims lost consciousness, Mesfewi killed them—often decapitating them with a dagger—and robbed them of whatever money or valuables they carried.
The motive appears to have been robbery, though many historians believe the small amounts of money taken from the victims suggest deeper psychological motives.
The Disappearance of Women in Marrakesh
During this period, the authorities of the Moroccan Makhzen (the traditional state administration) began to notice an alarming pattern: young women were disappearing across Marrakesh.
At first, these disappearances seemed unrelated. But as the number of missing women increased, families began to grow suspicious. Without modern investigative tools or forensic science, the authorities struggled to solve the mystery.
The breakthrough came when the relatives of one missing girl decided to conduct their own investigation. By questioning people who had last seen the victim, they traced her final movements to Mesfewi’s shop.
Their investigation led them to the elderly woman who assisted Mesfewi. The woman was captured by relatives of the victims and tortured until she confessed her involvement in the crimes.
Shortly afterward, authorities arrested Mesfewi.
The Horrifying Discovery
After his arrest, investigators searched Mesfewi’s property.
What they discovered shocked the city.
Beneath the floor of his shop, authorities found a deep pit containing the mutilated remains of numerous victims. Around 20 bodies were discovered under the shop itself, while another 16 bodies were found buried in the garden behind the building.
Confronted with this evidence, Mesfewi eventually confessed to killing at least 36 women.
The scale of the crimes horrified Moroccan society and quickly attracted international attention.
A Punishment That Shocked the World
Initially, Mesfewi was sentenced to crucifixion, which was planned for May 2, 1906. However, foreign diplomats and European representatives protested the decision, arguing that such punishment was barbaric and outdated for the twentieth century.
As a result, the authorities changed the sentence to beheading.
But public anger in Marrakesh was intense. Many people believed that a quick execution was too merciful for the man responsible for such horrific crimes.
For several weeks, Mesfewi was taken daily from his prison cell to the city’s marketplace. There he was publicly flogged ten times with rods made from thorny acacia wood.
The Final Sentence: Walled Up Alive
Eventually, authorities decided on an even more terrifying punishment meant to serve as a warning to others.
Mesfewi would be walled up alive in a public wall inside the Marrakesh bazaar.
Two masons prepared a cavity in the thick wall of the market, approximately six feet high and two feet deep. Chains were fixed to the back wall to keep Mesfewi standing upright.
On the day of the execution, Mesfewi reportedly began begging for mercy and struggling with the guards as he realized what was about to happen.
After he was chained inside the narrow chamber, spectators gathered in large numbers. Some members of the crowd threw dirt, waste, and offal at him while the masons began sealing the opening with bricks.
When the wall was finally closed, the crowd remained outside.
For two days, Mesfewi’s screams could be heard from inside the wall. By the third day, the cries stopped.
According to reports, some spectators even expressed frustration that he had died too quickly.
Historical Context
The case of Hajj Mohammed Mesfewi remains one of the most infamous criminal stories in Moroccan history. It occurred during a turbulent period, just a few years before the establishment of the French Protectorate in 1912.
The story also illustrates the differences between traditional systems of justice in Morocco and the growing pressure from European powers that were increasingly influencing Moroccan political affairs.
Newspapers around the world covered the case in 1906, turning Mesfewi into a grim example of early modern crime reporting.
More than a century later, the crimes of Hajj Mohammed Mesfewi remain one of the darkest chapters in the history of Marrakesh.
His story combines mystery, horror, and the dramatic realities of justice in early twentieth-century Morocco. The case shocked Moroccan society, attracted international attention, and continues to fascinate historians interested in crime and punishment in the past.
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