Cayetano Santos Godino

Cayetano Santos Godino (October 31, 1896 – November 15, 1944), also known as "El Petiso Orejudo" ("The Big-Eared Midget"), was an Argentinian serial killer who terrorized Buenos Aires at the age of 16. In the early 20th century, he was responsible for the murder of four children, the attempted murder of another seven children, and seven counts of arson.

Cayetano Santos Godino
Cayetano Santos Godino in Ushuaia
Born	Cayetano Santos Godino October 31, 1896 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	November 15, 1944 (aged 48) Ushuaia, Argentina
Details
Victims	4 murdered, 2 assaulted, 5 attempted murder
Span of crimes	January 1912–December 1912
Country	Argentina
Date apprehended	December 4, 1912

Early life

Godino was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, one of eight boys. His father and mother, Fiore Godino and Lucia Ruffo, were alcoholics and abusive. Godino's father contracted syphilis before Godino was born, causing Godino to experience serious childhood health problems.[1]

Early signs of social mismanagement

Starting in childhood, Godino killed cats and birds, and enjoyed playing with fire. His violent behavior and lack of interest in education caused him to move from school to school.[1]

In 1904 When he was seven years old, Godino beat two-year-old Miguel de Paoli and threw him into a ditch. A nearby official saw this and led the children to the police station, where their mothers picked them up a few hours later.[1]

A year later in 1905, Godino beat Ana Neri, a child in his neighborhood, with a stone. A police officer intervened, but Godino was released from jail due to his young age.[1]

In 1906 Godino killed Maria Rosa Face (three years old). What would be Godino's first murder went unnoticed and would only be discovered years later when he confessed to the police himself. He said that in 1906 he took a girl, about three years old, to wasteland on Rio de Janeiro Street, where he attempted to strangle her. Then he buried her alive in a ditch, which he covered with cans. The authorities, upon learning of this crime, moved to the site but found that a two-story house had been built. However, a missing persons complaint dated 29 March 1906 of a three-year-old girl named Maria Rosa Face was filed at the 10th police station. The missing girl was never found.

When he was 10, Godino's parents discovered his compulsive masturbation. Not knowing what to do with him, his mother told the police, resulting in a two-month jail term for him[1] as masturbation was illegal at the time.[2]

Crime spree

On January 17, 1912, Godino set fire to a warehouse on Corrientes Street. When he was arrested, he told police, "I like to see firemen working. It's nice to see how they fall into the fire."[1] On January 26, 1912, Arturo Laurona, 13, was found dead in an abandoned house. A month and a half later, on March 7, 1912, Godino set fire to the dress of Reyna Vainicoff, 5, who did not recover and died some days later.

In late September, 1912, he set fire to a railway station. The fire was extinguished without extensive damage. On November 8, 1912, he tried to choke 8-year-old Roberto Russo. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder, but was released until the trial. On November 16, 1912, he assaulted three-year-old, Carmen Ghittoni, who suffered minor wounds before a police officer intervened and Godino ran off.[3] On November 20, 1912, he kidnapped two-year-old Carolina Neolener, who cried out and was rescued by a neighbor. Later in the same month, he set fire to two large sheds, but the fires were quickly extinguished.

On December 3, 1912, Godino saw 3- year-old boy Jesualdo Giordano playing outside his house and offered to buy the boy some sweets to convince him to go with him. Providing a few sweets then offering more, Godino took Giordano to a country house. When they were inside, he threw him to the floor and unsuccessfully tried to choke him with his belt. Then he cut his belt and tied his hands and legs. He started beating him and considered hammering his head. He left the house looking for a nail and saw Giordano's father, to whom he said he did not know where the child was. He then re-entered the house with the nail. He hammered it into the side of Giordano's skull and hid the corpse. The body was found by the father minutes later. At 8:00 PM, Godino went to the wake and touched the skull where he had fixed the nail. At 5:30 a.m. on December 4, 1912, he was arrested by police, confessing to his crimes.

Jail

On January 4, 1913, he entered a reformatory, where he tried to kill some of the inmates. Because medical reports declared him insane, the judge discontinued the case and ordered him to stay in the reformatory. On November 12, 1915, an appeal was approved ordering him to be moved to jail on November 20.

On March 28, 1923, Godino was transferred to Ushuaia Penitentiary. Throughout 1933 he spent some time in the hospital for a beating he suffered from inmates after he killed two of their pet cats. From 1935 onwards, he was always ill and received no visitors until he died on November 15, 1944 under suspicious circumstances.

See also

• List of serial killers by country

References

1. Cabezas López, Carlos (September 16, 2007). "Cayetano Santos Godino, la historia del Petiso Orejudo". Caso Abierto (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 1, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2008.
2. "Penal Code of the United States of Brazil". Article 282, Decree No. 847 of 11 October 1890 (in Portuguese). Retrieved November 24, 2017. Printed in a de Leis dea République do Brasil: Premeiro Fasciculo 10:2664, 2710 (1890).
3. "Cayetano Santos Godino, el precoz "Petiso Orejudo"". Foro Cuando calienta el sol (in Spanish). November 2, 2010. Archived from the original on February 23, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.

Bibliography

• Santos Godino (Spanish)
• Contreras, Leonel (2003). Leyenda Del Petiso Orejudo. Ediciones Turisticas. ISBN 987-9473-27-2.