Jorge Ignacio Palma was born on November 8, 1981, in Ibagué, Colombia. His early life remains largely undocumented, but by his twenties, Palma had become involved in international drug trafficking, frequently traveling between Colombia and Europe.

In 2004, the Spanish Civil Guard identified him as part of a drug smuggling network operating in Extremadura, western Spain. Palma admitted that he had transported a shipment of narcotics from Algeciras to Llerena and was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in the operation.

After his release, Palma resumed drug-related activities across Europe. In 2008, he was arrested again in Brescia, Italy, alongside his grandfather and a Romanian accomplice, after authorities seized nine kilograms of cocaine. The investigation also linked him to an additional 300 grams of cocaine trafficked to Pamplona, Spain.

By the mid-2010s, Palma had settled in Valencia, Spain, where he lived under the radar, maintaining contact with the local nightlife and sex trade. He frequented prostitutes, often combining sex with drug use, particularly cocaine and MDMA.

Jorge Ignacio Palma has been linked to the murder and dismemberment of Marta Calvo, a 25-year-old woman. His crimes came to light following the disappearance of Marta Calvo in Valencia on November 7, 2019. Calvo, a young Spanish woman, had met Palma through an online classified advertisement for escort services.

According to Palma’s confession, during their meeting he mixed cocaine with sexual activity, forcing Calvo to ingest a large quantity of the drug. When she lost consciousness and died, Palma dismembered her body and disposed of the remains in multiple garbage containers throughout the region. Despite extensive searches, Marta Calvo’s remains have never been fully recovered.

Authorities believe Palma may be linked to more murders in Europe, but he has only been officially connected to two other victims. One of these victims was Lady Marcela Vargas, a Colombian prostitute. She was found dead in the Russafa neighborhood of Valencia. Initially, her death was considered an accidental drug overdose, but later investigations suggested that Palma may have forced her to take drugs.

The second victim, Arliene Ramos, was a Brazilian prostitute who also had sexual relations with Palma. He has been formally charged with her death, similar to the case of Vargas.

He was arrested in November 2019, shortly after confessing to killing Marta Calvo. During interrogation, Palma provided a detailed account of dismemberment, describing how he meticulously cut her body into pieces and scattered them across waste containers. The gruesome confession earned him the media nickname “El Descuartizador de Marta Calvo” (The Butcher of Marta Calvo).

During the trial in 2022, prosecutors presented evidence linking Palma to multiple sexual assaults and three murders. The court concluded that he had intentionally caused the deaths by administering lethal doses of cocaine during sexual acts for his own gratification, and then attempted to cover up the crimes.

Palma was convicted on all counts, including three murders, sexual assault, and desecration of a corpse, and sentenced to life imprisonment. The judge described his actions as “brutal, calculated, and utterly devoid of empathy.