Bio

José Marimón Carles was about 26 years old in 1928, which places his birth around 1902. He lived in the village of La Pobla de Ferran, in the municipality of Passanant, province of Tarragona, in Catalonia, Spain. Contemporary accounts place his home in that village.

Beyond his age and residence, historical records available in the included research give little detail about his childhood, family background, schooling, or work. The sources used for this account do not provide information on his parents or early family life.

Some documents from the time show other people in the village with the surname Marimón, but the research does not specify their relationship to José. Overall, public records and contemporary reports offer only a few confirmed facts about his early life.

Murder Story

The Pobla de Ferran massacre happened on the afternoon of May 21, 1928, in the village of the same name in the province of Tarragona, Catalonia, Spain. Ten people died, most of them children and women. The killer, 26-year-old José Marimón Carles, left his house armed and attacked children and other citizens in the street. He then fled into the mountains. The local militia and the Civil Guard searched for him until he was found and killed on May 27 after almost a week of pursuit. It is described as the worst mass shooting in Spanish history.

On May 21 at 6 p.m. he left his home carrying a shotgun. He met three children on the street and convinced them to go to a hayloft "to watch him kill pigeons." At the hayloft all three were murdered. He went back home to reload his shotgun. He left again and used the same method with two more children in another hayloft. On his way back to the village he met another child and killed him. He then entered a house and killed the owner. Back on the street he shot two women and attacked a third with an axe.

After that he left the village and went toward the woods. There were no men in the village then because they were working in the fields. That allowed him to escape more easily. The mayor called the local militia. A unit of the Civil Guard from Montblanch joined the search.

On May 27 at eight in the morning a group of militia members and Civil Guards found him hiding in an oat field asleep. A Civil Guard corporal pointed his weapon at him. When he realized it and tried to grab his shotgun, the guard shot him. The bullet entered through his left eye and exited through the back of his head. He died instantly. He was taken to the Passanant cemetery.

The dead were Miguel Torres, 3; Salvador Torres, 5; José Torres, 9; José Rabada Trilla, 12; Ramón Eloy, 5; Teresa Roca Marimón, 5; Ramona Rabada, 4; Carmen Rabada, 3; Francisca Canela, 65; and Rosa Eloy, 45. Injured were Antonia Marimón Roca, 28, and Marina Roca Rull, 20.