Nigerian Engineering Student Identified as Suspect in Shocking Lisbon Beheading

The man who walked into the capital’s São José Hospital on Thursday afternoon carrying a human head in a backpack has been identified by police as a 29-year-old Nigerian engineering student. The Polícia Judiciária (PJ) have begun to assemble a chilling timeline of events, suggesting the suspect met his 34-year-old victim just hours before killing and decapitating him in a narrow alleyway in the city centre. While an arrest has been made, investigators have told The Portugal Post that in this deeply disturbing case, “far more remains unknown than known,” particularly regarding the suspect's motive and mental state.

PJ sources have confirmed to The Portugal Post that the detainee is a Nigerian national residing in Portugal on a student visa since last autumn. He is reportedly a master’s student in mechanical engineering with no prior criminal record in the country. Initial reports, reflecting the chaos of the first hours, had placed his age at 27, but this has since been corrected. His name is being withheld pending his first appearance before an examining magistrate.

A Night of Horror in the Heart of Lisbon

According to investigators piecing together CCTV footage and witness statements, the sequence of events unfolded with terrifying speed. The suspect and victim, who were previously unknown to each other, are believed to have met near the bustling Rossio Square sometime after 10:00 PM on the night of Tuesday, 30 July. Witnesses have indicated to The Portugal Post that the pair spent several hours together in the downtown area.

Prosecutors believe the fatal encounter occurred in the pre-dawn hours of Wednesday morning. At approximately 5:40 AM, the victim was allegedly stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife and brutally decapitated in a secluded passage off Pátio Salema, a small square nestled between Rossio and Martim Moniz. The grim discovery of the crime was made just over an hour later, at 6:45 AM, when a security guard for a nearby construction site found the headless torso behind a row of recycling bins and immediately alerted the authorities.

The case took its most surreal turn the following day. On Thursday afternoon, nearly 36 hours after the murder, the 29-year-old suspect walked into the emergency reception of São José Hospital. Carrying the victim’s head inside a backpack, sources at the hospital told The Portugal Post he calmly asked to “hand it over to authorities,” which prompted his immediate arrest and a massive police response.

The Investigation and Unanswered Questions

Detectives from the homicide division of the Polícia Judiciária later executed a search warrant at the student’s rented room on Rua da Palma, not far from the crime scene. The Portugal Post has learned that police seized what is believed to be the murder weapon: a common kitchen knife. The suspect is now facing a slate of preliminary charges, including qualified homicide, desecration of a corpse, and possession of a prohibited weapon. Prosecutors have indicated that these charges could be upgraded pending the results of a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation.

A significant challenge for investigators has been the formal identification of the 34-year-old victim. While partial fingerprint and dental records have provided some leads, sources close to the investigation have revealed to The Portugal Post that these have produced conflicting information. Forensic odontologists are now working alongside Interpol technicians to conclusively establish his identity and notify his next of kin.

With no apparent prior connection between the two men and no evidence linking them to organised crime or extremist ideologies, the question of motive looms large. A criminal psychology expert who spoke with The Portugal Post argued that a beheading committed during a first or second encounter “almost always signals a severe psychopathic impulse” rather than a premeditated act of hatred or a killing related to the drug trade. This aligns with the PJ’s current assessment that the crime was likely an impulsive, albeit exceptionally violent, act.

Community in Shock

The brutal nature of the crime has sent waves of fear and disbelief through the capital. LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, mindful of a series of assaults linked to dating apps last year, issued renewed warnings, urging community members to exercise caution by sharing live locations and ensuring first meetings occur in well-lit, public places.

Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas addressed the murder on social media, calling it an “abhorrent but isolated” incident while reassuring the public that he has ordered an increase in night patrols around the Rossio and Martim Moniz areas. On Friday evening, a small but solemn candlelight vigil was held near the crime scene. Reporters for The Portugal Post at the scene observed that residents and local shopkeepers, who closed their businesses early in a gesture of solidarity, placed flowers and candles in the alleyway where the victim’s body was found.

The suspect was scheduled to appear at Lisbon’s Central Criminal Court on Saturday morning. An examining magistrate will rule on whether he will be held in preventive custody or placed under electronic surveillance while awaiting trial. In the meantime, the PJ is continuing its painstaking work to reconstruct the men’s final movements and has issued a public appeal. They ask for anyone who may have seen two men together between 3:00 AM and 6:00 AM on Wednesday, 30 July, in the vicinity of Pátio Salema to contact the PJ tip-line at 808 200 800.