Maria Christine Requena

Status:

Open

Jurisdiction:

Greater Manchester (POLICE)

Offense Location:

Manchester, England

Summary:

Maria Christine Requena was a 26-year-old mother from Spain who had relocated to Manchester. She was murdered between January 1–6, 1991, and her brutally dismembered body was discovered in five bin bags at Pennington Flash Country Park in Leigh on January 6, 1991. Her case remains unsolved and is considered part of the "East Lancs Ripper" series of killings.

Vital Statistics

Circumstances of Offense:

Maria Requena was last seen alive on New Year's Day 1991 (January 1) at approximately 10:15pm in the Minshull Street area, just south of Manchester city centre. Several people reported possibly seeing her in the first few days of January, including on January 2 and possibly January 3, 1991. On the morning of January 6, 1991, two young anglers fishing at Pennington Flash Country Park in Leigh discovered five black bin bags floating in the water. Inside was the severely dismembered body of Maria Requena. One bag contained her severed head. Her body had been hacked to pieces using power tools such as a chainsaw or circular saw. Her clothing was never recovered, and the official cause of death has not been released.

Additional Details:

Maria Christina Requena was originally from Spain but had relocated to Manchester prior to her death. She worked as a sex worker and was a mother. It is believed her killer may have been a client. The case was formally reopened in 2006 under Greater Manchester Police's cold case unit, with forensic advances offering some hope, though no DNA matches have surfaced. Fresh appeals were made in 2018 and 2019 but yielded no significant developments. As of 2025, the case remains unsolved. Murderers Duncan McLuckie and David Smith have been interviewed in connection with the murders of Linda Donaldson and Maria Christina Requena, but neither was charged. The case is believed to be linked to the murders of Linda Donaldson (found October 18, 1988), Vera Anderson (found August 25, 1991), and Julie Finley (found August 6, 1994), all sex workers found in the East Lancashire area. A two-year investigation called Operation Enigma determined that the links between Maria Requena's and Linda Donaldson's murders were sufficiently strong to suggest they could have been killed by the same person, though the connections with Vera Anderson's murder were deemed much weaker. All four bodies were discovered within an area close to the East Lancashire Road, M6, and M62. Maria had recently appeared on television discussing the dangers of street life shortly before her death.

Case Last Updated:

Jun 15, 2026