“33 Years of Unbearable Rage: A Father’s Knife Attack on His Daughter’s Killer in Granada”

In April 2018, in the heart of Granada, Spain, 70-year-old butcher Juan José Fernández finally came face to face with the man who had destroyed his life more than three decades earlier.On a busy public street in broad daylight, Fernández pulled out a knife and repeatedly stabbed Enrique Sánchez Madrid — the man who, in 1985, had raped and murdered his four-year-old daughter, Ana Isabel (Anabel) Fernández.The attack was brutal but not fatal. Sánchez survived with deep cuts to his face, nose, and hands. For Fernández, it was the culmination of 33 years of unbearable pain, rage, and a single obsessive thought: revenge.The Crime That Shattered Everything (1985)On May 24, 1985, in the small village of Huétor Santillán near Granada, little Anabel, just four years old, disappeared from her home. Two days later, her body was found in an abandoned well on a nearby property.The killer was quickly identified: Enrique Sánchez Madrid, then 21 years old.

Tragically, he was the victim’s uncle — the first cousin of Anabel’s mother.According to the case, Sánchez took the little girl to a secluded field with the intention of sexually abusing her. When he failed to carry out the rape, he strangled her and threw her alive into the deep well, where she drowned. It was a crime that shocked the entire region for its cruelty and the close family tie.Enrique Sánchez was convicted and sentenced to prison. He ultimately served approximately 23 years behind bars.A Father “Dead in Life”Juan José Fernández, a hardworking butcher who owned a small shop in the village, never recovered. In interviews years later, he repeatedly said the same heartbreaking phrase:“Estoy muerto en vida” — “I am dead in life.”He described how the murder of his only daughter had left him emotionally destroyed.

The pain never faded. Instead, it turned into a cold, patient thirst for justice that the legal system could not provide.This was not his first attempt at revenge. His criminal record included:An attempted hit-and-run against Sánchez A physical attack on him in a bar For over 30 years, Fernández waited. He lived with the knowledge that one day Sánchez would be released.The Moment of Vengeance (April 2018)As soon as Enrique Sánchez was freed from prison, the 70-year-old father acted. On April 13, 2018, while walking through the crowded Pedro Antonio de Alarcón street in Granada, Fernández spotted his target.Without hesitation, in the middle of the street and in front of witnesses, he attacked. Using the precision of a lifetime spent as a butcher, he stabbed Sánchez multiple times — aiming to cause serious harm but, reportedly, not necessarily to kill him instantly.Police intervened quickly, and the two men were separated while still struggling.

Fernández was arrested but later released with charges.After the attack, he told authorities he was not seeking revenge and claimed it was self-defense during an alleged robbery attempt — a version few believed given the long history.A Story That Still Haunts SpainThis case became one of the most talked-about stories in Spain that year. It raised difficult questions about grief, justice, the limits of the law, and how long a parent can be expected to live with the knowledge that their child’s killer walks free.For many, Fernández became a tragic symbol of a father who felt the system had failed him completely.Even today, the story of the “Butcher of Granada” and his 33-year wait for revenge continues to stir strong emotions — a dark reminder of how one horrific crime can destroy multiple lives forever.