This is the tragic story I heard many a time in my young days. Her name was Cenca (Chencha), a beautiful girl of 13 who disappeared mysteriously one evening way back in the early 1900's.
Her mother sent her to the grocer on an errand and she never returned home. The general opinion was that she was kidnapped and carried to a house not far from her home where she was murdered. In those days the streets of Victoria were lighted by a few kerosene lanterns which only produced a small circle of light directly beneath them. It was easy for a man to hide in a doorway and remain unseen as long as he wanted. Furthermore the streets were deserted in the evenings since the locals were accustomed to stay in and sleep early so as to wake up with the lark in the morning fresh and ready to attend to their chores at home before going out to work. Life was hard in those days. For many the early morning house chores were related to the few animals they kept at home, like chickens, rabbits and maybe a few goats and sheep and the occasional cow.
The murderer had another factor in his favour. About 80 years ago, the women-folk in Malta and Gozo wore the 'ghonella' (on nel lah) whenever they went out. Also known as a 'faldetta', it was generally made of black satin and was a kind of a veil-cloak garment that covered the body from head to below the knee. It was open at the front but could be kept closed at will. It was very unwieldy especially in a breeze when it acted like a sail. They wore it in the morning and in the evening, when they went to church and to the market and on special occasions such as a wedding or a baptism they wore a more elaborate silk 'ghonella'. The murderer could have deceived Cenca, poor girl by putting on an 'ghonella' to make her think that she was approaching a woman.The man (many believed it was a man) probably took her by surprise as she passed him, easily overpowered her, covered her mouth and ran to his house with her. What happened there one can only imagine but since her body was never found nothing is certain. However, the man must have killed her in the end and buried her in his own house, maybe in a cellar or behind a wall. Who knows, maybe one day some evidence of her ordeal would be uncovered and the tragic story of Cenca would be a mystery no more. God rest her soul in Peace.
The police were unable to solve the crime. What drove the man to murder? The motive was not vendetta or revenge since the father and the mother were simple people and had no enemies. It was not for money either, because the parents were poor like most of the other families, so many are of the opinion that the murder was in all probability a sex-driven one. Would it have been avoided if Cenca's mother had not sent her out alone that night? Who knows?
