Mexico's reputation for crime often focuses on infamous drug lords like Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman and cartel kingpins like Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes. But like Canada and Germany, the country has also spawned a cache of serial killers whose acts have shocked the nation.
From cannibalism to dismemberment, these Mexican serial killers embody the darkest aspects of human nature.
Delfina and Maria de Jesus Gonzalez – 90+ victims
The crimes of the Gonzalez sisters were especially shocking for Mexican women. During the 1950s and 1960s, ‘Las Poquianchis’ operated a large prostitution ring out of a remote ranch in the Mexican state of Guanajuato.
The pair lured women and young girls to the ranch with promises of employment, then enslaved, abused and murdered them on the property. The bodies of more than 90 women, along with several foetuses, were found. Both sisters died in prison.
Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo – 25+ victims
Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo wasn’t born in Mexico, but he did run a drug trafficking ring and cult in the city of Matamoros. Cult members called him ‘The Godfather’ and helped him carry out multiple ritualistic killings. This includes the high-profile murder of American student Mark Kilroy, who was abducted, tortured and killed in 1989.
Flor Cazarin Gonzalez – 25+ victims
Flor Cazarin Gonzalez, also known as ‘La Madrina’, teamed up with her son to rob and murder multiple victims in Chihuahua City. She’s one of the most notorious female serial killers in Mexican history and is known to have murdered as many as 25 people between 2016 and 2018, though she was only ever convicted of two homicides.
Using different pseudonyms, Gonzalez would befriend her victims, then drug them with clonazepam and steal their valuables before stabbing or strangling them to death.
Juan Carlos Hernandez Bejar and Patricia Martinez Bernal – 20+ victims
The ‘Monsters of Ecatepec’ name given to this serial killing couple is no exaggeration. Together, Juan Carlos Hernandez Bejar and Patricia Martinez Bernal murdered at least 20 victims and fed their hearts to their pet dogs. The killings unfolded between 2012 and 2018, with the pair eventually reprimanded after they were caught pushing a pram filled with human body parts.
Francisco Guerrero Perez – 20+ victims
Known as ‘El Chalequero’, Francisco Guerrero Perez was active in the late 19th century and is one of Mexico’s earliest known serial killers. He targeted prostitutes in Mexico City and was eventually captured and executed for his crimes.
Juana Barraza – 16+ victims
Former professional wrestler Juana Barraza wasn’t just ruthless in the ring. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, she killed more than a dozen people. Her preference for elderly women (a demographic also favoured by American serial killer Billy Chemirmir) earned her a reputation as ‘La Mataviejitas’, or the ‘Little Old Lady Killer’.
Posing as a government worker, Barraza would earn the trust of her victims before strangling them to death. She was motivated by an innate hatred for her own mother. She’s been officially charged with 16 murders, though authorities estimate she may have taken up to 49 lives. Mexican authorities sentenced her to more than 750 years in prison.
Andres Ulises Castillo Villarreal – 12+ victims
Most people know Jack the Ripper but what about the Chihuahua Ripper? Andres Ulises Castillo Villarreal terrorised his hometown, Chihuahua City, between 2009 and 2015, raping and murdering multiple men. He confessed to 12 homicides, though police estimate the real number could be higher.
How did he get away with so many murders? He was a small-time drug dealer who lured men to his house using methamphetamines. He would then rape and murder them, afterwards dismembering them using a coping saw. Like many serial killers, he had a signature – the placement of a children's toy next to their buried remains.
Jose Luis Calva – 3+ victims
Jose Luis Calva didn’t just murder his girlfriend. He ate her. His cannibalistic crime was uncovered when police raided his Mexico City apartment and found a plate of fried human flesh on the dining table, complete with cutlery. The remains of other victims were found in his refrigerator.
Calva’s taste for human flesh, combined with an interest in creative writing, earned him his ‘Cannibal Poet’ moniker. In December 2007 he hanged himself in his prison cell while awaiting trial.
