List of serial killers in Colombia

A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. ^{[1] [2]} The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) defines serial killing as "a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone". ^{[2] [3]}

Identified serial killers

Name	Years active	Proven victims	Possible victims	Status	Notes	Ref
Andrés Leonardo Achipiz	2009–2013	12	35	Incarcerated	Known as "The Fish"; psychopathic hired killer who killed in Bogotá involved in the drug trade	[4]
José William Aranguren	1956–1964	115	115	Killed in a shootout with law enforcement	Bandit who murdered people across three municipalities, together with three accomplices	[5]
Daniel Camargo Barbosa	1974–1986	72	180	Murdered in prison by a victim's relative	Known as "The Sadist of El Charquito"; raped and murdered young girls across Colombia and Ecuador	[6]
Manuel Octavio Bermúdez	1999–2003	21	50+	56 years; commuted to 26 years	Known as "The Monster of the Cane Fields"; raped and murdered children in rural Valle del Cauca	[7]
Cristopher Chávez Cuellar	1990s–2015	6	15+	40 years	Known as "The Soulless"; murdered various people around three municipalities, including three underage brothers	[8]
María Concepción Ladino	1994–1998	6	6	40 years	Known as "The Killer Witch"; fraudster who poisoned victims she had defrauded	[9]
Luis Garavito	1992–1999	142	193+	Died in prison	Known as "The Beast"; tortured, raped, mutilated and murdered children across Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela	[10]
Sandra Giraldo	2008–2011	3	3+	Incarcerated	Together with Emilsen Rojas and several accomplices, she led "The Black Widow Gang"; defrauded and poisoned men for their life insurance policies	[11]
Pedro López	1969–1980	110	350+	Fugitive	Known as "The Monster of the Andes"; raped and killed young girls across Colombia, Ecuador and Peru	[12]
Luis Alberto Malagón Suárez	1995–2001	6	6+	Incarcerated	Known as "The Sadist of Rincón"; kidnapped, raped, and killed five girls from 1995 to 1997 in Suba, and later killed his wife	[13]
Tomás Maldonado Cera	2002–2018	7	10	Incarcerated	Known as "The Satanist"; murdered victims on or around Halloween night, then carved Satanic symbols on their bodies	[14]
Jaime Iván Martínez	2005–2016	4	25	42 years	Known as "The Guarne Killer"; strangled young children and his wife in Guarne; suspected in other murders	[15]
Élver James Melchor Bañol	1990s–2019	4	4	60 years	Known as "The Predator of Picaleña"; serial child rapist who murdered a girl in Tolima after being released on parole for three similar murders and sex crimes	[16]
John Jairo Moreno Torres	1997–1998	4	20	Murdered in prison by fellow inmates	Known as "Johnny the Leper"; underage gang leader who murdered people who interfered with his criminal activities	[17]
Yadira Narváez	2011	5	6+	100 years	Known as "The Queen of Scopolamine"; poisoned men with Carbofuran to steal their money	[18]
Hernando Arturo Prada	1990s–1999	10	10+	Killed by a paramilitary squad while on the run	Known as "The Angel of Death"; gang leader who killed people in Bucaramanga	[19]
Luis Gregorio Ramírez Maestre	2010–2012	30	30	34 years	Known as "The Monster of Tenerife"; tortured and murdered motorists he came across on highways	[20]
Emilsen Rojas	2008–2011	3	3+	Incarcerated	Together with Sandra Giraldo and several accomplices, she led "The Black Widow Gang"; defrauded and poisoned men for their life insurance policies	[21]
Esneda Ruiz Cataño	2001–2010	3	3	Incarcerated	Known as "The Predator"; poisoned three husbands for their life insurance policies	[22]
Efraín Sarmiento Cuero	2017–2023	3	3	Incarcerated	Known as "The Beast"; murdered girlfriends during arguments, including one during a conjugal visit in prison	[23]
Fredy Armando Valencia	2012–2014	8	100+	36 years	Known as "The Monster of Monserrate"; strangled women around Monserrate, then had sex with their bodies	[24]
Juan Carlos Villa	2012–2023	11	11	Incarcerated	Murdered 11 people across various municipalities.	[25]
Rubén Villalobos Herrera	2012–2017	9	9	Incarcerated	Known as "The Black Canes Monster"; raped and murdered women in Villavicencio, then had sex with their bodies post-mortem	[26]

Unidentified serial killers

Name	Years active	Proven victims	Possible victims	Regions where active	Notes	Ref
Monster of the Mangones	1963–1970s	30	38	Valle del Cauca	Kidnapped, raped, tortured and then murdered between young boys and teenagers in Cali; investigators believe the killer to have suffered from clinical vampirism	[27]

See also

• Lists of serial killers

References

1. Ronald M. Holmes; Stephen T. Holmes (1998). Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder. SAGE Publications. p. 1. ISBN   0-7619-1421-8 . Retrieved 15 June 2016. Serial murder is the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period between the murders [...] The baseline number of three victims appears to be most common among those who are the academic authorities in the field. The time frame also appears to be an agreed-upon component of the definition.
2. Burkhalter Chmelir 2003, p. 1.
3. Morton 2005, p. 4, 9.
4. Correa, Juan David Ramírez (6 May 2013). "Pescadito". El Colombiano (in Spanish). Medellín . Retrieved 27 May 2019.
5. Felipe Motoa Franco (17 November 2013). Remembering the 39 victims that Desquito killed in the village of La Italia (Victoría) La Patria. Accessed 4 June 2020. (in Spanish)
6. "Cronologia de los Asesinatos de Camargo Barbosa" [Timeline of the Murders of Barbosa Camargo]. Hoy (in Spanish). Ecuador. 15 November 1994. Archived from the original on 29 May 2010. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
7. "La historia de cinco asesinos en serie de Colombia" [The story of five serial killers from Colombia]. KienyKe (in Spanish). 20 July 2013. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
8. "El asesino de los 4 niños del Caqueta, comenzó su carrera criminal en Ibagué" [The murderer of 4 children of in Caqueta, began his criminal career in Ibagué]. CambioIn (in Spanish). 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
9. Pujadas, Edda (5 May 2013). "La bruja asesina" [The murderous witch]. Diario La Voz (in Spanish). Retrieved 24 November 2019.
10. Benecke, M.; Rodriquez, A.; Zabeck, M. & Mätzler, A. (September 2005). "Two Homosexual Pedophile Sadistic Serial Killers: Jürgen Bartsch (Germany, 1946–1976) and Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos (Colombia, 1957)" (PDF). Minerva Medicolegale. 125 (3). Turin: Edizioni Minerva Medica S.p.A.: 153–169. ISSN   0026-4849 . Retrieved 20 June 2010.
11. "The gang of 'Black Widows' was captured in Antioquia" (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
12. "Who is Pedro Lopez?". Matthew White. 20 February 2005. Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
13. "Capturado Homicida de Niñas de Suba" [Murderer of Suba girls captured]. El Tiempo (in Spanish). 1 February 2002. Retrieved 27 August 2019.
14. "Los macabros detalles del asesino serial colombiano que le rendía tributo al diablo" [The macabre details of the Colombian serial killer who paid tribute to the devil]. Infobae (in Spanish). 14 February 2019. Retrieved 14 May 2019.
15. "Condenan a 42 años de prisión al llamado "asesino en serie" de Guarne" [The "serial killer" of Guarne sentenced to 42 years in prison]. RCN Radio (in Spanish). 20 January 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
16. Melchor, the so-called 'Second Garavito' Santa Marta al Día. Accessed 30 May 2020. (in Spanish)
17. "Sicópata de 20 años tenía aterrorizados a los habitantes de Kennedy y Fontibón" [20-year-old psychopath terrified the inhabitants of Kennedy and Fontibón]. Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 28 February 1998. Retrieved 10 May 2019.
18. "Yadira: la asesina en serie". Diario del Huila (in Spanish). 18 May 2014. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
19. "Paramilitares dieron muerte a reo que secuestró avión Colombiano" [Paramilitaries killed inmate who hijacked Colombian plane]. Caracol Radio (in Spanish). 21 February 2000. Archived from the original on 12 August 2021.
20. Rojas, Julián Espinos (16 April 2013). "La macabra ruta del 'Monstruo de Tenerife'" [The macabre journey of the 'Monster of Tenerife']. El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 September 2014.
21. "The gang of 'Black Widows' was captured in Antioquia" (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 12 September 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
22. "Capturada mujer acusada de asesinar a sus esposos para cobrar millonarios seguros de vida" [Captured woman accused of murdering her husbands to collect millions in life insurance]. RCN Radio (in Spanish). 30 January 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
23. Óscar Javier Bueno (16 May 2023). "Fiscalía imputa por feminicidio a recluso que asesinó a su pareja en la cárcel de Cómbita" [Prosecutor's Office charges femicide to inmate who murdered his partner in Cómbita prison]. RCN Radio (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 14 November 2023.
24. "La historia del 'Monstruo de Monserrate', asesino en serie de mujeres" [The story of the 'Monster of Monserrate', serial killer of women]. RCN Radio (in Spanish). 2 December 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
25. "Juan Carlos Villa, el asesino en serie de Risaralda responsable de al menos 11 homicidios". Caracol Radio . Retrieved 20 January 2024.
26. "Cayó feminicida y violador en serie que aterrorizaba a Villavicencio" [Serial killer and rapist who terrorized Villavicencio captured]. Diario del Sur (in Spanish). 31 May 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
27. Germán Peña Córdoba (24 September 2019). 'The Monster of the Mangones' in the 1960s Semanario digital Sevilla Valle del Cauca. Accessed 9 August 2020. (in Spanish)

Bibliography

• Burkhalter Chmelir, Sandra (2003). "Serial Killers". In Robert Kastenbaum (ed.). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson/Gale. p. 1. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
• Morton, RJ (2005). "Serial murder multi-disciplinary perspectives for investigators" (PDF). Federal Bureau of Investigation. Retrieved 16 July 2011.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
• Hollandsworth, Skip (2015). The Midnight Assassin (1st ed.). New York: Henry Holt. p. 81. ISBN   978-0-8050-9767-2.
• Lane, Brian; Gregg, Wilfred (1995) [1992]. The Encyclopedia Of Serial Killers. New York City: Berkley Book. ISBN   0-425-15213-8.