The killer was indeed a woman her name was Juana Barraza. Birthday: 1956 How Old - Age: 67 Recently Passed Away Celebrities and Famous People. Barraza dabbled in professional wrestling and Barraza would then look through her victims houses for something to take with her, though the crimes dont seem to have been motivated by financial gain. victims 5 Juana Barraza - Wikipedia When she was detained, Barraza looked respectable and unremarkable, with neatly cut hair and conservative clothes. He denied a 'Si queremos combatir la violencia necesitamos entender cmo y dnde se or Mataviejitas, was sentenced to 759 years in jail for the killings Barraza closely resembled a model of the The judge heard evidence that Barraza, 50, cruised Jose Lugo took her back to his house and she waited for her motheror her stepfather, who she trustedto come and save her. They would willingly let her in, and Barraza would proceed to rob and kill them. Still to this day, Juana is alive and completing her sentence . Police had been unsure if the killer they were care, and by whom she became pregnant with a boy. Lady of Silence as a wrestler and occasionally wrestled in minor apparently have fingerprints putting her at the scene of at least 11. detaining and questioning transvestites. "With all due respect to the authorities there are several of us involved in extortion and killing people, so why don't the police go after the others too?" Juana Barraza was arrested in 2006 One of Mexico's most prolific serial killers, a former female wrestler, has received multiple life sentences for the murders of at least 11 women. victims 4 As es su vida en prisin", "Detenido un profesor de un instituto de Totana por agredir sexualmente a una docena de alumnas", Investiga PGJDF posible suicidio del 'Mataviejitas', Mexico police captures serial killer "Mataviejitas"', Performing mexicanidad: criminality and lucha libre, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Juana_Barraza&oldid=1151441150, This page was last edited on 24 April 2023, at 02:24. On 31 March she was found guilty on 16 charges of murder and aggravated burglary, including 11 separate counts of murder. The killer always followed the same pattern, getting into the homes of elderly women who lived alone either after offering to carry in groceries or knocking on the door and pretending to be a social worker. She is also the most prominent perpetrator of the Mataviejitas ("Little Old Lady Killer") murders in Mexico City. least 24 old women in the capital since 2003 is likely to strike again Alfaro, 82, had been strangled with a stethoscope. The Many Levels of Mystery: Whodunnit? to Whydunnit? and Beyond, The Invention of the Polygraph, and Law Enforcement's Long Search for a 'Lie Detector', If You Build It, They Will Profit: Reflecting on J. G. Ballards High-Rise 48 Years Later, Dragons, Decolonization, and More: Mays Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books, The Booker Revisited: The Mythic Haunting of Marie NDiayes, What Emojis Cant Express: How Handwriting Reveals Our True Selves, I Never Saw Her Cry. Terry McDonell Remembers His Mother, Irma, Jenny Odell on Timing Our Lives in Rhythm With the Earth. With the help of the witness, the police were able to arrest Barraza before she left the area. over, most of whom lived alone. other killings. Barely pubescent, she was repeatedly raped by her new guardian or a third man (versions vary), becoming pregnant and giving birth to a boy. What makes her story even more sensational is her professional wrestler and serial killer dubbed La Mataviejitas . Consider Juana Barraza, a 48 year old Mexican woman who was tried in the spring of 2008, the prosecution alleging she had been responsible for as many as 40 deaths. Her wrestling persona was La Dama del Silencio, The Lady of Silence. All rights reserved. Reyes on Wednesday in the Venustiano Carranza area of the capital. persona was La Dama del Silencio, The Lady of Silence. could sign them up to welfare programmes. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. NYU Press, 2019. Her eldest died as a young man, from injuries The first murder attributed to Mataviejitas The authorities and the press have . But in the darkened streets of the city, she had another persona: Mataviejitas, or little old lady killer.. gain entry to victims' homes by pretending to be a government employee past year, there is concern that another murder is overdue. we kindly appreciate any donation you can give to help the Murderpedia project stay alive. Barraza's mother was a dysfunctional alcoholic and a prostitute who sold Juana to a man for three beers. AP Archive/YouTubeJuana Barraza in costume. Few details have emerged about Ms Barraza's background. She was also just 13 when she gave birth to Barraza. mock battles. An odd coincidence also distracted the investigation: at least three of Barraza's victims owned a print of an eighteenth-century painting by French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Boy in A Red Waistcoat. But according to the police, Juana Barraza acted alone. [25] Juana Barraza was also highlighted on the show La Historia Detras Del Mito, the episode was also entitled "La Mataviejitas". [26], In September 2015, Barraza was highlighted in the Investigation Discovery series Deadly Women, in an episode titled "Payback". Juana Barraza, 48, strangled Ana Marie with a stethoscope she found lying on the table. killed about 40 elderly women in total in a murder spree in the She also had been a wrestler in the past and has a heavy, strong build, the police said. Juana Barraza was featured on the 478th episode of The Last Podcast on the Left. She was often seen in the front rows of the established arenas, and also organised wrestling events for small-town fiestas, occasionally fighting in the ring herself. Barraza was tried in the spring of 2008, the prosecution alleging she had been responsible for as many as 40 deaths. The Killer of Old Ladies. As the trial inches along, the defence's strategy one of the murders, with attempts to get her declared mentally unfit Officers investigating Within this context, Barraza's own relationship with her four Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. Ms Barraza, who used the name The Lady of Silence as a professional wrestler, was detained on Wednesday after she was seen leaving the house of an 82-year-old woman found strangled to death on the floor with a stethoscope. highlighted on the show La Historia Detras Del Mito the episode was She admitted to one murder, that of Alfaro, and told the police her motive was lingering resentment regarding her own mother's treatment of her. While her lucha name was La Dama del Silencio, The Lady of Silence- HENRY ZEBROWSKI Cool. harbours deep resentment towards her mother for letting the abuse "Fingerprints match in 10 murder cases as well as ("little old lady killer"), is probably a man dressed as a woman who On 31 March, she was found guilty on 16 charges of murder and aggravated burglary, including 11 separate counts of murder. She told reporters she had visited Alfaro's home in lived in the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City. Her nickname is La Dama del Silencio (Sp. estimates as to the total number of the killer's victims, with Lucha libre typically involves titanic battles between fighters with cartoon-character names and costumes who are identified as either tcnicos (good guys who fight by the rules) and rudos (villains who break them.) an early childhood in the charge of an alcoholic mother who gave her "La Mataviejitas" Serial Killer Juana Barraza - Medium According to The Crime Center, the victims were strangled and all had a similar profile. The police, realizing they could no longer ignore the situation, admitted the truth; yes, there was indeed a serial killer on the loose killing innocent grandmothers. Mexican police hunting the country's most-wanted process is slow, Barraza's public trial in the local media was all but In Mexico, professional wrestling is a popular form of entertainment, though it takes a slightly different form from what one might expect. . their elder sister. But just because I'm going to pay for it, that doesn't mean they're going to hang all the other crimes on me," she said. Ms. Barraza lives in a suburb of Mexico City, Ixtapaluca, and works as a popcorn vendor at professional wrestling matches, a popular pastime here. female wrestler known professionally as The Silent Lady. Prior to her arrest, Murderpedia states that she was a lucha libre wrestler who performed under the name "La Dama del Silencio" or "The Silent Lady." MEXICO CITY, Jan. 25 - A woman who sold popcorn and worked as a professional wrestler was arrested here Wednesday on charges that she murdered at least 10 elderly women over the last two years, the authorities said. Two years later, Barraza was convicted and sentenced to 759 years and 17 days; she remains in Santa Martha Acatitla to this day. linked Ms Barraza to at least 10 murders carried out in recent years. According to her lawyer, the accused is "proud to say she has kept things going on her own. Analyses of the crime scenes suggested that the killer strangled the victims from behind with articles of their own clothing or other effects from their homes. Juana Barraza was a former lucha libre wrestler bmszealand/Shutterstock On January 23, 2006, a man witnessed Barraza fleeing the home of his 86-year-old landlady, according to The Crime Center. Almost four months on from her arrest, Barraza has been charged with 10 murders, pleading guilty to just one - strangling Reyes - and not guilty to the rest. talking to strangers. When it comes to Mexican trials, there are no juries and few public hearings. El Mataviejitas. That which happens to us today didnt happen to us before; happened in movies, in the United States. Above all, Mexican professional wrestling, or Lucha Libre, has a certain sense of pageantry. But a man nonetheless. Los policas no haban logrado capturar a Juana porque pensaban que el asesino era un hombre o un travesti pues testigos haban descrito al atacante como una persona fornida. . With the help of the witness, the police were able to arrest Barraza before she left the area. Barraza was born on December 27, 1957, in Epazoyucan, Hidalgo, a rural area situated to the north of Mexico City. her, authorities said. in the largely rural state of Hidalgo, just north of Mexico City, and But police said the broad-shouldered Ms Barraza verdict. We have estimated plans and enthusiasm [22] According to news reports, Juana also got married and divorced while serving her sentence. profilers suggesting the murderer was a transvestite, nobody looked Someone charismatic. Read full biography, Yes, Juana Barraza is still alive initial police interrogation. The first murder attributed to Mataviejitas has been dated variously to the late 1990s and to a specific killing on 17 November 2003. lady is virtually unheard of How much our society must have And definitely male. The police have been heavily criticised for known as the Silent Lady who they believe is the country's most-wanted Police in Mexico changed if it can produce a [female] mataviejitas.". her motive was lingering resentment regarding her own mother's She was detained shortly afterwards as she hurried from the murder scene, identified by the victim's lodger. Her mother, Justa Samperio, was an alcoholic who beat her daughter at every turn. Anyone can read what you share. responsible for up to 40 deaths. murder. By November 2005, the Mexican authorities were Neighbours in this otherwise largely middle-class area described the children as friendly and their mother as always pleasant in passing. With the evidence they collected, police were able to charge Barraza with 16 different murders, but she is believed to have killed up to 49 people. "A Mexican woman killing even just one little old Juana Barrazaa Mexican professional wrestler and female serial killerknown as La Mataviejitas (The Old Lady Killer) and La Dama del Silencio (The Lady of Silence). Barraza's mother, Justa Samperio, was an alcoholic and sex worker. Instead, prosecutors and defence lawyers present their evidence to a single judge during largely closed-door proceedings that can last years. [23], She was first portrayed in a TV series called Mujer: Casos de la vida real in the early 2000s. killer's features, which showed La Mataviejitas with Canale as victims. It meant months were spent detaining and murders. Miguel Ontiveros - the criminologist associated And so when Juana was thirteen years old, her mother sold her to a man named Jose Lugo in exchange forsome saythree beers.