/r/serialkillers

Photograph via snooOG

Information and news about serial killers.

Welcome to r/SerialKillers. If you're new to the sub, please read this post.
  1. Rules
  2. Posts must be about serial killers or the subject of serial murder.
  3. Treat Users with Respect.
  4. No glorification. Please do not glorify serial killers or otherwise encourage violence.
  5. No backseat moderation. Use the report system
  6. No Self-promotion / Merchandise Links / Murderabilia. If you genuinely believe the users of this sub would be interested, you are welcome to message the mods and we'll review your request.
  7. Link Posts. All link / image posts require a submission comment to start the discussion. Images must be high quality. No memes. See full rules for more info.
  8. No Reposts. Please search before posting. We accept that they are a fact of life, but please make an attempt to avoid them.. Serial reposters (three or more items) can be banned.
  1. Definitions:
  2. Current FBI definition of a serial killer: Two or more separate incidents by the same offender.
  3. Mass murderers kill two or more people in one incident in one location.
  4. Spree killers kill two or more in one incident in two or more locations without a cooling-off period.
  5. Posts about figures that don't match the definition (Charles Manson, Jim Jones, hitmen, gangsters, mobsters, soldiers etc.) will be removed.
  1. Related subs:
  2. /r/RedditCrimeCommunity
  3. /r/TrueCrime
  4. /r/TrueCrimeDiscussion
  5. /r/CrimeScene
  6. /r/MysteryMedia
  7. /r/gratefuldoe
  8. /r/EARONS
  9. /r/morbidquestions
  10. /r/Crime_documentaries
  11. /r/ZodiacKiller
  12. /r/Creepy
  13. /r/MorbidReality
  14. /r/UnresolvedMysteries
  15. /r/CreepyEncounters
  16. /r/CrimeMugshots
  17. /r/forensics
  18. /r/classichorror
  19. /r/HorrorReviewed
  20. /r/LISKiller
  21. /r/masskillers
  22. /r/Jessicamshannon
  23. /r/RedheadMurders
  1. Recommended Podcasts:
  2. Unresolved
  3. The Serial Killer Podcast
  4. Last Podcast on the Left
  5. Thinking Sideways
  6. Generation Why
  7. Sword and Scale
  8. True Murder
  9. My Favorite Murder
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Recommended Reading

(Special thanks to /u/boschandvrij)


Rule breaking posts or comments may be removed without notice. Rule breaking may result in a permanent ban without prior warning. If you are unsure if something is appropriate to submit, please send us a modmail. Mods reserve the right to interpret rules at their discretion and ‘rules lawyers’ will be ignored and/or muted. If you notice a violation in the comments, please report it so we can investigate.

/r/serialkillers

622,815 Subscribers

1

verdict on ted bundy’s childhood / is there any information on ted bundy’s victim in california?

many have suggested that ted bundy’s childhood was far from ideal, particularly with regards to his grandfather. however, bundy himself emphatically denies this in pretty much each interview in which its brought up. considering he shifted blame on to several other factors to detract from accepting his guilt, why wouldn’t he have discussed his abusive childhood if it existed?

please don’t forget to respond to question 2 if you have any information!

0 Comments
2024/05/14
05:00 UTC

14

Can We Ever Stop Series Killers Before They Strike?

There's a thing I notice about interviews with serial killers, especially Ted Bundy, and that's how the professionals try to elicit important information, in hopes of stopping the next guy. They do keep coming, don't they. I doubt it's possible to stop a budding serial killer once they're being groomed by their environment and their nature. It's an exercise in futility. I have no real solution but it's obvious they start early in their warped thinking. Could a teenage Bundy have been stopped by something extraordinary in his environment? Maybe, but doubtful. How do you stop your genetic predisposition?

51 Comments
2024/05/14
11:49 UTC

61

I’m looking for serial killers who didn’t have any illness

Serial killers who were caught and never diagnosed with any mental illness or personality disorder. I believe Dean Corll was like this and Timothy McVeigh also though he wasn’t really a serial killer. I also think Ted Kaczynski was though I’m not 100% sure on him. Do y’all know anyone else?

294 Comments
2024/05/12
20:15 UTC

0

What if someone saw Ted Bendy do stuff?

Imagine you are wandering in the Cascade Moutains and come across Ted Bundy shampooing a corpse? What would you do? Just the thought of him doing that sends shivers down my spine.

41 Comments
2024/05/12
02:03 UTC

48

What are some examples of the media ruining police investigations due to publishing private information for views/ a good story? If so, how has this impacted the case and the catching of the perpetrators?

25 Comments
2024/05/10
18:06 UTC

172

What unidentified serial killers do you hope get caught within your lifetime?

Any feedback welcome

261 Comments
2024/05/10
01:07 UTC

15

Was she REALLY Heidnik's victim or covering her own hide

Josephina Rivera and Gary Heidnik. I don't know but I grew up in a different neighborhood of Philly but still heard the rumors and now after seeing Monster Preacher, Josephina seems a little cavalier further fueling that she helped him he bought her so much crack.

20 Comments
2024/05/09
19:06 UTC

8

The Dnepropetrovsk Maniacs, Columbine inspired ?

I've heard they were "fans" of Columbine, but can't find were I get this information.

10 Comments
2024/05/09
17:53 UTC

137

Serial Killers who used their jobs/position to commit murders?

A common profile in criminology is that of an "Angel of Death", a medical professional or caretaker who intentionally harms or kills people under their care. I am curious about serial killers who specifically used their careers or positions of power (outside of the medical field) to find their victims or as part of their "modus operandi".

96 Comments
2024/05/09
03:22 UTC

31

Gary Ridgway Footage?

Hi guys. So I recently have been researching the Green River case and have watched a couple of documentaries regarding it. I also watched some of the confession tapes and court footage. I really want to find the footage from when the police took Ridgway along to his dumping grounds and he showed them where he placed the bodies in exchange for his plea. Can't seem to find any footage on that apart from what's in the documentaries. If you guys have anything else evidence/archive related, I'd be interested in that as well. Thank you all in advance.

6 Comments
2024/05/08
15:17 UTC

58

Looking for the name of this phenomenon:

Serial killers are sometimes very principled or regimented in other areas of their lives, for example, a murderer who finds it too immoral to steal. Yet they justify murder or don’t care about morality in that regard.

38 Comments
2024/05/08
00:41 UTC

66

Just delved into the FBI profile of Larry Eyler, and it's chillingly accurate about his real-life persona.

The profile vividly describes Eyler projecting a tough "macho" image, which you can almost visualize with the way he sported his mustache and his dedication to exercise. It's unnerving how it depicts him frequenting redneck bars, seeking validation from other masculine men, all while battling a deep fear of being labeled as queer. What's truly chilling is how the profile accurately foretold his behavior, even detailing his post-murder rituals of covering victims with leaves or soil. Additionally, it correctly hints at the offender being a physically strong individual and at his connection with a middle-aged, middle-class accomplice, which we now know to be his roommate, Robert David Little. It's astonishing how the profile pieces together Eyler's appearance, actions, and social circles, offering a chilling glimpse into the mind of a killer.

15 Comments
2024/05/05
18:31 UTC

109

Has there ever been a serial killer who has shown true remorse or regret?

I cant think of any.

233 Comments
2024/05/04
09:10 UTC

17

Can anyone suggest me a good book about Ed Kemper?

I wanted to read a book about him for a long time but I wasn't too interested to start reading about him. I recently saw an interview of him and now I wanted to know more about his case.

3 Comments
2024/05/03
04:08 UTC

10

Opinions

Which movies do you think are the best comparisons to real life of serial killers: Bundy, Berkowitz, Zodiac, Dahmer?

15 Comments
2024/05/03
12:26 UTC

854

Ed kemper is up for parole in July. Ed is now seventy six years old. Is there really any point now?

Let's say he is released. What's he gonna do at 76? Not like he could get a job, go into late-stage adult education or anything. He has nowhere to go, no financial income. Where would he live?

The only realistic outcome for his release would be a referral into an old folks retirement home. Also, he's SEVENTY SIX. Not like he's going to live another 20 years or so.

412 Comments
2024/05/02
21:00 UTC

326

I listened to an interview with the Son of Sam Killer and I cant stop thinking about it.

The interview was done in 2015 so he had been in prison for forty years at that point. He went into detail about giving his life over to God and spoke about how he has come to terms with the fact that he will be in jail for the rest of his life and how he doesnt mind if it gives peace to the victim’s families. He said he doesnt even show up to parole anymore. He seems so genuine and at peace with himself. I dont understand how he is the same person who did the things he did and taunted the police. I cant help but feel like it is such a waste. He had the potential to be someone who really contribute to the world. Idk how he was capable of such evil. Is he schizophrenic? What do you think about Son of Sam and his preaching of religion now?

137 Comments
2024/04/30
23:02 UTC

102

Why did Dean Corll only sexually mutilate Willard Branch?

The one thing I'm always reminded about when I hear about Corll is his victim Willard "Rusty" Branch Jr. He was murdered sometime in 1972 (some sources say February 1972, but reports from the medical examiner say November 1972).

It can be argued that Branch possibly suffered one of the worst deaths; a bag containing a served penis and testicles was found along with his body in Corll's boat storage shed. (Note: I don't think the police at the scene realized that they had uncovered a bag containing the penis until the autopsy; it is not mentioned in the Houston PD reports until August 13, when Dr. Joe called and informed HPD about the discovery)

It is actually not known if this occured before or after Branch was shot in the head; Dr. Joseph Jachimczyk, who did the autospy of Branch and the other victims, said in a 1975 newspaper article that Branch's body was so decomposed that they could not determinate if the mutilation had occured before or after death; but it's likely it occured before knowing what we know about Corll. Also, Branch was the only victim where they could confirm that sexual mutilation had occured. All of the other victims that still had a penis (that weren't decomposed) were intact according to autopsy reports, but I could be wrong on this. But they only found one bag containing a served penis. In fact the updated 1985 report on Branch says this: "It is likely these anatomic specimens do not belong to this body". I am not sure why they said that: I assume if they had DNA back then they could determine if it was from Branch or not.

Until 1985, Branch's body was simply known as "ML73-3350" or "Unknown #12" (since he was Body 12 in the shed), until he was identified with the help of his sister. It was thought that Branch's body might have been Mark Scott, a known victim whose body has never been found, but is likely to have been buried on High Island Beach, which unfortunately is underwater now, meaning that his body will likely never be found, along with any other possible additional victims.

My questions are, why did Corll do this to him, and only him? I'm wondering from a psychological POV. It is unfortunate that Corll was killed before his crimes were discovered. It would be interesting to hear an interview with him about what he did to his victims and just why, and also see actual justice. I wish Dr. Todd Grande would make a video about Corll but there's not much about him that's known. More is known of course about his accomplices. My theory I guess is that he got some kind of sexual gratification out of seeing Branch suffer as he mutilated him, or he did it so he would have a "trophy".

46 Comments
2024/04/30
03:08 UTC

41

This is a fuzzy memory. I was 19 when Ted Bundy was put to death. I remember watching some stuff on TV live early in the morning and I remember at some point a radio DJ dedicated the cover Eurythmic's Al Green 'Put a little love in your heart' to the crowd waiting outside Stark prison.

I've googled pretty hard and I find a lot of stuff from that morning, but I can't find the news snippet where the DJ dedicated that song to the crowd and Ted Bundy.

I felt pretty disturbed by it because I felt like Ted Bundy was an awful human being, but the circus-like atmosphere and putting him to death was almost as strange. Does anyone remember specifically what radio station may have played that song?

I remember grotesquely the crowd cheering as a white hearse left the prison afterward.

I appreciate that people wanted him dead, and I have no sympathy for the man, but the stadium-like atmosphere was pretty macarbre to me, at my age.

It's just that I really cannot hear the Eurythmics version of that song ever after without thinking of Ted Bundy.

Just curious if there was a recording of that transmission and what radio station it might have been.

Edit: I'm thinking that this was probably a local DJ to the Starke, or North Florida area, so this is probably more of a Florida question than anything else.

14 Comments
2024/04/25
17:34 UTC

87

Which random small details of a case would you like to know the meaning behind?

I watch a lot of interrogation footage and one that stuck out to me was the interrogation of Russell Williams - A Colonel in the Canadian army who murdered 2 women in 2009 and 2010.

One question the detective asked was if there was any reason that one of his victims, Marie-France Comeau, a coworker at the army base he worked at, would have specifically referenced him in one of her diary entries - to which he says no. This isn't brought up again, and it's clear that he had no prior relationship with her - romantic or otherwise.

Now that may have just been a bullshit question by the detective to see where it takes him, or maybe she really did write about him in her diary. If she did, I wish I knew why.


Are there any small details from cases that YOU would like more information on but have never gotten?

29 Comments
2024/04/25
00:28 UTC

223

Which killer/case frustrates you the most?

A recent post here asked which type of killer was the scariest. Maybe it's due to consuming so much content on them, but I rarely get "scared" anymore and saw a lot of people voice similar sentiments. If anything, I get angry.

Ed Kemper is the one that stuck with me for the longest and re-pisses me off every time I see him mentioned. It's the audacity of brutally taking lives for nothing but your own sexual lust and self-esteem issues. I know this is the case for many serial killers, but what he enjoyed doing to those girls and his reasoning for it just makes me actually furious. His entire self-righteous demeanor as well, people fall right for it to this day and credit him for being "intelligent" because he managed to act like a normal person when he wasn't mutilating young girls.

How Law Enforcement failed Dahmer's victims is another example.

Do you have cases/killers that make you more angry than scared?

316 Comments
2024/04/24
07:14 UTC

180

Which killer scares you most?

For those who don't know, psychologists have split serial killers into several different groups, all regarding their motives and methods. After researching them all, I've found it kinda difficult to decide which group I think is scariest. What do you guys think? I'll list the options below, just know they get pretty damn sinister:

Lust: These people torture and kill purely because it's what gets them off and they find their victims expendable. That's pretty much their only motive. They generally prefer using weapons that put them in close contact with the victim(Or they'll just use their hands) and often mutilate the bodies after death. They might also engage in other act like cannibalism and necrophilia. Might as well get the grossest one out of the way first, right?

Thrill: These people torture and kill because they enjoy the reactions their victims give them before death. Seeing the victim's fear gives them a high that they find extremely pleasant and addictive. They also prefer close-up methods, like stabbing and choking, but don't get a sexual thrill from their crimes and seem to favor stalking and scaring victims more than actually killing them. There's almost never any signs of mutilation after death.

Comfort: This type commits murder because they have something practical to gain from the target's death. They're usually after money or other assets they can't get otherwise. Unlike the groups above, they take no pleasure from killing and will often stage their crimes to look like accidents, suicides, natural deaths, and pretty much anything that helps them hide from police.

Visionary: This type kills because they believe some kind of higher power is willing them to. They often see their murders as sacrifices and may or may not think the victims are possessed or cursed. Their crimes are typically random and unorganized, with little to no planning or clear pattern regarding victims/methods.

Mission-Oriented: This group kills because they're trying to exterminate certain people, usually a group of people, they think society is better off without. They usually target specific races, religious groups, prostitutes, runaways, vagrants and...well, there's really no shortage for the list of their potential targets. They often have similar methods to Comfort killers in the sense that they don't drag out the killing and stalking process.

Power/Control: This group kills because it makes them feel powerful. They usually come from broken homes with neglectful or abusive parents and battle constant feelings of being inadequate or helpless. Getting to dominate another person to such an extent that they can decide whether that person lives or dies, and decide HOW and WHEN they die, gives them a break from feeling like that. They usually preferr to strangle people, but they're willing to kill by pretty much any means as long as it's direct. They also like keeping trophies from their victims. The trophies can be clothes, jewelry, the victim's ID, or even body parts. Much like Lust killers, there's also a good chance they'll keep and mutilate the victim's carcass.

217 Comments
2024/04/23
17:49 UTC

696

A woman would run out of a house screaming and crying as a man with a metal pipe pursued her. When the police arrived at the home belonging to a former police officer, they discovered 30-40 bodies buried across his property.

(Trigger Warning: This write-up contains mentions of CSA

This is also another massive case, one that even got international attention so as always. I encourage your own research in case I got stuff wrong or missed anything. In order to not drag this write-up on for too long I am also excluding some things. I'm not going through every single missing person unless there is compelling enough circumstantial evidence that points to them possibly being one of the aforementioned buried bodies.

Also as explained before in a post on my account. I am working through a backlog of cases, by country A-Z, by continent. So I'll be in Latin America for the next little while uploading Central and South American Cases)

Hugo Ernesto Osorio Chávez was born on February 6, 1970, in Chalchuapa, El Salvador. Very little information on his past seems to be publicly available before the age of 26 beyond having a ninth-grade education and that he married a woman who sold food at a local market and had two children with her. In early 1997 he graduated from The Public Security Academy and became a police officer. His tenure as an officer wouldn't last long at all since on May 21, 2005, his position in the Salvadoran police was terminated after he was found to have committed fraud, and for raping a minor of unknown age. This did not come as too much of a surprise as one of his colleagues described him as having "Sexually aggressive behaviours" and an overall pervert who would stand underneath public staircases to try and peek at women's underwear and leave his phone number in spaces minors were known to frequent in hopes one would call him. After finishing his 5-year prison sentence in 2011, moved to a house in a neighbourhood in Chalchuapa.

He bought two separate homes in this neighbourhood one for himself, and another for his wife and the mother of his two children who he would visit once a week. He also bought a patch of land for himself to build a house on. The purchase of both properties and the land was curious to the neighbours since they didn't know where the money to make the purchases could have come from. Hugo was speculated to have gang connections and was known to work as a "Coyote" to help smuggle people into The United States.

He was known to go out of his way to try and talk to the local girls in the area. These conversations would be of a flirtatious nature even though Hugo was in his 40s by now. Curiously, in spite of this fact, the neighbours described him as a nice person who "minded his own business", he would even invite them all to go on trips and vacations with him which he funded. But not everyone liked Hugo. Others knew him to be a drunk and drug user who got into fights with others which is how some came to describe him as a "brawler"

In August 2012, Hugo was in El Salvador's capital, San Salvador and found himself in contact with a 15-year-old girl. The two met up in person at the parking garage of a shopping center. Hugo said he was from Honduras and owned a Reggaetón band, a genre she was a fan of and wanted to hire her to work in Mexico at one of his other businesses. He offered to work on her hair, buy her clothing and accessories, and so on under the condition that she accompany him to someplace private for sexual favours. The girl's father had reported her missing not long before and the police who were made to be on alert for the missing girl saw her talking with Hugo as they didn't have time to leave the shopping centre parking lot. Hugo was quickly arrested but since the victim kept her silence for years, Hugo faced no charges since there was nothing else to prove he intended on raping the girl so he was released.

One of the girls Hugo was known to "speak" with was a neighbour, 14-year-old Daniela Estefany Villatoro Peña. On October 26, 2018, she was seen at the Santa Isabel Catholic School Center for an event where she would receive her grades. She left the school at 12:00 p.m. when she got a bus back home. She told her friends before leaving that she was going to pick up a cell phone that was being offered to her as a gift. She was last seen wearing black pants and a white blouse. She did not have a boyfriend or any enemies and had no motive to run away. Her family began looking for her and asked all of her teachers and classmates if they had seen her but to no avail. The police investigated in case gang involvement was a factor but by all accounts, it seems nothing was done beyond that.

In July 2020, a man named Douglas Antonio Hernández Recinos brought an underaged relative of his to Hugo's home. According to media reports, this relative, a young female child with a disability had already been sexually assaulted many times prior by Douglas and the purpose of his visit to Hugo's was so he could sexually abuse his relative, all while the neighbours were completely unaware. She ended up escaping and a warrant was issued for Douglas and Hugo's arrest on December 22, 2020, but police for unknown reasons had difficulty finding Hugo while Douglas was on the run. At least presumably, sources are unclear on why they weren't arrested.

24-year-old, Alexis Palomo Lima, a fourth-year medical student lived with his parents in Chalchuapa. His mother, His mother, 57-year-old Mirna Cruz Lima owned a local store which used the money from to help pay for their house. Hugo would soon become a regular customer. During one of his visits to the store, Mirna confided in Hugo that Alexis was going to drop out of school due to their financial situation and their sales taking a hit due to Covid-19. Hugo told Mirna that he had a brother who worked as a "Coyote" and had Alexis brought to the United States for better work and to send money back to his family so they could pay their rent and monthly fee. He was charging 7,000 dollars for this service (El Salvador uses USD as its currency). Immigrating to The US was a dream for Alexis so when heard about this, he hurriedly began planning for the trip with Alexis's grandfather even mortgaging his own house to help him raise the money. Eventually, Hugo agreed to receive the payment over the course of three days.

On May 7, 2021, Hugo went to Mirna's hours after Alexis supposedly left to claim that his smuggling route was intercepted and Alexis had been kidnapped. Hugo though, claimed to know where the kidnappers had taken Alexis and the other migrants and offered to bring her to that location. Alexis's sister, 26-year-old gas station convenience store clerk, martial arts and cosmetology student, Jacquelinne Cristina Palomo Lima stayed behind while her mother followed Hugo. Once Mirna arrived at Hugo's home, the former police officer suddenly began hitting her several times on the head until she was fatally wounded and passed away.

After Mirna did not return, Jacquelinne headed out at 9:30 p.m. to begin looking for her. She had a feeling that something was suspicious about her disappearance and knew where Hugo lived so his home was the first place she looked. Jacquelinne arrived and knocked on the door which was swiftly answered by Hugo. It is not exactly known what happened but Jacquelinee ran out of the home screaming for help while Hugo, armed with a metal pipe began chasing her down the ally his house was adjacent to. This woke up the neighbours who saw what was happened and called the police. The call was received by the 911 call centre in San Salvador. Dispatchers attempted to forward this to any officers in Chalchuapa but a severe thunder, rain and lightning storm had damaged the phone lines not long after the call went through. Eventually, Hugo caught up to Jacquelinne and hit her on the head with the pipe instantly knocking her unconscious where Hugo provided to drag her back to his home.

After not hearing back from Chalchuapa due to the storm, the San Salvador call center attempted to contact the local police through other means or even other nearby police departments, eventually after 30 minutes they finally managed to get a hold of the local police, the only issue was that the callers could not recognize Hugo in the dark and none of the callers knew the number to the house that Jacquelinne was running away from so it took an extra 70 minutes for the police to track down the suspected crime scene when a neighbour came out and pointed them in the direction.

Once they finally arrived at the house, officers immediately noticed blood at the entrance to the home. When they ventured further into the home they discovered Mirna and Jacquelinne's bodies. In the garage, police found the body of a man with cuts to his wrist. The man was Hugo who was still barely alive after attempting suicide and staging the scene to make him look like one of the victims. He was woken up and rushed to a hospital. At the patio, police noticed a freshly dug grave, they dug up the grave which was 3 meters deep and housed two dead bodies. Next to that grave was another freshly dug bit only it was empty and had yet to be filled back in. Other miscellaneous items found were a dental prosthesis and two cell phones. Inside the home were a Santa Muerte figurine, candles and masks The bodies were identified as Alexis and Hugo's brother Carlos Osorio. Hugo was treated and interrogated when he regained consciousness. Seeing that his suicide had failed, he came clean, confessed and told police that he had many more victims.

Police at the scene

Hugo's arrest.

After hearing this news, the police with the aid of soldiers cordoned off the house and began a very long process of excavating Hugo's yard and the sugarcane field lying fight behind his home. While the police were excavating his property, Hugo also gave them the names of 11 of his accomplices. They were, not including Douglas who was mentioned above, Juan Francisco Zarceño, Juan Alberto Góchez Escobar, José Ernesto Sigüenza Martínez, Henry Aníbal Olivares Perdomo, Nelson Roberto Olivares Perdomo, Lorena Patricia Miranda Vásquez, Ernesto Enrique Ramírez Álvarez, Cindi Gabriela Mendoza Godoy, Ingrid Elizabeth Ramos Moran and Raúl Lisandro Quiñónez Melgar. All of them were arrested except for Raúl who remained on the run as a fugitive. These people consisted of former police officers, soldiers and Coyotes/Human Traffickers and all but 1 of them had criminal records. After police arrested all of them, Hugo changed his mind and accused them of being the murderers, he said that they killed all the people buried on his property and that he was intimidated into letting them use his backyard as a grave site.

The arrest of Hugo's alleged accomplices

The accomplices

Henry, in particular, was a 55-year-old neighbour of Hugo and was arrested on May 8th, not far from the crime scene for an unrelated offence. The route arresting officers took to escort him to the station went right by Hugo's house where he was helping police with excavations and pointing out the burial sites. He saw Henry being led away and pointed to him, addressing him by name and telling police that 8 months prior he brought a 36-year-old woman and her 9-year-old daughter to his home where he murdered the woman and sexually assaulted her daughter. Hugo positively identified each of them as the other accomplices were brought into a police station.

Within the first few days of the excavation, police came across 8 pits and recovered 14 bodies, mostly women and girls one as young as 2 years old. Most of the remains were skeletal, mixed with the bones belonging to others and needed to be reassembled for DNA testing. The depth at which the graves were dug to indicated that more than one person aided in digging the pits. Due to the situation in El Salvador, many disappearances appear to be unreported so police had to ask those with missing relatives to come forward and even independently of this notice, several relatives of previously unknown missing persons descended upon the property holding pictures and items belonging to their loved ones. Hundreds of them were crowding the outside of the home and police had to let in only a few at a time to see if any of the remaining clothing on the skeletons were intact enough to be identified. On May 11, the police found six more graves. The grave held the bodies of men, women and children aged 2-9. Some were also found in a well and septic tank, A majority of the women had been sexually assaulted. More bodies were found on May 17th. When all was said and done, the final body count ranged from 14 to maybe as high as 40.

https://preview.redd.it/h92g7jpyonvc1.png?width=1280&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb6efdb0d9ba055fe3d98bfeecb9e116db727d76

https://preview.redd.it/fqr7vaw4pnvc1.png?width=1536&format=png&auto=webp&s=eb17f02faf3be48d83a99a2e522d5fdd9d0d80e5

https://preview.redd.it/tlsew2k5pnvc1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=c9bbb0664cf29ad836e4eaee4c3080500677c47c

https://preview.redd.it/xo04mij7pnvc1.png?width=3500&format=png&auto=webp&s=6d8025879d5f28be08acddf3ef916f80f64c19d0

https://preview.redd.it/txcmdp58pnvc1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=2173822ccf35d8a840e9941a02efa91739a0ccb3

https://preview.redd.it/lqpjt489pnvc1.png?width=976&format=png&auto=webp&s=12e3ea6a7c98ab81da12eb48d53d5cc4d4866258

Forensic technicians excavating the yard

The police harshly criticized the media for sensationalizing the incident with the body count but declined to provide an updated figure. A lead forensic investigator with 30 years of experience was also forced to face disciplinary action for stating "unverified information" when he described the body count as being in the 30s. The man was Israel Ticas, a deeply respected man across the country who had helped retrieve and identify over 725 remains. This caused the police and prosecutors to be heavily criticized for a lack of transparency. Eventually, the police admitted that there were around 30-40 bodies found buried.

One of the first leads to identifying the bodies was 19-year-old Michael Ismael Orantes Orellana, who went missing on April 19, 2020, based on phone calls he was on his way to get a job in another country, and left after being in contact with someone on Facebook who wanted to help him out. According to him he was on his way to Honduras and would then enter go through Nicaragua. Eventually, his mother was turned away because none of the remains matched the characteristics of her son. They never asked her to come forward for DNA testing even though Michael's disappearance fits with Hugo's M.O. Daniela was another strong possible identity as after Hugo's arrest, her family came forward to tell police that Hugo was the man she was supposed to collect the phone from.

Forensic technicians also found bracelets, necklaces, complete sets of women's clothing, school uniforms, shoes, sandals and an ID card belonging to a 4-year-old child. All of these items save for the ID card were openly displayed in hopes those outside the police tape could recognize them. The police questioned his neighbours and relatives, all of whom were completely shocked and they all said that they never saw anything suspicious. No more corpses were found after the first excavation and at the end of the day, only 12 victims were identified. As for the remaining victims, Hugo was no help since he told police he either couldn't remember their names or never knew them to begin with.

The items found by investigators

One of those identified was an entire family referred to as "The Linares". They were killed at the end of 2020 by him, a taxi driver and a soldier. The first member of the family to be killed was Dania Linares, whom Hugo pinned the blame for onto Ernesto Enrique, the taxi driver. Hugo met with Ernesto, toward the end of 2020 and he told Hugo that he liked Dania. Hugo said that he could connect the two and lent his house to Ernesto while he locked and went to a store to buy food. He returned to find that Ernest had killed Dania.

The other members of the Linares family were referred to as Patricia, Helen, José and G. Another member was former soldier José Ernesto Sigüenza Martínez. He wanted to kill the entire family because he considered the alimony he was being paid for having a child with one of the family members to be too low for his liking and so he would have no obligation or responsibility to care for the child. This child was among the victims. Hugo agreed and let his home be the scene of José Ernesto's family annihilation. The rest of the murders appeared to go in a similar way where if someone wanted to kill somebody, Hugo would be more than happy to let them use his home to kill whomever they wished and bury their bodies on his property.

Another victim was a 16-year-old kiosk worker whom Hugo, together with Henry would visit her shop and offered her a better job. On March 28, 2021, Hugo told her that a new job was ready and that she'd be discussing it with Henry. So she went into the house alone with Henry while Hugo waited outside. After 25 minutes, Hugo came in after hearing screams for help and saw her holding onto a bedroom door while Henry was beating her with an iron.

As for 57-year-old Nelson Roberto Olivares Perdomo, he worked as a dentist and in 2020 brought a woman, likely a patient who was said to be 23 years old and that Nelson was "asking for a chance to be with her". The woman was killed by Nelson and buried in one of the graves in Hugo's house.

Lorena Patricia Miranda Vásquez was accused by Hugo of paying him $300 to kill Carlos Osorio. However, some other sources state that Carlos was killed because Hugo wanted to steal his brother's identity and flee.

Ingrid Elizabeth Ramos Morán allegedly paid Hugo $40 to get her brother intoxicated before killing him.

Eventually, Hugo gave up on trying to pin the blame on his accomplices and confessed and described his M.0 which went back nearly a decade. He mainly used social media with offers of employment or smuggling them into the United States in order to entice them into his home where he would then attack, abuse, rape and later kill them with a stone or metal pipe usually in the presence of two or three more accomplices. The smell was often covered up either by the depth of the graves or even by building a concrete slap over holes.

On January 10, 2022, the police rushed to Osorio's other property he had bought for his wife and began a second extensive excavation. They spent a month before ending the excavation in February after not finding any remains. The mother of Hugo's youngest child, a 6-year-old son, once asked why so many people were digging up his father's yard and she had to lie to him and say they were building a swimming pool which ended up exciting him. Since she was not at the first grave, Daniela's relatives figured she must have been buried at this other house. No bodies were found. Despite their lack of any involvement, Hugo's now ex-wife had to leave her job due to customers recognizing and constantly harassing and insulting her and to this day is still unemployed because no one wanted to hire her due to her ex-husband's actions. The children that she was left to raise on her own also suffer from severe bullying.

https://preview.redd.it/r4csluebqnvc1.png?width=900&format=png&auto=webp&s=160d97f36f3089b20db842f8902a66aaf6f0d3bb

https://preview.redd.it/a6enyp6cqnvc1.png?width=690&format=png&auto=webp&s=a69b88a5e7508dbb62a883e7856152418f2d5107

The excavation team at the other house

Hugo was put on trial for only the murders of Mirna and Jacquelinne to avoid the hassle of trying him for 40 murders of all the victims, some of whom unidentified. Hugo never stepped foot in the court and the trial began on March 24, 2022, and was held from his prison cell over a video link. On June 10, 2022, The Specialized Sentencing Court for a Life Free of Violence of Santa Ana gave Hugo a sentence of 70 years in prison. The prosecution had asked for 100 years but would not appeal and viewed 70 as good enough. There was no possibility of parole. The court also ordered the authorities and government to assist the relatives of Hugo's victims such as paying them compensation and funding their housing and any mental health care they may seek.

Hugo during his trial

On November 11, 2022, The First Sentencing Court of Santa Ana gave Hugo an additional 18 years for the rape of Douglas's underage relative mentioned above, bringing his total sentence to 88 years. Douglas was tried together with Hugo for the same crime and was given a sentence of 36 years. Douglas's longer sentence was due to him repeatedly sexually assaulting her on mutable occasions.

https://preview.redd.it/7batko9krnvc1.png?width=800&format=png&auto=webp&s=ce5996a528ab7864c75290cbca781322dc06ab68

Hugo and Douglas during the second trial

On April 26, 2023, the trial for Hugo's accomplices began except for Raúl who had still yet to be tracked down. On May 8, 2023, the judge found the 9 not guilty and said that there was no evidence pointing toward them playing any role in the murders and mass grave aside from Hugo's word which the judge dismissed as "implausible". It was also pointed out how there were discrepancies between Hugo's account and what seemed to be the extra facts.

https://preview.redd.it/fn7c637wrnvc1.png?width=1500&format=png&auto=webp&s=57160a18a354f446a91984294ba792bd16ec69b6

The 9 in court

For example, Juan Francisco Sarceño. Hugo's statement was that on April 13, 2020, Hugo let Francisco Sarceño use his house to sexually assault a woman. The next day Hugo returned to find that "he had gone too far" and killed the woman with Francisco Sarceño having placed a sheet over the body. However, a search of their phone records were unable to pinpoint any times when the two were in contact with each other, nor could they prove that Francisco Sarceño had turned on his phone while at Hugo's house. In fact, According to witnesses, on that day he was seen in a pickup truck driving to a ranch on the beach in Metalío. And his phone records for that day verified that he was in Metalío, giving him an alibi.

Lastly, the judge pointed out how conveniently these accomplices seemed to just fall into the police's and prosecutor's lap. Here is how Hugo identified them and how they came to the police's attention. While Hugo was being processed at the police station, they were all arrested for other minor crimes and once Hugo saw them led into the station he would point them out and accuse them of being his accomplices. The judge felt that Hugo was scapegoating them in an attempt to reduce his sentence. Especially since some of the people Hugo accused do not appear to be on trial. Their families also stood by them and professed their innocence.

The prosecution appealed this decision and so on September 18, 2023, all 9 were made to undergo a retrial. On October 6, 2023, 6 out of the 9 were convicted and got sentences that ranged from 20 to 110 years in prison. The remaining three were found not guilty of any part in the murders but remained in prison due to their gang membership. José Ernesto Sigüenza Martínez was given 110 years in prison for killing his family. Henry Aníbal Olivares Perdomo was given 90 years for the murder of three women, Lorena Patricia Miranda Vásquez was slapped with 30 years, Juan Francisco Sarceño was given 20 years for the single murder of a woman, Ernesto Enrique Ramírez Álvarez was also given 20 years for murdering a single woman and Cindy Gabriela Mendoza Godoy was given 20 years. Ingrid Elizabeth Ramos Morán, Nelson Roberto Olivares Perdomo and Juan Alberto Góchez Escobar were found not guilty. The prosecution considered appealing Juan Alberto, Ingrid and Nelson's acquittal but appeared not to pursue such action. Raúl Lisandro Quiñónez Melgar remained on the run.

Sources (In the comments)

24 Comments
2024/04/20
16:19 UTC

6

Did Ted Bundy go to FLA because of the death penalty?

I can’t really seem to find any real info on this and what I do find is contradictory. If I recall there was as scene in ‘The Deliberate Stranger’ (1986 made for TV miniseries starring Mark Harmon as Bundy) in which Bundy was incarcerated again in Colorado after his first escape and ask a fellow inmate which State would most likely give the death penalty and the inmate said Florida. So he escapes again and goes to Florida and kills the sorority girls.

I’m just really curious why he would go there considering how fry happy they were in that state. I think he’d know that.

Anyway if anyone can help I’d appreciate it.

14 Comments
2024/04/19
05:26 UTC

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