Raúl Osiel Marroquín Reyes (b. ca. 1981 in Tampico, Tamaulipas) is a Mexican serial killer.

Crimes

Marroquin confessed to luring gay men from bars in order to kill them. He tortured his four victims by hanging or choking them, but in two cases it is said that he released men he had kidnapped once he had received a ransom. He added that he would continue doing so if he could, claiming that homosexuality harmed society.

Marroquín, known as "El Sádico", was captured on January 23, 2006 and was found guilty of the murder of four victims.

Motive

Explaining himself, Marroquín said, "I snuffed out four homosexuals that in some way were affecting society." He also says he chose gays as his victims because "they're a bad example for kids".

Modus operandi

He lured his victims in gay bars and, to avoid suspicion, always let them make the initial approach. He would later invite them to his apartment, where he strangled them and then asked the victim's family for a ransom. The dead bodies were later put inside suitcases and abandoned in different locations around Mexico City.

Marroquín is said to have a partner, Juan Enrique Madrid Manuel, who was presumably an assistant in the process of abducting victims.

On September the 4th, 2008, Mexico's PGJDF sentenced Osiel Marroquin and Madrid Manuel to a total of almost 300 years in prison, though they will most likely be released in fifty years, in accordance with current Mexican laws.

Media

In an interview, Marroquín said he was not ashamed of his crimes, but was sorry for what his family was going through. He declared he had recurring dreams of his criminal career "improving" by selecting richer, more famous victims. He said he would definitely kill again and try to be more careful about his methods, avoiding the mistakes that led to his capture.

Wikipedia.org

Cops nab another alleged serial killer

El Universal

January 25, 2006

A former female wrestler caught fleeing a murder scene has been linked to the slayings of at least 10 elderly women in Mexico City, police said Thursday - a banner day for the much-maligned force, which also announced the capture of a former soldier in the serial killings of gay men.

Prosecutors say they have enough evidence to believe that Juana Barraza, 48, is the notorious "Mataviejitas," or "Little Old Lady Killer," who has been terrorizing elderly residents here for two years.

Authorities also announced the arrest in another string of killings: a former soldier who lured gay men away from bars and killed them.

Both suspects confessed to killing at least some of their victims when they were paraded in front of the media, a tradition in Mexico City, where police and prosecutors have faced withering criticism for failing to investigate, let alone solve, most crimes.

"We are already worried about safety here," said Leticia González, 39, who sells candy in Mexico City. "But this is sick. What´s happened to people?"

In a news conference Thursday, Raúl Osiel Marroquín, 29, coldly described killing four gay men. Although there had been some reports of attacks against gay men increasing, Marroquín´s arrest Monday was the first confirmation of a serial killer that had targeted homosexuals.

"I snuffed out four homosexuals that in some way were affecting society," Marroquin said. He told reporters he would kill again, if given the chance, but would "refine his methods."

Police said that Marroquín had tortured his victims before hanging or choking them, and even carved a star into the forehead of one man. They also accused him of kidnapping two other gay men, but said he let them go for ransoms of up to 120,000 pesos (US$11,500.)

Police didn´t say what led to Marroquín´s arrest in the killings, which hadn´t received much news coverage. The "Little Old Lady Killer" case, on the other hand, had grabbed headlines and frightened residents for two years.

Police had suspected a man dressed as a woman, and spent months detaining, questioning and fingerprinting transvestites. Female serial killers are rare in any country, making up only 8 percent of all serial assassins in the United States.

But Mexico City Attorney General Bernardo Bátiz said Thursday they now have enough evidence to pin at least 10 deaths on Barraza, a stocky former professional wrestler also known by her stage name as "The Silent Lady."

Barraza was arrested Wednesday night as she fled a house where Ana María Reyes, 82, had just been strangled with a stethoscope. Neighbors tipped off police.

She told police and reporters that she did kill Reyes, but not the others.

"Yes, I did it," she said, smiling at the television cameras as she was being taken away by police. She quickly added: "Just because I´m going to pay for it, that doesn´t mean they´re going to hang all the crimes on me."

But Bátiz told the Televisa network early Thursday that Barraza later admitted to killing three other women in addition to Reyes, and that her fingerprints match those at the scene of 10 other murders as well as one attempted murder.

The stout woman also resembles police composite profiles and a sculptured rendering of the suspected serial killer - even including a similar haircut and facial mole.

"My partner and I caught her by the arms and took her back to the patrol car," officer Ismael Alvarado Ruiz said. "We went back to the house, and everything was scattered all around."

Police said Barraza was carrying a bag with a stethoscope, pension forms and a card identifying her as a social worker. Police have long believed the killer gained access to victims´ homes by offering to sign them up for pensions or other social programs.

But Barraza said she went to the victim´s home seeking work doing laundry.

"That´s a lie. I wasn´t carrying the documents they have there," she said. She did not offer a motive, but told reporters, "You´ll know why I did it when you read my statement to police."

One of Reyes´ neighbors, 73-year-old Lourdes Medina, remembered the victim as a tidy, hardworking woman.

"This is very sad. It´s not fair," Medina said. "This could have happened to me. I´m scared to walk on the street."

Mexican Police Capture Second Serial Killer

January 28, 2006

Mexican police now have two serial killers in custody. They presented to reporters on Thursday a former soldier who allegedly tortured and killed at least four homosexual men.

The day before, police captured Juana Barraza, 48, who is suspected in the strangling and beating deaths of seven elderly women since 2003, reports The Associated Press.

The other accused killer, Raul Osiel Marroquin, detailed at a news conference on Thursday how he killed four gay men. "I snuffed out four homosexuals that in some way were affecting society," he said. However, he denied being homophobic.

Marroquin told reporters that if he had the chance, he would kill again. But he would "refine his methods," the next time.

Police said he would meet his victims at bars, and lure them away.. He would then torture and hang the men. On one victim, he is accused of carving a star on his forehead, reports the AP.