André Luiz CASSIMIRO

AKA "The Strangler of Juiz de Fora"

Classification: Serial killer
Characteristics: Rape - Necrophilia
Number of victims: 5
Date of murders: 1995 - 1996
Date of arrest: May 29, 1996
Date of birth: 1965
Victims profile: Zilda Araujo Barbuth, 76 / Odete Barbosa da Silva, 62 / Aldenira Mello, 58 / Maria Malvina de Oliveira, 77 / Celia Nicolini de Farias, 74
Method of murder: Strangulation
Location: Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Status: Sentenced to life in prison

An ex-con with a taste for older women, Cassimiro confessed to raping and killing five women in Juiz de Fora in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The five dead women were between 58 and 77 years old and lived alone. All victims were tortured, strangled with electrical chords and some were raped.

The town of Juiz de Fora was gripped with fear until May 29, 1996, when Andre Luiz Cassimiro, 31, was arrested. "I entered the houses to rob them," the remorseless killer explained, "but ended killing them. In those moments I felt hate towards the little old women. Now, I feel nothing."

Pretending to be a car washer, Cassimiro spent several days observing the movements and daily routine of his future victims. "Until he got into the house he behaved like a petty thief," said Chief of Police Jose Marcio Carneiro," once inside, he turned into a psychopath." The women were first bound to their beds and gagged. Then they were raped and strangled. He would then cover their lifeless corpses with a blanket because, "I didn't like to look at them." After his sadistic ritual, he turned the house upside down looking for money and electronics.

When he was arrested Cassimiro was still serving his 11-year 10-month sentence for six counts of theft on a part-time basis. "In jail, he was a model prisoner," stated penitentiary director Jairo Cristovam Ferreira.

On June 19, 1995, less than five hours after receiving judicial authorization to spend the Corpus Christi holiday at home, Cassimiro committed his first murder. The victim was Zilda Araujo Barbuth, 76. "She was sleeping when I entered, but she woke up when I dropped a clock radio." When she tried to scream he gagged her and tied her with electrical chord to the bed post. He then proceeded to rape and strangle her. Before leaving, Cassimiro went to the kitchen and ate a piece of goiabada (Brazilian guava candy). After the murder he returned to jail and two months later he was released on parole.

Cassimiro dated Odete Barbosa da Silva, his second victim, for a year and a half. They ended their relationship in the middle of 1995.

Six months later the 62-year-old woman was found strangled in her home. He didn't know his third victim, Aldenira Mello, 58.

He met the fourth, Maria Malvina de Oliveira, 77, at a party for senior citizens. She danced all night long with her young escort before allowing him to walk her home. Her body was found three days later with her head smashed in.

He killed his last victim, Celia Nicolini de Farias, on May 13, 1996. It is believed that the 74-year-old widow was raped by Andre post-mortem.

Cassimiro was caught because of his gossiping sister, Joaquina, who was not aware of his crimes. She mentioned to a friend that she had seen a card with Zilda Araujo Barbuthunder's name under her brother's mattress. The friend informed the police and he was arrested. In custody Cassimiro confessed to all the crimes and claimed that he "was drugged," during his year-long rampage.

Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers - Hunting Humans