Throughout the last fifteen years, I’ve investigated a myriad of cases, from abduction and rape to bank robberies and murder. None of them compare to the destruction and chaos following the death of a child, particularly when the child is a murder victim. Several adult murder cases have stuck with me over the years, but one can never forget when a child is killed. You have to be demented to kill a child.
A solid gut and sick sense of humor forms after working in law enforcement-death is part of the job. Still, I’m haunted by faces of dead children. I’ve cried on scene with families, and I’ll never be the same. Emotions from these cases are difficult to keep in check. As a human, father, and a cop, I make it my sole mission to bring closure to the families. If at all possible, I do not stop investigating until someone is in custody. As a result, my personal life suffers, but I could ever turn my back on a case, especially when the life of an innocent child has been taken.
Discussions regarding crimes against children, particularly the murder of a child, inevitably turn toward the use of the death penalty. Everyone has an opinion about it, and over the decades, fewer people tend to support it. However, I have plenty of friends who say they do not support the death penalty for ninety-nine percent of cases, but at least consider it as an option when it comes to crimes against children. Most people have their own children or children in their families and they can’t help but feel a deep sense of anger, even revenge, when they’re little one is taken from them. That’s a normal feeling. People on the fence about the death penalty usually support it when asked about what to do with someone who’s murdered children.
Consider the world of prison politics. The majority of people in prison are there because they have drug and alcohol problems. Although prison officials would argue they do everything they can to rehabilitate criminals, the fact is these folks only learn ways to commit more crime without being caught once released. Murderers, rapists, robbers, and the like mingle daily and share ideas. However, there is a prison code of ethics and the inmates police themselves inside. When a vile person is convicted of crimes against children and sent to prison, they are immediately placed in protective custody. It becomes the responsibility of prison officials to protect them from other inmates. Nevertheless, if you’re a “lifer” or want to gain instant credibility within the walls, you “take out,” and kill, a convict who’s been found guilty of harming/killing a child. That’s powerful stuff, and an indication that even “those people” do not support or condone such egregious acts.
Several other topics, such as socialization, family, media, and one’s environment while growing up also come up in discussions about the people who’ve committed such heinous acts against children. The overwhelming research and evidence indicates violent and psychotic behavior is exhibited by child killers PRIOR to them committing the act(s). Psychologists, doctors, therapists, and the like interview (when possible) these killers and prepare concise reports. It is quite clear how these people become monsters then. I’ve read numerous similar files and learned these suspects typically come from a broken home, were physically, sexually, and emotionally abused as a child by a parent or relative (sometimes a stranger), and they suffered either a psychotic episode or something triggered their brains and results in the killing of either their own children or other children. It may sound strange, but there is a shred of me that feels, although very slightly, bad for these people and what they went through. But, I cannot and will not EVER tolerate who they become or what they’ve done. Period.
Sadly, hundreds of cases of people killing children can be found across our country and around the globe. I shake my head and cannot understand how someone could do such a thing. But then again, I was raised by a caring family, was properly socialized, and became a parent. I watch my boys growing up and could not imagine one single day without them. Still, we cannot deny that others have done the unthinkable to innocent children. The following is a case study on twenty five murderers of children.
In 2003, a male nurse named Abraão José Bueno begins working at the Instituto de Puericultura Martagão Gesteira of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Records indicate in 2005 he began working in a children’s ward in the hospital. The ward provided medical attention for children ages one to ten who suffered from Leukemia or AIDS. Somewhere along the line, Bueno apparently felt as though his peers did not fully respect him and he concocted a way to gain their admiration.
Bueno reportedly begins injecting children (estimated to be approximately fifteen (15) kids) in October and November of 2005, with lethal doses of sedatives. The sedatives would cause the babies and older children to stop breathing. He’d then summon the doctors, tell them he noticed the victims were having a medical complication, and they’d try to resuscitate the children. In some cases, Bueno would actually assist with trying to resuscitate the children he injected. Four of the babies and children did not survive.
In November of 2005, he’s arrested and charged with the murder of the four children who died at his hands. Investigators determined enough evidence existed to charge Bueno with the four attempted murders, making him charged with eight counts of murder or attempted murder.
On May 15, 2008, Judge Valéria Caldi found Bueno guilty on four counts of murder and four counts of attempted murder. Bueno was sentenced to 110 years in prison as a result. He’s not said much while inside, but originally the investigators reported Bueno injected the babies and children with sedatives so they’d have an adverse reaction and he could gain the respect and admiration of his peers by being the first to notice their medical condition (which he created). This suggests he willingly killed children because he was vain and wanted to be liked more. I find Bueno to be disgusting. He’ll end up costing the Brazilian millions of dollars in care and likely die in prison…unless someone gets at him first.
Robert Black was born on April 21, 1947 in Grangemouth, Scotland to his mother, Jessie Hunter Black, and a male adult his mother refused to put on the birth certificate. She placed him up for foster care and he was eventually raised by Margaret and Jack Tulip. Once I dove into Black’s upbringing and his early exploration of his (and others’) sexuality, it made more sense as how he’d become a murderous person.
Jack Tulip died when Robert was five, so Margaret was forced to take on both parenting roles until she passed away when he was eleven. It was noted early on that Robert did not fit in at school. Kids picked on him because he stunk and behaved oddly. He was called, “Smelly Robby Tulip,” and did not have many friends. Students and staff reported that Robert was aggressive (based on the fact he argued and fought with other children) and had bruises on his body (although no one seems to know where the bruises came from).
When Margaret died, Robert was sent to a children’s home (orphanage) in the town of Falkirk. Once he was apprehended, Robert provided great details into his childhood, sexuality, and the rape and murders of at least four victims. He explained that at the age of eight, he began placing objects up his anus and continued to do so well into adulthood.
At the age of twelve, he and two other boys attempted to rape a girl in a field near his home in Falkirk. The details are vague about the case and no charges were filed, but Robert was sent to another children’s home in the town of Mussleburgh. Robert later reported that he was sexually abused repeatedly at this location by a male adult staff member. Robert somehow rose above his treacherous childhood and home situation and was enrolled in the local middle school. Robert later said he enjoyed swimming and football while there.
Nowhere during this time was Robert’s behavior dealt with and it allowed him to progressively get worse. At age 15, he began working in Glasgow and admitted when he was apprehended that he molested an estimated 30-40 women while on the job. Again, officials did not know about these cases because they were unreported. Robert continued down a disgusting path of sexual deviancy and committing crimes because his behavior was never put in check.
Finally, when he was seventeen years old, Robert admitted to luring a girl to a deserted building, strangled her until she was unconscious, and then masturbated over her unconscious body. This disgusting crime was reported to the authorities and Robert was arrested. He admitted to the act and was found guilty. Sadly, he was only given an admonishment for this horrific act. He moved back to Grangemouth and found another job.
While there, he somehow managed to find a woman who he called his girlfriend, a local woman named Pamela Hodgson. Robert was in love with her and asked her to marry him, but she refused and a short time later broke up with him. Robert said later that her rejection hurt him deeply. Nevertheless, his inappropriate sexually activity continued.
Late in the year of 1966, Robert molested and sexually abused a seven-year-old girl who was the daughter of the couple that allowed him to have a room in their home. The victim told her parents who contacted the police. Robert was arrested and convicted of this crime. He was ordered to one year of borstal training at Polmont. Borstal training is essentially a youth detention center designed for serious youth offenders in the United Kingdom.
When he was released, Robert moved to London. He found a job working at a local pool, but immediately he was accused of touching a female swimmer. He was not charged with a crime, but he was fired. Robert spent much of his time in bars and became known as a decent amateur darts player. After a while he realized he needed to find a paying job and became a van driver. Robert would later say driving the van gave him the opportunity to learn the local roads well. These roads would play a role when he abducted, sexually assaulted, and later killed child victims.
On July 14, 1990, Robert Black was apprehended as a citizen observed him kidnap a young female and throw her into his van. The citizen called the police and they responded quickly. They pursued Black and eventually he pulled over and surrendered. In a completely surreal and bizarre moment, the officer who arrested Robert was the father of the girl he’d just kidnapped. I cannot imagine the resolve and unbelievable strength this officer must have had not to kill Robert at the scene. Once in custody, investigators began looking at him as a prime suspect for several other unsolved murders with similar MO.
Police investigated Robert’s whereabouts during the other cold homicides. They noticed gas receipts put him in the area of these crimes. Based on his history and background, and the fact he was known to be an aggressive sexual predator, police began questioning him about four female child murder victims. Robert gave enough information to the investigators resulting in him being charged with their murders.
Robert Black’s Victims:
Jennifer Cardy: On August 12, 1981, Jennifer Cardy only nine-years-old at the time, left her house on a bicycle to meet her friend. She never showed up and her bicycle was located fairly close to her house. Six days later, Jennifer’s body was found at McKee's Dam, near Hillsborough, County Down. A preliminary investigation revealed she’d been sexually assaulted. Officials later learned that Robert was working in the same area as a poster delivery person during this crime.
Susan Maxwell: On July 30, 1982, Susan Maxwell only eleven-years-old, left her house to play tennis (from the English side of the English/Scottish border) on the Scottish side in Coldstream. Locals said they recalled her crossing the bridge, but could not recall seeing her after she crossed over. Investigators later determined that Robert abducted her near the town of Coldstream. Her body was located almost 250 miles away. She’d been raped and signs indicated she’d been strangled.
Caroline Hogg: On July 8, 1983, Caroline Hogg only five-years-old, left her home. She did not return. Locals said they saw a “scruffy-looking” man watching a young girl, believed to be Caroline, as she played at a playground near her home. The witnesses said they saw the same girl holding hands with the scruffy-looking man at a nearby amusement arcade. Caroline's body was found ten days later in a ditch almost three hundred miles from her home. Her body was so badly decomposed that the cause of death was listed as unknown; however, she was naked indicating some sort of sexual assault likely occurred. Investigators were able to place Robert in the area at the time of this crime.
Sarah Harper: On March 26, 1986, Sarah Harper, only ten-years-old, left her home to go to the corner shop to buy a loaf of bread. The shopkeeper said he saw her come into the shop and leave, but her parents reported that she never came home. A local resident said he saw her walking towards a shortcut she used, but she did not make it home. Her body was found a month later dumped in the River Trent near Nottingham. She’d been raped. Police were able to link Robert to this brutal killing as well.
Robert subsequently stood trial for these murders. When the dust settled, on May 19, 1994, he was found guilty of the murders of Sarah, Caroline, and Susan. On October 27, 2011, he was found guilty of Jennifer’s murder. He was sentenced to life imprisonment and is not eligible to be considered for release until he is 89-years-old. I hope he never sees life outside prison walls. There is no way to “fix” someone such as him.
Albert Fish, also known as the “Gray Man,” is one of the most disturbed child killers known to date. Books, movies, and videos, have been done about this wretched animal.
He committed his senseless killings in the 1920’s, and although he was found guilty of brutally killing three young children, he confessed to many more. In fact, he alleged he raped and killed children in every state in the United States.
Investigating these cases without leads at the time made it so it wasn’t until 1934 that Fish was arrested. He was found guilty during a well-known trial (huge news back then as it would be now) and later executed in 1936.
Anthony Kirkland was born on September 13, 1968. Little is known about his childhood; however, who he’d later become indicates something happened to him making him snap. In 1987, he killed his girlfriend, Leola Douglas, and set her body on fire. He plead guilty to the crime and was sentenced to 16-years in prison. He served his time and was released on parole in 2004.
From December 22, 2006 through March 7, 2009, Kirkland murdered four females, three by strangulation. He burned each of his victims' bodies in an attempt to conceal evidence of rape, which was consistent with his previous conviction.
During the murder of Esme Kenney, only thirteen-years-old, police located Kirkland near the scene and searched him. He had her iPod and watch in his pockets, directly linking him to her murder.
On March 31, 2010, Kirkland was convicted of aggravated murder, gross abuse of a corpse, attempted rape, and aggravated robbery, and sentenced to death. He is sitting in the Chillicothe Correctional Institution waiting to be executed and wasting tax-payers’ dollars.
Westley Allan Dodd was arrested in 1989 on the suspicion of molesting and killing three child victims. His case was a “slam dunk” so to speak, and he was found guilty in 1990. This monster met his demise when he was killed by hanging in 1993. This was the first legal hanging in the United States since 1965, which certainly raised many eyebrows.
Francisca Ballesteros was born in 1969 in Valencia, Mexico. Records indicate she later moved to Melilla, Mexico. After marrying Antonio González Barribino, she had a female child named Florinda Ballesteros. In 1990, Francisca said she suffered from postpartum depression and tried to leave her husband but later ended up staying with him. However, unbeknownst to them, she’d decided to kill her family and move back to Valencia.
Ballesteros poisoned Florinda, who was only five months old, with Colme, a drug used to treat alcoholism. She was not originally charged with the murder and was not considered a suspect at the time. For some reason, she did not continue with her plan to kill the rest of her family.
In 2004, nearly fourteen years after poisoning her own daughter, Ballesteros’ urge to kill the rest of her family returned. Officials said she met many men online and wanted to kill her family to go live with one of the men she’d met.
On January 12, 2004 Ballesteros killed her husband with Colme and added sedatives Zolpidem and Bromazepam. Again she was not considered a suspect at this time.
On June 4, 2004, Ballesteros killed her daughter, Sandra, with the same medications she used on her husband. She also tried to kill her twelve-year-old son, Antonio. He was admitted to the hospital and survived. As all of this occurred, the autopsy of Sandra was completed revealing she’d been poisoned.
On June 7, 2004 Ballesteros was arrested and immediately confessed to the murders of her husband and children.
On September 26, 2005, Francisca Ballesteros was sentenced to a term of 84 years in prison.
These two despicable individuals were a serial killer team (how do two murderous misfits find each other?) who killed five children, ages ten to seventeen, in the mid 1960’s. These predators would sexually abuse their victims before killing them. When Brady was finally arrested in 1965, he claimed to have “mental issues” in an effort to avoid the death penalty. Sadly, his ploy worked and he’s been locked up in a high-level mental institution for over fifty years (costing taxpayers millions of dollars).
Myra Hindley, aka the “Most Evil Woman in Britain,” was as disgusting as Ian. She was found guilty of the murders of children and sentenced to prison. After a few years in jail, her sick mind continued to create elaborate stories and she suggested she only helped Ian because he was blackmailing her (yet she offered no proof or what exactly he was blackmailing her about). Regardless, in 2002, the world became a better place as she died in prison from a heart attack.
This heartless woman was labeled a serial killer after investigators had reason to believe she killed eight of her own nine children between 1972 and 1985. Originally, she was not considered a suspect although published reports indicate these deaths were under “extremely suspicious circumstances.”
The deaths spread over a thirteen year period; however, when her four-month old daughter, Tami Lynne, was found dead, investigators sent Tami’s body to the Coroner’s office and asked several medical experts to conduct an autopsy. They determined Tami had been smothered to death.
In a parole hearing in January of 2015, Tinning admitted she covered Tami’s face with a pillow and held her down until she stopped moving, “Because I thought she would die.”
"After the deaths of my other children ... I just lost it," Tinning told the board Jan. 26. "(I) became a damaged worthless piece of a person and when my daughter was young, in my state of mind at that time, I just believed that she was going to die also. So I just did it."
After bold statements like this, Tinning’s parole was denied a third time. I do not think she’ll see light outside of the prison.
Tommy Lynn Sells fits the stereotypical serial killer profile, that of bouncing around from various homes as a child and being molested when he was younger by a male adult.
As his tragic life turns to a murderous spree, police suspected him of killing over twenty-two people. However, he was not charged with these murders because evidence did not connect him to the murders.
According to his own statements, he admits to killing his first person, a pedophile that made the mistake of trying to molest him, when he (Sells) was a teenager. This was never verified as the victim’s body was never located.
When Sells turned twenty-one, he killed again. He’d robbed a woman and her child, a four-year-old boy, witnessed it. Sells killed the woman because he didn’t want her to contact the police about the robbery, and he killed her son simply because he’d seen the robbery. Sells was not immediately arrested for their murders, which allowed him to remain at large.
Between the later part of 1998 and the middle of 1999, Sells killed three more children. He was arrested after the third child was located and evidence indicated Sells was the killer. In 2001, he was convicted of all five murders (the pedophile victim was never located) and sentenced to death.
On April 3, 2014, Sells was executed by lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville.
Mohammed Bijeh demonstrates that serial killers, even those who prey on children, certainly exist in other countries. Bijeh was an Iranian serial killer of children (he also killed two adults). He raped all of his victims before torturing and killing them.
When he was arrested, he proudly confessed to killing sixteen young boys allegedly between the ages of eight and fifteen. These crimes occurred between 2000 and 2005. At the time, hundreds of male children in Iran were found killed throughout the country.
Bijeh was later sentenced to one hundred public lashings and to execution. In 2005, he was publicly lashed then hung on a pole in a city street for everyone to see. He did not express any remorse for what he’d done. I’m not sure the devil was happy to see this animal.
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour began his formidable years as a street gang member in Egypt. As he grew older, he began climbing the ranks of the gang and eventually became the leader. Unfortunately, he rose to power based on the fact he was a brutal killer, mostly of young children, and no one dared to challenge him.
Between 1999 and 2006, Mansour raped and murdered at least thirty-two (32) children from all over the country (Cairo, Alexandria, Qalyoubeya, and Beni Sueif). According to available data, the child victims were between the ages of ten and fourteen. One of these victims was a member of the gang that Mansour tried to rape. The boy reported him to the police, but no case was filed due to the lack of evidence. Mansour found the child, raped him, and then killed him to send a message to the others, “Don’t talk to the police.”
In 2006, a small team of investigators hunted and captured Mansour as he was suspected of numerous murders. He was protected by as many as twelve guards, many of whom were arrested when he was apprehended. During his confession, he explained that either he or members of his gang would lure children to the roof of their hangout where Mansour would rape them. He’d then toss their bodies off the roof onto the train tracks below. Many of the kids died from the fall; however, some survived the fall but would die due to their injuries. Mansour let them suffer if they survived the fall.
After a short trial, Mansour was sentenced to death in 2007. This piece of garbage was executed in 2010.
John Joubert did not have the look about him as that of a serial killer. He was described as many as having the appearance of a family man or professional. Joubert lived in Nebraska, and did his killings in the same state. Nevertheless, he’d later confess to being a serial killer, but only admitted to killing two young boys (in the early 1980’s).
In January of 1984, Joubert was charged with the murder of three boys. Joubert claimed he was suffering from schizoid personality disorder, but after two separate psychiatric evaluations, it was determined he was not suffering a disorder at the time he killed the boys.
In 1985, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. On July 17, 1996, Joubert was strapped to an electric chair and executed.
Kathleen Folbigg was similar to Marybeth Tinning as she was suspected of killing four children, three of them being her own. She was not originally charged with the deaths because many who knew her felt it was impossible she’d do such a thing.
However, her husband found her diary and began reading it. He learned that his wife had in fact killed three of their children and included significant details about how she’d done it.
Police arrested her and charged her with the murders of her three children and a child of a family friend. Folbigg continued to deny her involvement and was adamant that her children all died of natural causes. She was found guilty and sentenced to thirty years in prison.
Anatoly Slivko is a unique serial killer, not just because he chose to kill children, but because he did so for over twenty years before being captured. His serial killing began in 1964 and stretched to 1984, during the height of the Soviet Communist Regime. His victims were seven young boys, between the ages of seven and seventeen years old. Adding to his disgusting lore was the fact he was also charged with raping and torturing over forty boys during the same time frame.
In 1985, a survivor of Slivko’s rape and torture went to the police. Officials learned quickly that Slivko was a monster and several more victims came forward. He was later charged with the murders of the seven boys and the rapes of forty boys.
His trial was speedy because his behavior was an insult to the Soviet Regime and mountains of evidence pinned him to these horrific crimes. He was found guilty and sentence to death. In 1989, this bastard was executed via firing squad.
Dagmar Overbye was a female serial killer from Denmark. She’s suspected of killing at least nine children (one being her own child), and as many as twenty-five, between the years of 1913 and 1920.
This case was overly disgusting because at the time Overbye killed these children, she was working as a professional child caretaker. Her job was to take care of babies born outside of marriage. According to her statements and the evidence located at her home and other places she had access to, Overbye would drown or strangle some of the victims, or burn them to death in a masonry heater. Many of the victims were found buried, hidden in her loft, or cremated.
On March 3, 1921, she was sentenced to death after being found guilty of nine deaths of the children in her care. The only positive thing from this case was the fact new legislation on childcare came from it. Sadly, her death sentence was later changed to life in prison. Overbye’s attorney tried to convince the judge her client was abused as a child and this fact explained her murderous behavior, but the judge did not buy it. On May 6, 1929, Overbye died in prison.
Anísio Ferreira De Sousa was another Brazilian healthcare official (a doctor unlike Abraão José Bueno who was a nurse) charged with murdering nineteen (19) boys. De Sousa did his killings in the early 1990’s while at work. He was a doctor who was supposed to help sick children; instead, he abused and killed them.
During his trial, the prosecutor was able to demonstrate that De Sousa was part of satanic cult. This cult would sexually abuse, mutilate, and kill children as part of their sacrifices to Satan. Unfortunately, De Souza was only found guilty of killing three children and was sentenced to seventy-seven (77) years in a Brazilian prison.
Norman Afzal Simons, aka “Station Strangler,” was a serial killer of children and adults in South Africa. His MO was to lure his victims from train stations to a secluded location close by, rape them, and then strangle them to death.
He not only killed children, but adults too. He was arrested and charged with the murders of twenty-two people (22), seven of which were children. These deaths began in 1986 and went until 1994. He’s another serial killer who wreaked havoc for many years.
Unbelievably, Simons only received 35 years prison as his sentence. He could be set free by the year 2029. Simons claims to be a born-again Christian now.
Andrei Chikatilo, aka the “Rostov Ripper,” was nearly as menacing as Slivko. He was arrested in 1990, and immediately admitted to raping and killing fifty-two women and children. Chikatilo stated he started preying on his victims in 1978 and continued until he was arrested. He said he would have continued had he not been caught. He told law enforcement they were lucky to catch him.
Chikatilo embarrassed the Soviet regime, and was found guilty in October of 1992 of fifty-two murders. He was sentenced to death, and later executed in February of 1994.
Miyuki Ishikawa began as a highly respected Japanese midwife in charge of a maternity hospital. In the 1940’s, she began neglecting the infants. Soon these babies began to die. Most estimates indicate Ishikawa killed over one hundred babies.
She was arrested and plainly stated that she had to kill the babies because she believed poor parents couldn’t take proper care of their children and therefore would not raise the children properly.
In an outlandish and disgusting turn of events, Ishikawa was only sentenced to four years in prison. Speculation and conspiracy rippled across the country and throughout the globe when this unbelievable sentence was handed to Ishikawa.
Serhiy Tkach’s story hit me in the gut. He was actually a Ukrainian police criminal investigator and killed women and female children. Once apprehended, he said he killed over one hundred girls. He also stated he raped most of them.
In a highly publicized trial, the prosecutor provided evidence connecting Tkach to thirty six murders. He told police he first suffocated little girls, between the ages of eight and eighteen, and then performed sexual acts on their dead bodies. Tkach is a truly disgusting piece of trash that disgraced the profession and became a villain overnight.
Tkach demanded the death penalty, but the judge ordered him to life in prison. Oddly, nine men were falsely arrested and charged with several of the murders Tkach committed. One of the falsely accused men committed suicide as the result of being arrested for rape and murder, and another “suspect” remained in prison for years until Tkach confirmed he was actually the murderer. This was an embarrassing case for everyone involved.
Javed Iqbal was a hideous Pakistani serial killer who likely never would have been captured had he not wrote a letter to the local press about his completely vile activity.
In December of 1999, Iqbal sent a letter to police alleging he’d killed 100 boys, between the ages of 6 and 16. He told the papers that he strangled the children, dismembered them, and put their body parts into hydrochloric acid. His victims were runaways and orphans living on the streets of Lahore. He dumped their remains into a nearby river.
After his letter was received, the police searched his home and located bloodstains on the walls and floor. Next to the wall was a chain covered in blood. Iqbal said in the letter the chain was used by him to strangle his victims. Police also located photographs of his victims in plastic bags. These items were neatly labeled with handwritten pamphlets. Two tubs of acid were also located. Investigators later learned human remains were in the tubs.
Iqbal said he was going to drown himself in the Ravi River. Police searched the river for his remains and were unsuccessful. A massive manhunt ensued.
Almost a month later, Iqbal turned himself in at the offices of the Urdu-language newspaper. He was subsequently arrested. He said he surrendered because he was afraid police would kill him if they found him.
Police located a diary belonging to Iqbal. It contained detailed descriptions of the murders. He then claimed in court that he was innocent and that the entire affair was an elaborate hoax to draw attention to the plight of runaway children from poor families. He alleged his statements were provided to law enforcement under duress.
Iqbal was sentenced to death by hanging. The Judge was specific with his instructions, "You will be strangled to death in front of the parents whose children you killed. Your body will then be cut into 100 pieces and put in acid, the same way you killed the children."
Apparently, Iqbal did not want to call the Judge’s bluff. In a truly cowardice move, he committed suicide before his sentence could be carried out.
Daniel Carmago Barbosa was a Colombian serial killer who raped and murdered females, mostly children, for at least ten years (in the 1970’s and 1980’s). Barbosa admitted to raping and killing at least 150 girls and would have likely continued his murderous ways, but was apprehended in 1989.
His court case was over in less than a year. I’m dumbfounded how this happened, but Barbosa was only sentenced to sixteen years in prison. I have no idea how this happened, but in a strange turn of events, it turned out that it did not matter.
In 1994, Luis Masache Narvaez, a cousin of one of Barbosa’s victims ended up in the same prison as Barbosa. The first chance Narvaez got, he murdered Barbosa.
Luis Garavito was another Colombian serial killer. He proudly told police that he raped, tortured, and murdered 138 young boys before being captured in 1999. Sadly, the majority of his victims were homeless children homeless or kids from extremely poor families. Garavito used their difficult situations to lure them with food, cash, and gifts. Once he had them secluded, he’d rape and torture them. It was said that many of his victims beg him to kill them, but he would not.
Garavito’s court case was as comical as Barbosa’s. The disgusting poor excuse of a human admitted to all of the murders and was found guilty. He only received a sentence of thirty years.
Pedro Lopez, aka “The Monster of the Andes,” is another Columbian serial killer believed to have killed and raped over three hundred young girls between 1969 and 1980. Lopez became known as the "Monster of the Andes" in 1980 when he led police to the graves of 59 of his victims in Ecuador, all girls between nine and twelve years old.
In 1983, Lopez was found guilty of murdering 110 young girls in Ecuador, and he confessed to a further 240 murders of missing girls in Peru and Colombia. He was sentenced to a psychiatric hospital, but was later released in 1998 (he was ruled criminally insane). He killed at least 350 children and just walked away back into society.
There have not been any reported sightings of Lopez or reported murders similar to his MO since his release. Many consider him still alive and a serious threat to children in the country.
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