When people think of serial killers, the word “male” often comes to mind. Ninety percent of serial killers between the 20th century and the 21st century have been men (FACTRETRIEVER). However, men are not the only individuals around the world who commit serial murder. Women, all from different racial and ethnic backgrounds, have been convicted of serial murder. Between 1954-1964, Delfina and María de Jesús González became two of the top serial killers in Mexico.
Delfina and María de Jesús González also known as “Las Poquianchis” were two sisters from the Mexican state of Guanajuato who ran Rancho El Ángel, a brothel, called the “bordello from hell.” The sisters grew up in poverty and as a result, it was easy for them to be kidnapped by a woman
…show more content…
Delfina Gonzalez Valenzuela, the oldest "Poquianchi" feared she would be murdered in jail. Her fears became reality on October 17, 1968, while in her cell she screamed and ranted drawing the attention of the workers doing reparations above her cell, in Irapuato jail, looked down to catch a glimpse of the notorious woman and accidentally dropped a bucket of cement on her head, killing her. Maria Luisa Gonzalez Valenzuela, also known as "Eva the Leggy One," died alone in her cell at Irapuato jail on November 19, 1984. Her rotting corpse was discovered a day after her death covered in rats, having found the body first. Carmen died in jail from cancer. Maria de Jesus Gonzalez Valenzuela, the youngest of the "Poquianchis" was the only one to survive long enough be freed. It is unknown why or when she was freed, but legend has it she met a 64-year-old man in prison, and once both were freed, they married and lived the rest of their married life in obscurity, finally dying of old age in the …show more content…
Most serial killers tend to use their victims for various reasons before murdering them such as; slaves, prostitutes, drug trafficking, or just to kill for the sake of killing. “Serial murders appear to have increased over the past 30 years. Eighty percent of the 400 serial killers of the past century have emerged since 1950” (source: Vronsky).
In Mexico today, an organization similar to the crimes of the sisters are “Los Zetas”. They are known to be one of the most technologically advanced, skilled, violent and most dangerous people in Mexico. Their criminal syndicate has expanded tremendously over the past years on drug trafficking, profitable sex trafficking, and gun running. “Los Zetas” is not just one individual serial killer, there are men and women from all ethnic groups in Mexico involved. It is one of the biggest organization to be scared of when it comes to crimes.
According to confirmed murder statistics by the Mexican government, cartel and prostitute violence has been linked to more than 179,000 murders since 2006. There have been few atrocities reported on the news about their ruthless acts in several states of Mexico. A prime example of their ruthlessness is when they kidnap a person, chop off body parts, and send the severed parts to the victim's families for no apparent reason. Although their organization began in Mexico, members are located all over the world including the United States where
In both the movie, La Misma Luna, and the newspaper series, Enrique’s Journey, migrants are faced with many issues. The most deadly and scarring issues all relate back to bandits, judicial police, and la migra or Mexican immigration officers. The problems that arise are serious to the point of rape, robbing, and beating. It is not easy crossing the border illegally and secretly, but the successful ones have an interesting or even traumatic story about how it worked for them.
Selena Quintanilla, the madonna of Tejano music. Such an empowering person; she was beloved by many. Her tragic death caused an immense outrage and pained many. Yolanda Saldivar, her killer made a huge mistake that day. Nothing can justify her shooting Selena. Her actions were driven by hatred towards the Quintanilla family, greed, and caused an immense outbreak of mourning. Although some may say that her actions were justified because of her being fired, that is not a good enough reason to shoot someone. Here are my explanations as to why Yolanda saldivar did not have a valid reason to end Selena Quintanilla’s life.
The exponential growth of gangs in the Northern Triangle countries (Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras) has led to an epidemic of violence across the region. The two largest and most formidable gangs in the Northern Triangle, the Mara Salvatrucha-13 (MS-13) and the Barrio 18, wage battles against one another to control territory and defend against incursions. In 2011, Honduras led the world in homicides, with 91.6 per 100,000 people; rates were also alarmingly high in El Salvador and Guatemala, at 69.1 and 38.5 per 100,000 people, respectively. In El Salvador, a country with a population of only 6.2 million people, 4,354 were the victims of homicide in 2011 alone, with the Catholic Church estimating that more than 1,300 of these deaths were the direct result of gang violence.
In a study conducted by Hickey, he discovered that out of thirty-four female serial killers, almost one in two had a male accomplice committing murders with them (Holmes et al., 1991). He also revealed that 97% were white and the average age the women started committing murders was thirty-three (Holmes et al., 1991). Women serial killers differ from men in that most women kill for material gain, such as money or insurance benefits, and they usually commit murder with pills or poison. Stephen Holmes, Ronald Holmes, and Eric Hickey developed a typology for female serial killers similar to the one developed by Holmes and Holmes, discussed earlier. They begin with visionary serial killers, who are compelled by some force, such as God, or spirits, to commit murders. The second type is the comfort killer, who usually kills acquaintances and does so for a material gain, money or real estate (Holmes et al., 1991). The third category is hedonistic female serial killers, which is similar to the earlier typology in that the offender connects murder with sexual gratification. This is the least represented category for female offenders, but evidence for this type of killer can be seen in the case of Carol Bundy (Holmes et al., 1991). Bundy allegedly helped her husband kidnap, murder, and decapitate the
Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, is a well-known transnational criminal organization (TCO) originating from El Salvador. They are specifically targeted for its involvement in transnational criminal activities including drug trafficking, kidnapping, human trafficking, sex trafficking, and many more. It is certain that there are more transnational gangs other than MS-13, but the reality of these gangs impact society, and their neighborhoods, more than one can imagine. There are underlying realities “that make it difficult to generalize [the gangs].” The one of many underlying realities is that each neighborhood level gang group of transnational gangs, particularly MS-13, has a “great deal of autonomy in the relationship it maintains with other organizations.” The second reality factor is that gangs, especially MS-13 in El Salvador are in a state of turmoil. The third reality factor is that the gangs in Central America differ from each other in significant ways. Although most gangs are involved in human smuggling and drug retail, MS-13 has a solidified relationship with “transportista networks and are reaching out to Mexican TCOs.” These realities can be analyzed with Taussig’s notions and theoretical framework of space of death.
A serial killer is a person who murders three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a "cooling off" period between each murder, and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. Most people do not understand what can make a person want to kill multiple people for no reason other than own satisfactional gain. In actuality serial killers have been studied for over hundreds of years, and the information that has been documented continues to grow. The research that I have gathered about serial killers focuses on their childhood development, the differences and similarities between men and female serial kills, and finally general information on how their brains operate and their motives for committing such harmful acts.
Taking the life of another person is one of the worst infractions of the law to commit. The Bureau of Justice defines serial killing as “[involving] the killing of several victims in three or more separate events” (“Michigan” 1). Serial killers often commit extremely violent crimes; they usually become infamous for these crimes. The first recorded serial killers are probably Jack the Ripper in 1888 and Fritz Haarmann in 1924 (“Michigan” 1). Jack the Ripper is also one of the most well-known criminals, almost everyone knows who he is or has at least heard of him. Most people know what he is famous for and associate him with being a bad person. Serial killers are typically sadistic and sociopathic, meaning that they are unable to feel empathy for people who are suffering (“Michigan” 1). Whimsical sociopaths who have sadistic tendencies are very dangerous. They inflict pain because they do not care that someone else is suffering, they only care that it makes t...
Mexico has a long history of cartels the deaths, drugs and weapon trafficking is in all time high increasing year by year. “Mexico's gangs have flourished since the late 19th century, mostly in the north due to their proximity to towns along the U.S.-Mexico border. But it was the American appetite for cocaine in the 1970s that gave Mexican drug cartels immense power to manufacture and transport drugs across the border. Early Mexican gangs were primarily situated in border towns where prostitution, drug use, bootlegging and extortion flourished” (Wagner). They keep themselves armed and ready with gun supplies shipped from the U.S, taking control of the drug trades. The violence is spilling so out of control that they overthrew the Mexican government.
Over the last several decades, violence has consumed and transformed Mexico. Since the rise of dozens of Mexican cartels, the Mexican government has constantly been fighting an ongoing war with these criminal organizations. The cartel organizations have a primary purpose of managing and controlling illegal drug trafficking operations in Central America and South America to the United States. Violence on a massive and brutal scale has emerged due to the nature of the illegal drug trade. Because the drug trade is vastly widespread, cartels are often fighting one another and competing in business. Mexican authorities count at least 12 major cartels, but also talk of an untold numbers of smaller splinter groups. (Taipei Times). Five cartels from Mexico have risen to become the extremely powerful amongst all the drug organizations operating in Mexico. The Guadalajara Cartel, the Sinaloa Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel, the Juarez Cartel, and the Gulf Cartel. These organizations, along with other distinguished Mexican cartels, have plagued Mexico with violence, terror, and fear due to the essence and nature of illegal drug trafficking.
The second half of the Guadalajara Cartel, the Tijuana Cartel was started in the 1990s and by the early 2000s became one of the “biggest and most violent criminal groups in Mexico,” as stated by the article, “The Five Most Famous Drug Cartels”. Led by the Arellano Felix brothers, the nephews of Miguel, and later their own nephew, Luis Fernando Sanchez Arellano, the Tijuana Cartel suffered through many deaths and arrests, which made the group smaller, yet still influential.
The FBI defines serial killing as “the unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s) in separate events” (Farrell, Keppal, & Titterington, 2011, p. 231). While individuals who partake in such activity do receive a large amount of attention, the female parts of this population are vastly under recognized. Female serial killers receive little academic attention, even though they are a complex and dynamic group to study (p. 229). Women make up 15% of American serial killers, with 36 known to be active in the last century (p. 230). It is speculated that at any given time there are 50-70 serial killers in the United States, and approximately 7-8 of them are female (Schurman, 2000, p. 12).
You’d be hard pressed to find one in a crowd. The average serial killer generally blends in with everyone else (Directory Journal, 2010). In fact, most are soft-spoken and even polite. Their monstrous nature only comes through when you dig deeper into their personalities, actions, and habits. Most seem to have come from dysfunctional family settings and were emotionally, sexually, or even verbally abused as children (Directory Journal, 2010). It is almost as if this background activates some psychological trigger that increases their feelings of inadequacy or worthlessness that led them to seek out their own heinous form of release.
In the last three decades the USA has been troubled by an approaching problem, the serial killer. A serial killer is a person who kills a number of people, usually considered over five, with a cooling off period between each murder, usually one murder at one given time). Two murders at one time occasionally happen and these murders may go on for a period of months or years until the killer is caught. Throughout the last three decades the US serial killer rate has risen 94% and it is estimated that by the next millennium it will claim an average of 11 lives a day. Serial Murder is an epidemic; there are at least 35 serial killers active in the USA today who claim one third of the annual murder rate. The USA has 6% of the world's population yet it has three quarters of all serial killers. Not only are serial killers appearing in more numbers in the US but also all over the world countries are terrorized by serial killers, which are appearing in more numbers year and year after. KILLER TRAIT: A serial killer is a typical white male, 20-30, and most of them are usually in the USA. Their main motives are sex (even though the act of sex may or may not take place), power, manipulation, domination and control. The sex motive is usually rape for an organized killer and sadism for a disorganized killer. They act in a series of 5 or more murders with a cooling off period between each murder.
In order to identify serial killers before they kill repeatedly, a person needs to study the characteristics that makes up this type of criminals. Most serial killers have been abandoned, by one or both parents, they are emotionally, physically, and even sexually abused by a family member, or relatives from unstable families who have criminal, psychiatric and alcoholic histories, or tend to have hate for their parents and people in general which makes them have antisocial personality disorder. They have conflicted pain or tortured animals at a young age and most are highly interested in gaining control over things. Even though not every serial killers posses these characteristics, but most share these characteristics the same way they share the psychological need to have complete control and power over people.
Reported incidents of kidnapping and extortion in Mexico increased in January 2014 when compared to the previous month. Increases in extortion and kidnapping in the first month of 2014 follow reports indicating that in 2013, Mexico recorded its highest totals for these crimes in 17 years. Spokespersons for the federal government have attempted to downplay the data, claiming that it represents better crime reporting. However, the reported growth in extortion and kidnapping is more likely a reflection of federal, state, and local authorities’ inability to address Mexico’s growing gang threat. In the near future, political discord and posturing could prevent authorities from enacting credible solutions to this problem.