Juan Carlos Villa Cardona (born 1991)[1] is a Colombian serial killer.[2][3][4] He confessed to being responsible for the death of 11 people: 10 older adults and one minor;[5] the last three murders were perpetrated by Juan Carlos and his brother, José Alfredo Villa, who also accepted his participation in several crimes.[2] All the murders were committed between 2012 and 2023, in depopulated areas of the Risaralda Department.[6][7]
Juan Carlos Villa | |
|---|---|
| Born | Juan Carlos Villa Cardona 1991 (age 32–33) Risaralda, Colombia |
| Criminal penalty | 45 years |
| Details | |
| Victims | 11 |
Span of crimes | 2012–2023 |
| Country | Colombia |
Date apprehended | 27 September 2023 |
The authorities declared him a "serial killer",[2] his modus operandi consisted of posing as a person with a disability to gain their trust and then murder them with knives.[2] Most of the victims had wounds on the back of the thorax.[6] At the time of his capture, he accepted without regret the direct participation in all the murders, one of the psychological and behavioral characteristics of a serial killer.[2]
Murders
editThe first murders occurred in March 2012.[8][9] The bodies of Francisco Javier Gaviria Valencia and Fanny Ortiz Cruz were found in a sidewalk located in the municipality of Marsella.[3] The authorities indicated that Villa and his father perpetrated the murders, in addition to stealing money from one of the older adults.[3] In 2013, he killed a cheese merchant in Pereira, on a trail located between the neighborhoods of Kennedy and Comuneros de Dosquebradas. In October 2021, he did the same with 66-year-old Holmes Giraldo Restrepo, whom he attacked in a room in the Llano Grande Alto neighborhood of Pereira. In May 2023 he murdered Henry López Giraldo in complicity with his brother José Alfredo Villa. They tried to steal a copper cable from López Giraldo. In August of that same year, Villa perpetrated 4 other murders, a body of one of his victims was found on the El Espinazo farm, in the El Santuario municipality. The last homicide was recorded on 23 September, on a farm in Dosquebradas.[3]
Modus operandi
editThe modus operandi consisted of gaining the trust of the people with whom Villa interacted, specifically in the municipalities of Pereira, Dosquebradas, Santa Rosa de Cabal, Marsella and Santuario, places where he moved constantly.[10][11] He presented himself in these places as a person with a disability with the aim of collecting information to later commit robberies and murders.[12][13] After his capture, he confessed to being responsible for the 11 murders and his brother declared that he directly participated in 2 homicides.[3] According to authorities, it is likely that they have committed many other murders.[3]
Imprisonment
editVilla was arrested on 27 September 2023.[3] On 20 March 2024, he was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment.[14]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Revelan la identidad del asesino serial de Risaralda que mató a 11 adultos mayores" (in Spanish). Noticias Somos Fan. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Juan Carlos Villa, el asesino en serie de Risaralda responsable de al menos 11 homicidios" (in Spanish). Caracol Radio. 11 December 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Sepúlveda, Laura (12 December 2023). "El macabro historial del asesino en serie que mataba adultos mayores en Risaralda" (in Spanish). El Tiempo. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "El macabro historial de alias "Juancho", un asesino en serie que mataba a adultos mayores en Risaralda, Colombia" (in Spanish). El Universo. 15 December 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ Villachica, Chelsea (13 December 2023). "Asesino serial que mató a 10 adultos mayores y un niño es capturado" (in Spanish). Radio Nicaragua. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Así cayó el "terror" de Risaralda: un par de botas y un manuscrito delataron al presunto asesino serial de abuelos" (in Spanish). Semana. 16 December 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ "Hermanos engañaban a adultos mayores para robarlos y asesinarlos" (in Spanish). Vanguardia. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
- ^ Montoya, Elizabeth (12 December 2023). "El Enano', el asesino en serie de adultos mayores en Risaralda". Paragrafo.co (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ Medina, Gastón (12 December 2023). "El aterrador asesino en serie que cobró 11 vidas en Colombia". Analítica. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ "A Juan Carlos y José Alfredo Villa Cardona les imputaron más crímenes" (in Spanish). Q'hubo. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ Daza Díaz, Laura (12 December 2023). "El impresionante caso de colombiano que asesinaba adultos mayores en Risaralda" (in Spanish). Radioacktiva. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ "Alias "El Enano" se hizo pasar por sordomudo para asesinar a tres adultos mayores" (in Spanish). Línea. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ Marín Correa, Ramón Alberto (8 December 2023). "Descubren a dos hermanos que serían asesinos seriales de adultos mayores en Colombia". RCN Radio. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
- ^ "Condenan a alias 'el enano' asesino en serie a 45 años de prisión". Agenciapi.co (in Spanish). 2024-03-20. Retrieved 2024-03-21.