Women’s History Month

“La Mataviejitas” — Serial Killer Juana Barraza Sentenced to 759 Years

Killer women throughout history

Juana Barraza, who would eventually be known as “La Mataviejitas” (Little Old Lady Killer), was born in a rural community called Epazoyucan, Hidalgo, just north of Mexico City in 1957. Her mother was an alcoholic who is said to have traded a 12-year-old Juana to a man for three beers. While in his care, Juana was repeatedly raped and became pregnant with a son, who would later die from injuries sustained in an attempted mugging.

Barraza went on to marry and have three more children before becoming a professional wrestler calling herself “La Dama del Silencio” (The Lady of Silence) in the popular Lucha Libre wrestling circuit.

When a string of attacks in the area began targeting elderly women who lived alone, leaving them bludgeoned or strangled to death, police began urgently looking for the killer. Bernardo Bátiz, the chief prosecutor in Mexico City, profiled the killer, describing them as brilliant, clever, and careful.

Bátiz believed that the killer likely gained the trust of the victims before killing and robbing them. Investigators in the case came to suspect that the killer may have posed as a government official, perhaps offering to sign them up for senior programs in order to gain access to their home.