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==Murders==
==Murders==
Upon his release from prison in 1978, López began [[Vagrancy|drifting]] throughout the northwestern area of South America, eventually arriving in Peru. He later claimed that, during this period, he had killed over 100 girls, mainly [[street children]] and from indigenous tribes.<ref name=TTY/> While these claims are unverifiable, it is known that López was briefly captured by an [[Ayacucho|Ayacuchoan]] indigenous tribe in south-central Peru after attempting to abduct a 9-year-old girl.<ref name="TPP">[https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2021/08/29/el-monstruo-de-los-andes-el-asesino-serial-que-mato-mas-de-300-ninas-en-ecuador-colombia-y-peru-y-desaparecio-del-mapa/ El Monstruo de los Andes, el asesino serial que mató más de 300 niñas en Ecuador, Colombia y Perú y desapareció del mapa] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref> The Ayacuchoans stripped López of his clothes and belongings and buried him in the sand. <ref name="SSW">[https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/04/09/pedro-alonso-lopez-el-monstruo-de-los-andes-que-asesino-a-mas-de-300-ninas-y-desaparecio-hace-23-anos-sin-dejar-rastro/ Pedro Alonso López, el ‘monstruo de los Andes’ que asesinó a más de 300 niñas y desapareció hace 23 años sin dejar rastro] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref> However, an American missionary convinced the tribe to release López and turn him over to the police.<ref name=SSW/> The police did not detain López, and he was instead expelled from the country.<ref name=SSW/>
Upon his release from prison in 1978, López began [[Vagrancy|drifting]] throughout the northwestern area of South America, eventually arriving in Peru. He later claimed that, during this period, he had killed over 120 girls, mainly [[street children]] and from indigenous tribes.<ref name=TTY/> While these claims are unverifiable, it is known that López was briefly captured by an [[Ayacucho|Ayacuchoan]] indigenous tribe in south-central Peru after attempting to abduct a 9-year-old girl.<ref name="TPP">[https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2021/08/29/el-monstruo-de-los-andes-el-asesino-serial-que-mato-mas-de-300-ninas-en-ecuador-colombia-y-peru-y-desaparecio-del-mapa/ El Monstruo de los Andes, el asesino serial que mató más de 300 niñas en Ecuador, Colombia y Perú y desapareció del mapa] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref> The Ayacuchoans stripped López of his clothes and belongings and buried him in the sand. <ref name="SSW">[https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/04/09/pedro-alonso-lopez-el-monstruo-de-los-andes-que-asesino-a-mas-de-300-ninas-y-desaparecio-hace-23-anos-sin-dejar-rastro/ Pedro Alonso López, el ‘monstruo de los Andes’ que asesinó a más de 300 niñas y desapareció hace 23 años sin dejar rastro] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref> However, an American missionary convinced the tribe to release López and turn him over to the police.<ref name=SSW/> The police did not detain López, and he was instead expelled from the country.<ref name=SSW/>


After his deportation from Peru, López resumed travelling throughout South America, and although authorities began to notice an increase of missing persons, more specifically young girls, throughout areas where he travelled, they concluded the disappearances were most likely cases of [[human trafficking]].<ref name="SSW">[https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/04/09/pedro-alonso-lopez-el-monstruo-de-los-andes-que-asesino-a-mas-de-300-ninas-y-desaparecio-hace-23-anos-sin-dejar-rastro/ Pedro Alonso López, el ‘monstruo de los Andes’ que asesinó a más de 300 niñas y desapareció hace 23 años sin dejar rastro] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref>
After his deportation from Peru, López resumed traveling throughout South America. Although authorities began to notice an increase of missing persons, more specifically young girls, throughout areas where he traveled, they concluded the disappearances were most likely cases of [[human trafficking]].<ref name="SSW">[https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/04/09/pedro-alonso-lopez-el-monstruo-de-los-andes-que-asesino-a-mas-de-300-ninas-y-desaparecio-hace-23-anos-sin-dejar-rastro/ Pedro Alonso López, el ‘monstruo de los Andes’ que asesinó a más de 300 niñas y desapareció hace 23 años sin dejar rastro] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref>


In April 1980, the areas surrounding [[Ambato, Ecuador]] were hit by flash flooding, unearthing the remains of several young girls who had been previously reported missing. This revelation prompted the police to reopen their investigations and contributed towards López's ultimate arrest later that same year.<ref name="SSW">[https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/04/09/pedro-alonso-lopez-el-monstruo-de-los-andes-que-asesino-a-mas-de-300-ninas-y-desaparecio-hace-23-anos-sin-dejar-rastro/ Pedro Alonso López, el ‘monstruo de los Andes’ que asesinó a más de 300 niñas y desapareció hace 23 años sin dejar rastro] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref>
In April 1980, the areas surrounding [[Ambato, Ecuador]] were hit by flash flooding, unearthing the remains of several young girls who had been previously reported missing. This revelation prompted the police to reopen their investigations and helped contribute to López's ultimate arrest later that same year.<ref name="SSW">[https://www.infobae.com/america/peru/2022/04/09/pedro-alonso-lopez-el-monstruo-de-los-andes-que-asesino-a-mas-de-300-ninas-y-desaparecio-hace-23-anos-sin-dejar-rastro/ Pedro Alonso López, el ‘monstruo de los Andes’ que asesinó a más de 300 niñas y desapareció hace 23 años sin dejar rastro] Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.</ref>


==Arrest and confession==
==Arrest and confession==

Revision as of 18:50, 21 April 2023

Pedro López
Mugshot of López
Born
Pedro Alonso López

(1948-10-08) 8 October 1948 (age 75)
Venadillo, Colombia
Other namesThe Monster of the Andes
Criminal statusReleased, possibly at large
Conviction(s)Vehicle theft, murder, rape
Criminal penalty16 years in prison in Ecuador; released after 14 years; committed to hospital Colombia; freed after 1 year
Details
Victims110–350
Span of crimes
1969–2002
CountryColombia, Ecuador, Peru
Date apprehended
9 March 1980 (first)

Pedro Alonso López (born 8 October 1948[1]), also known as The Monster of the Andes, is a Colombian serial killer, child rapist and fugitive who murdered a minimum of 110 victims, mostly young women and girls, from 1969 to 1980 and claimed to have murdered over 300 victims across Colombia, Peru and Ecuador.

Born into poverty in Colombia, López was initially imprisoned for auto theft in 1969, during which he claimed he was brutally gang-raped by a group of fellow inmates, whom he killed in retaliation.[2] Upon his release from prison, López travelled extensively throughout South America, and during this period he claimed to have murdered hundreds of girls throughout Peru and Colombia.[3] He was briefly captured by an Ayacuchoan indigenous tribe in Peru, but an American missionary convinced the tribe to hand him over to the authorities, who released López soon after.[4]

López was ultimately arrested in Ecuador in 1980 after attempting to abduct a 12-year-old girl. For murders committed in Ecuador, López was sentenced to 16 years in prison, the maximum penalty for murder in Ecuador at the time.[5] Released from prison in Ecuador in 1994, after which he was deported to and institutionalized in Colombia,[6] López was released from psychiatric care in 1998, and is currently a wanted fugitive in connection with a murder committed in 2002.[7] As of 2023, López's whereabouts remain unknown.

Early life

Pedro Alonso López was born in Colombia in 1948, in the municipality of Venadillo, Tolima. Within six months of his birth his mother moved to Santa Isabel.[8] Pedro López was the seventh of thirteen children born to Benilda López de Castañeda, a prostitute, and had a difficult childhood due to the violence of the household and the absence of a father figure.[9] His father, Megdardo Reyes, was murdered six months before his birth.[10]

López was banished from the house at age nine, when his mother caught him attempting to molest his sister.[9] Homeless, López wandered the streets of Bogotá and was frequently sexually abused.[9] At age twelve, he was adopted by an American immigrant family, but fled after he was sexually assaulted by a teacher.[11]

In 1969, López was sentenced to seven years in prison for auto theft. During this period of incarceration, he was brutally gang-raped by four other inmates. Days later, López hunted down the inmates and killed them in retaliation. The killings were ruled as self-defense, and two years were added to his sentence.[12]

Murders

Upon his release from prison in 1978, López began drifting throughout the northwestern area of South America, eventually arriving in Peru. He later claimed that, during this period, he had killed over 120 girls, mainly street children and from indigenous tribes.[3] While these claims are unverifiable, it is known that López was briefly captured by an Ayacuchoan indigenous tribe in south-central Peru after attempting to abduct a 9-year-old girl.[13] The Ayacuchoans stripped López of his clothes and belongings and buried him in the sand. [4] However, an American missionary convinced the tribe to release López and turn him over to the police.[4] The police did not detain López, and he was instead expelled from the country.[4]

After his deportation from Peru, López resumed traveling throughout South America. Although authorities began to notice an increase of missing persons, more specifically young girls, throughout areas where he traveled, they concluded the disappearances were most likely cases of human trafficking.[4]

In April 1980, the areas surrounding Ambato, Ecuador were hit by flash flooding, unearthing the remains of several young girls who had been previously reported missing. This revelation prompted the police to reopen their investigations and helped contribute to López's ultimate arrest later that same year.[4]

Arrest and confession

Not long after the flooding, a local woman named Carvina Poveda was on her way to the market with her 12-year-old daughter Marie when López attempted to abduct Marie. Local merchants were able to overpower López and hold him until the police arrived.[5]

While in police custody after his arrest, López initially refused to cooperate during his interrogation, choosing to remain silent. [5] Eventually though, López began to confess his crimes to Police Captain Pastor Cordova, who had been placed in the same cell as López posing as a prisoner.[14]

López had boasted that in total, he had murdered “Over two hundred in Ecuador, some tens in Peru and many more in Colombia,”[15]He described his modus operandi as first luring the victim away from public spaces with a trinket, before raping and strangling them with his bare hands. [16] He additionally claimed that he would occasionally exhume the victim's bodies from their burial site and have 'tea parties' with them. [17] When asked about his motive for the murders, López reportedly said: “I lost my innocence at age of eight. So I decided to do the same to as many girls as I could.” [18] Soon after his confession, he directed the authorities to the bodies of 53 victims, and his confessions soon led to the confirmation of a total of 110 in Ecuador. [19]

Later in 1980, López was convicted of murder and sentenced to 16 years in prison, the maximum prison sentence available in Ecuador at the time.[5]

Imprisonment and release

According to CNN, López "was arrested in 1980, but was freed by the government in Ecuador at the end of [1998]." In an interview from his prison cell, López described himself as "the man of the century" and said he was being released for "good behavior".[citation needed] An A&E Biography documentary reported that he was released from an Ecuadorian prison on 31 August 1994, then rearrested as an illegal immigrant and handed over to Colombian authorities, who charged him with a 20-year-old murder. He was declared insane and held in the psychiatric wing of a Bogotá hospital. In 1998, he was declared sane and released on $50 bail, subject to certain conditions. He later absconded. The same documentary says that Interpol released an advisory for his rearrest by Colombian authorities over a fresh murder in 2002,[20] and he is currently wanted by the police.[21] His whereabouts are unknown as of 2002.[1]

Coverage

The 2006 edition of the Guinness World Records credited Lopez as being the "most prolific serial killer".[22] The listing was removed after complaints that it made a competition out of murder.[23]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Pedro Alonzo Lopez Biography". biography.com. 31 January 2018. Archived from the original on 10 December 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  2. ^ De 2018, 14 De Noviembre. "La misteriosa desaparición del "Monstruo de los Andes", el mayor asesino serial de niñas de Colombia". Infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (13 November 2018). "Así quedó libre en Colombia el peor asesino en serie del mundo". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Pedro Alonso López, el ‘monstruo de los Andes’ que asesinó a más de 300 niñas y desapareció hace 23 años sin dejar rastro Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d Conoce la Aterradora Historia de “El Monstruo de los Andes” Buenamente.com. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.
  6. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (12 March 1994). "QUEDARÍA LIBRE EL MONSTRUO DE LOS ANDES". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  7. ^ Semana (6 May 2002). "Se busca". Semana.com Últimas Noticias de Colombia y el Mundo. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  8. ^ Tiempo, Casa Editorial El (13 November 2018). "Así quedó libre en Colombia el peor asesino en serie del mundo". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  9. ^ a b c Pedro Alonso López 'El Monstruo de los Andes'
  10. ^ El monstruo de los Andes: violación y asesinato de 300 niñas, enterrado vivo y en paradero desconocido Noticias COPE. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.
  11. ^ "El 'monstruo de los Andes' que se excitaba matando niñas a plena luz del día: "Es mi misión"". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 21 August 2020. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  12. ^ De 2018, 14 De Noviembre. "La misteriosa desaparición del "Monstruo de los Andes", el mayor asesino serial de niñas de Colombia". Infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 5 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ El Monstruo de los Andes, el asesino serial que mató más de 300 niñas en Ecuador, Colombia y Perú y desapareció del mapa Infobae. Consultado el 28 de junio de 2022.
  14. ^ "The Monster Of The Andes". Medium. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  15. ^ "The Monster Of The Andes". Medium. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Pedro Lopez: The world's second worst serial killer who walked free from prison". 9News. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  17. ^ "The Horrifying Story of Pedro Lopez: South America's Missing Serial Killer". A Little Bit Human. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  18. ^ "The Horrifying Story of Pedro Lopez: South America's Missing Serial Killer". A Little Bit Human. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Pedro Lopez: The world's second worst serial killer who walked free from prison". 9News. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  20. ^ Ramon, Carlina; Inde, Maria Masabanda; Jácome, Carlos; Brennan, Pat (2004). The Monster of the Andes. A&E Television Networks. ISBN 0-7670-7897-7.
  21. ^ "Why Did They Free Pedro López, the Monster of the Andes?". Criminal. vocal.media. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  22. ^ "Most prolific serial killer". Archived from the original on 16 February 2015.
  23. ^ Regier, Willis Goth (November 2007). In Praise of Flattery. ISBN 978-0803239692.
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