I consider Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer two of the evilest serial killers in our lifetime. There have been countless books, movies, and documentaries written about these two monsters. Whenever we think about serial killers, we usually exclude women. Other than Aileen Wuornos, there aren’t too many high-profile female serial killers.
However, Wuornos would need to take a backseat to the González Valenzuela sisters when it came to true evil. During the early 1900s, there was a group of four sisters from the Mexican state of Guanajuato who became so feared they are recognized by the Guinness Book of Records for their evil acts.
Delfina, Maria de Jesus, Maria del Carmen, and Maria Luisa were known as Las Poquianchis. The sisters grew up in an abusive home. Their father worked in law enforcement and ruled the home with an iron fist. He physically abused his daughters and also murdered several people in front of them.
After the sisters reached adulthood, they entered a life of crime by opening brothels in Guanajuato and Jalisco. Although sisters Delfina and Maria de Jesus, were the main ringleaders, the younger two sisters also took part in the family’s criminal activity. The sisters reign of terror occurred between 1945 to 1964. They hired people to seek and abduct young girls between ages 12 to 15. The girls were then forced into prostitution. The sisters also placed help wanted ads for maid services. Once the victims arrived seeking work, they were forced into using cocaine and heroin. Once addicted, the sisters had complete control over the women. The sisters also robbed brothel clients who carried expensive valuables and cash.
Additionally, the wealthiest clients paid top dollar for virgins. Brothel rules were simple. If you didn’t do as you were told, you died. Prisoners were kept inside the brothels and never permitted to leave. If they became pregnant, the babies were killed. If a victim escaped, she would be captured and then killed.
The girls were prostituted until they were into their late 20s or whenever customers no longer desired them. Once this occurred, the sisters removed the girls. They were then beaten, starved and then even buried alive. The sisters then replaced the dead girls with a younger victim.
Originally, the sisters successfully kept their sex trafficking business going by bribing crooked police officers and officials with cash or sex.
In January 1964, one victim escaped to her mother’s home and told her about how she was forced into prostitution. The mother and her daughter went to the Leon, Guanajuato police who had no affiliation with the González Valenzuela sisters.
Authorities arrested the four sisters and shut down their brothels. They were charged with kidnapping, rape, murder, and other charges. With assistance from victims, authorities recovered the remains of at least 91 men, women and infants.
Maria de Jesus, Delphina and Luisa each received a 40-year sentence. Carmen didn’t live long enough to be sentenced because she died of cancer.
Only Maria de Jesus left prison alive. The other two sisters died in prison. After de Jesus left prison, she got married and then moved away into obscurity. I tried to find an English term for Las Poquianchis. Apparently, there isn’t a comparable English term. Sister Delphina had purchased the home of a gay man nicknamed “El Poquianchis.” The locals gave the sisters the same nickname.
However, there would be a strange twist to the story. In 2002, a construction crew cleared an area near the Loma del Angel brothel once operated by the sisters. They found a pit that contained about 20 skeletons. This brought the kill total to over 100 victims. Although the infamous González Valenzuela sisters are rarely discussed by true crime enthusiasts, they will forever hold a place in history as being the evilest serial killer siblings in history.
Marc is a longtime resident of Clermont County and an avid reader. Contact him through his website at www.themarcabe.com or through Facebook: www.Facebook.com/themarcabe or his twitter account @themarcabe. Marc also has a podcast called Catch my Killer where he interviews family members seeking justice for their murdered loved ones. You can listen at www.catchmykiller.com.