Juan Carlos Villa Cardona (born 1991) is a Colombian

serial killer A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone: * * * * * (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...

. He confessed to being responsible for the death of 11 people: 10 older adults and one minor; the last three murders were perpetrated by Juan Carlos and his brother, José Alfredo Villa, who also accepted his participation in several crimes. All the murders were committed between 2012 and 2023, in depopulated areas of the

Risaralda Department Risaralda () is a department of Colombia. It is located in the western central of the country, in the Andean region, It is part of the Coffee axis with Caldas and Quindío. Its capital is Pereira. Risaralda is very well known for the high q ...

. The authorities declared him a "serial killer", his modus operandi consisted of posing as a person with a disability to gain their trust and then murder them with knives. Most of the victims had wounds on the back of the thorax. 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.

Murders

The first murders occurred in March 2012. The bodies of Francisco Javier Gaviria Valencia and Fanny Ortiz Cruz were found in a sidewalk located in the municipality of

Marsella :''"Marsella" is also the Spanish name of Marseille.'' Marsella ''or Marseille'' is a town and municipality in the Department of Risaralda in Colombia. About 30 km away from the capital Pereira. In 2023 the town had an estimated population ...

. The authorities indicated that Villa and his father perpetrated the murders, in addition to stealing money from one of the older adults. 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 El Santuario is a town and municipality in the Antioquia Department, Colombia. It is part of the subregion of Eastern Antioquia. El Santuario was founded on 11 March 1765 by Captain Antonio Gómez de Castro. Its elevation is 2,150 meters above s ...

municipality. The last homicide was recorded on 23 September, on a farm in

Dosquebradas Dosquebradas () is the second largest city and a municipality in the Risaralda Department, Colombia. , with a population of approximately 225,540 inhabitants. The city is connected by the César Gaviria Trujillo Viaduct to Pereira, the capital ...

Modus operandi

The 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 Santa Rosa de Cabal is a town and municipality in the Department of Risaralda, Colombia. About 14 km away from the capital Pereira. In 2023 the town had an estimated population of 79,840. History Founded in 1844 when the colonizer Fermín L� ...

, Marsella and Santuario, places where he moved constantly. He presented himself in these places as a person with a disability with the aim of collecting information to later commit robberies and murders. After his capture, he confessed to being responsible for the 11 murders and his brother declared that he directly participated in 2 homicides. According to authorities, it is likely that they have committed many other murders.

Imprisonment

Villa was arrested on 27 September 2023. On 20 March 2024, he was sentenced to 45 years imprisonment.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villa, Juan Carlos 1991 births Living people People from Risaralda Department Colombian serial killers Colombian people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by Colombia

Murders

Modus operandi

Imprisonment

See also

References