Juana Barraza Juana Barraza ( born 1956 ) is a Mexican professional wrestler and serial killer dubbed " La Mataviejitas " ( Sp . " The Old Lady Killer " ) sentenced to 759 years in jail for killing eleven elderly women . The first murder attributed to " Mataviejitas " has been dated variously to the late 1990s and to a specific killing on 17 November 2003 . The authorities and the press have given various estimates as to the total number of the killer ' s victims , with estimated totals ranging from 24 to 49 deaths . Background . Juana Barraza was born in Hidalgo , a rural area north of Mexico City . Barraza ' s mother was an alcoholic who reportedly exchanged her for three beers to a man who repeatedly raped her in his car , and by whom she became pregnant with a boy . She had four children in total , although her eldest son died from injuries sustained in a mugging . Prior to her arrest , Barraza was a professional wrestler under the ring name La Dama del Silencio ( The Silent Lady ) . She had an obsession with lucha libre , a form of Mexican masked professional wrestling in which the wrestlers engage in titanic mock battles . Profile . All of Barraza ' s victims were women aged 60 or over , most of whom lived alone . She bludgeoned or strangled her victims , and afterward would rob them . Police reported that there was evidence of abuse in a number of cases . Bernardo Bátiz , the chief prosecutor in Mexico City , initially profiled the killer as having " a brilliant mind , [ being ] quite clever and careful " , and probably struck after a period spent gaining the trust of an intended victim . Officers investigating suspected that she posed as a government official offering the chance to sign up to welfare programs . The search for Barraza was complicated by conflicting evidence . At one point , the police hypothesized that two killers might be involved . Then an odd coincidence distracted the investigation ; at least three of Barraza ' s victims owned a print of an 18th - century painting by the French artist Jean - Baptiste Greuze , " Boy in Red Waistcoat " . Investigation . The authorities were heavily criticised by the media for dismissing evidence that a serial killer was at work in Mexico City as merely " media sensationalism " as late as the summer of 2005 . Soon after setting an investigation in motion , the police incurred further criticism by launching what one journalist described as a " ham - fisted " and unproductive swoop on Mexico City ' s transvestite prostitutes . By November 2005 , the Mexican authorities were reporting witness statements to the effect that the killer wore women ' s clothing to gain access to the victim ' s apartments . In one case a large woman in a red blouse was seen leaving the home of a murdered woman . Two months later , police began checking the fingerprints of bodies in the city ' s morgues in the apparent belief that " Mataviejitas " might have committed suicide . A major breakthrough in the case occurred on 25 January 2006 , when a suspect was arrested fleeing from the home of the serial killer ' s latest victim , Ana María de los Reyes Alfaro , who lived in the Venustiano Carranza borough of Mexico City . Alfaro , 82 , had been strangled with a stethoscope . To the surprise of many Mexicans , who had supposed the killer to be male , the suspect detained was Juana Barraza , 48 , a female wrestler known professionally as " The Silent Lady " . Witnesses at previous murder scenes had described a masculine - looking woman and police had previously looked for a transvestite although they later admitted that the former wrestler resembled composite images of the suspect . Barraza closely resembled a model of the killer ' s features , which showed " La Mataviejitas " with close - cropped hair dyed blonde and a facial mole , and was carrying a stethoscope , pension forms and a card identifying her as a social worker when she was detained . Mexico City prosecutors said fingerprint evidence linked Barraza to at least 10 murders of the as many as 40 murders attributed to the killer . The wrestler is said to have confessed to murdering Alfaro and three other women , but denied involvement in all other killings . She told reporters she had visited Alfaro ' s home in search of laundry work . Trial and verdict . Barraza was tried in the spring of 2008 , the prosecution alleging she had been responsible for as many as 40 deaths . She admitted one murder , that of Alfaro , and told the police her motive was lingering resentment regarding her own mother ' s treatment of her . On 31 March she was found guilty on 16 charges of murder and aggravated burglary , including 11 separate counts of murder . She was sentenced to 759 years in prison . Since sentences imposed in Mexican courts are generally served concurrently , however , she will be eligible for parole after serving a maximum of 50 years . Mujeres Asesinas . Mexican producer Pedro Torres brought the story to television on an episode of the 2010 Mexican Television series " Mujeres Asesinas 3 " that is being produced by Televisa . The episode is called " Maggie , Pensionada " starring the Mexican actress Leticia Perdigón as Maggie and Irma Lozano , Ana Luisa Peluffo and Lourdes Canale as victims . Documentaries . Barraza was highlighted in the documentary " Instinto Asesino " which aired on Discovery en Español in 2010 . The episode was entitled , " La Mataviejitas " . Juana Barraza was also highlighted on the show La Historia Detras Del Mito the episode was entitled La Mataviejitas .