Rodolfo Infante
Jímenez (born 1963 in San Benito, Texas, United States) and Ana María Ruíz Villeda (born 1971 in
San Luis Potosí, Mexico) beat, robbed, raped and murdered at least eight girls
and young women between the ages of 15 to 23 from August through October 1991
in Matamoros area of Tamaulipas state, Mexico. They strangled the victims
throwing their bodies into the Rio Grande or in irrigation ditches, and in one
case was discarded close to the residence of the killers.
The couple lured their victims, who were mostly from rural
areas, from downtown Matamoros with offers of a job at work at El Ebanito, a
communal farm 10-20 miles from the city. Two of the girls an offer to assist
with learning English and getting a U. S. work visa was offered.
The investigation was prompted
when on the morning of October 16, 1991 Alma Lilia Rostro, 17, ran off from the
farm after discovering the door had been left unlocked. She ran to matamoros
and reported to police that her friend Marina Hernandez Lopez, 14, was missing.
Josefina had seen one victim of beatings and repeated rapes, later found
dead, and escaped the farm shack where she had been placed and went to the
Matamoros police. The girl had been captive on the farm for ten days, always
kept locked in a shack when the couple were not there to watch her, before her
escape.
The killer couple was arrested on October 16, 1991. The pair
confessed to all eight killings, but later they changed their story, each
blaming the other. Ana depicted herself as a passive victim of a bullying
boyfriend. Yet Alma Lilia described how, before she had the slightest suspecion
about the couple, Anna had wrapped a sheet around her neck and started
tightening it. At the time the girl wrote off this behavior as merely a
peculiar sense of humor.
Each faced to 30-40 years in prison, the maximum allowable
sentence in the state of Tamaulipas. At present, no news reports on the actual
sentencing have been located.
It must be noted that there are various inconsistencies in
the various available sources. The following detailed article with interviews
with relatives seems to be the most reliable: Maggie Rivas, “Border nightmare:
Couple held in 8 Matamoroas slayings blame each other,” The Arizona Daily Star
(Phoenix, Az.), Oct. 20, 1991, p. C-2.
[Robert St. Estephe; Sep. 22, 2017]
***
7 of the 8 MURDERED VICTIMS:
Guillerimina Sanchez Galacia (or, Guillerimina Sanchez
Morales),
Marina Hernandez Lopez,
14.
Cecilia Obispo
Orfelinda Juarez Castillo
Isabel Ventura
Rita Hernandez
Enriqueta Vega Rocha (cousin of survivor Alma Lilia Rostro)
***
CHRONOLOGY:
Aug. 1991 – first body found, near El Sabibo; raped, beaten,
strangled.
Aug. – 3 days later, 2nd body found, Rio Grande;
raped, strangled.
Sep. – 3rd body found.
Oct. 12, 1991 – 4th body found; Orefelinda
Castillo, robbed of equivalent of $13.30.
Oct. 16, 1991 – morning; Alma
Lilia Rostro, 17, discovers discarded shoes, escapes, notifies Matamoros
police.
Oct. 16, 1991 – body of Enriqueta Vega Rocha, cousin of Alma Lilia Rostro found; raped.
Oct. 16, 1991 – couple arrested; confess to eight murders
(later retracted, and the couple then accuse one another).
Oct. 19, 1991 – Guillerimina Sanchez Galacia (or,
Guillerimina Sanchez Morales), body found.
Oct. 19, 1991 – Infante confesses to three of the murders.
Oct. 1991 – maximum possible sentence: 40 years in prison,
for 8 counts of kidnapping plus 8 murders. Prosecutor Luis Ernesto Gracia
Ramirez stated that the couple faced at least 30 years in prison if convicted
of the homicides.
***
Sources:
[Maggie Rivas (Knight-Ritter writer), “Couple charged with 8
murders,” Herald & Review (Decatur, Il.), Oct. 19, 1991, p. D-6]
[Maggie Rivas, “Border nightmare: Couple held in 8
Matamoroas slayings blame each other,” The Arizona Daily Star (Phoenix, Az.),
Oct. 20, 1991, p. C-2]
[Eduardo Montes, “Police: Couple Killed Girls
Lured to Farm,” Oct. 17, 1991]
[“Matamoros Couple held in connection with 8 slayings,” The
Galveston News Tx.), AP, Oct. 18, 1991, p. 3-A]
Newton, Michael (1993). Bad Girls Do It!: An Encyclopedia of
Female Murderers. USA: Loompanics Unlimited, p. 174.
***
English spellings:
Rodolfo Infante Jimenez, Ana Maria Ruiz Villeda.
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[5284-1/8/21; 5789-10/21/21]
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