A Colombian serial killer who posed as a deaf-mute to gain the trust of elderly victims before murdering them has chillingly stated he feels no remorse, comparing humans to chickens and claiming the sight of blood brought him peace.
A Reign of Terror Targeting the Vulnerable
Between March 2012 and September 2023, Juan Carlos Villa Cardona embarked on a horrific killing spree that claimed the lives of eleven people – ten elderly pensioners and one minor. His method was calculated and cruel. He would arrive at isolated homes in villages like La Paloma in Santa Rosa de Cabal, carrying a sign stating he was deaf-mute and asking for financial help for a sick mother.
His short, slim build and feigned disability disarmed suspicion, allowing him entry. Once inside, his demeanour would shift violently. He launched frenzied knife attacks on his defenceless victims. In one gruesome incident, three people – Mélida González, Bernardo Giraldo, and Ana Isabel Giraldo – were found with multiple fatal stab wounds to the neck, arms, and legs, as reported by Deputy Superintendent Jairo Martínez.
Chilling Lack of Remorse and Twisted Justification
Speaking from prison on the Más Allá del Silencio podcast, Villa Cardona displayed a terrifying calm. "I feel no remorse for human beings," he stated. "To me, humans are like chickens." He described the visceral effect of his violence: "Seeing blood calms me down, but at the same time it gives me peace. It gives me a sense of peace, like when you drink a glass of water when you are very thirsty."
He attempted to cloak his atrocities in a distorted religious faith, claiming he knelt before God before and after each crime. He even suggested his victims "deserved" to die for past sins or that death was a form of necessary rest for them.
Psychologist Jessica Riaño theorised his actions were rooted in a traumatic childhood. Abandoned by his parents at age seven and left with his grandparents, he developed a deep-seated hatred for the elderly. "I hate old people, I hate them," he confessed, adding he felt "thrown away" by his parents.
Betrayal and a Vow of Revenge
Villa Cardona's reign ended due to familial betrayal. After authorities offered a 30 million peso reward (approximately £6,000), his own brothers informed on him. He was captured and is now serving a sentence of more than 45 years in a maximum-security prison.
He harbours intense resentment towards his siblings, particularly José Mauricio Villa Cardona, whom he accuses of selling him out for half the reward. "Trusting my brothers... is the worst thing that ever happened to me," he said. He has vowed to kill them if he ever regains freedom or encounters them in prison, swearing, "I will destroy them... I curse them."
The case remains a stark reminder of predatory violence targeting society's most vulnerable and the complex, often childhood-rooted pathologies that can drive such horrific acts.
