Man Tearfully Describes Encounter With the ‘Mataviejitas’ After Her Last Murder
The documentary “The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders” is now streaming on Netflix. One of its most shocking scenes features the testimony of José Joel López González, who had a face-to-face encounter with Juana Barraza, known as “La Mataviejitas.”
López recounts how he discovered the lifeless body of his neighbor, Ana María Reyes Alfaro, in her house in the Moctezuma neighborhood in Mexico City— this crucial moment led authorities to arrest the murderer after years of investigation.
Through tears, the witness recounts intense emotions seeing the murderer standing calmly before him
Encountering a serial killer after committing a crime can be a genuinely terrifying experience. Such is the harrowing story of López, who asserts that he already had a sense of foreboding before reaching his home.
López began the narrative by recounting the events of January 25, 2006. That morning, he woke up like any typical day, greeted his neighbor and headed to work. However, unforeseen circumstances made him work late.
As he got off the train and reached Jasso Street, he noticed a police car nearby; a strange feeling enveloped him. Regardless, he continued walking until he arrived at his neighbor’s house and discovered the open door and windows.
“That seemed very odd, so I whistled, but didn’t get a reply. Something was wrong, so I thought, let me take a peek. All the drawers were open, clothes were all over the place. I turned to the left, and I saw Ana lying on the floor of the TV room,” he said with tears in his eyes.
Continuing, “I thought this can’t be happening and then I heard a noise and saw this woman. During brief moments, we looked into each other’s eyes. I never spoke to her. She left calmly through the living room. I remember I walked slowly, kind of following her, went outside and at that moment I had the impulse to yell ‘stop that woman’.”
Meanwhile, the police patrolled nearby and captured Barraza. They found she was carrying her victim’s IDs, food stamps for elderly people, a cellphone, and other items. One thing that caught their attention was a keychain bearing the inscription: ‘The Lady of Silence, professional wrestler and female world champion, wishes you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.'”
The Mataviejitas’ documentary awakens questions and controversy about the case
People have taken to social media to share their opinion and question the authorities’ role in the case. La Mataviejitas committed at least 16 crimes from 1998 to 2006 against elderly women, killing them using strangulation and suffocation techniques.
Some invite their friends and followers to pay attention to this documentary.
“Please don’t miss the great work of Karla Casillas and her team in this new documentary. Congratulations to the team!” someone wrote on Twitter.
Others point out that Mexican documentaries are mostly about crimes.
“I enjoy when platforms like Netflix support documentaries about Mexico and they have a supported team of journalists, but why are most of them about violence?” shared a Twitter user.
While others question the efficiency of the authorities in the case.
“The documentary only reminds us that her arrest was pure luck because there was no investigative work by the then-attorney general’s office. Also, two people (one of them died) accused without evidence are still behind bars,” commented another person on Twitter.
