November 21, 2024 • 37 mins
Luis Garavito was one of the most prolific serial killers in history. Known as 'La Bistia' or 'The Beast,' Garavito's reign of terror spanned decades, during which he tortured, raped, and murdered nearly 200 children in Colombia. Listener discretion is strongly advised due to graphic content.
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Elena (00:00):
Hey guys! Welcome to the Eerie Side Podcast with your
(00:02):
hosts Elena, Sophia, and D.
We really appreciate you guyslistening and I hope you're
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(00:42):
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Just want to give a warning thatthis episode contains
discussions of highly sensitiveand disturbing topics including
sexual assault, torture, andmurder of children.
(01:26):
These subjects may be triggeringor deeply unsettling for some
listeners, listener discretionadvised.
Okay, today I'm going to betaking you into the harrowing
world of one of the mostprolific serial killers ever
recorded.
Luis Garavito, a man whosecrimes shook Colombia and the
(01:46):
world.
Known as La Beast.
Known as La Bistia or The Beast,Garavito's story reveals how one
man's horrors went unchecked foryears and how the Innocence of
hundreds of children were stolenin the most brutal way
imaginable.
Alright, do we know about thiscase?
(02:06):
Have you heard about this personyet?
D (02:09):
I have not.
Sophia (02:10):
No, but I'm actually very interested to hear what
it's about because this onedoesn't ring a bell for me.
Elena (02:16):
Okay.
Luis Garavito was born onJanuary 25th, 1957 in Génova
Quindio, Columbia.
Now, one of the first questionspeople ask when they discover a
serial killer is what was theirchildhood like, right?
Because we want to know howsomeone who could rape and kill
innocent children came to be.
(02:38):
Well, Garavito didn't have thebest childhood growing up, and
described how he and hissiblings were neglected.
His father was an alcoholic whowas physically abusive.
He claimed his father would onlyinteract with him for work
related reasons.
Here's a quote from Garavitoafter his arrest, talking about
his father and childhood.
(02:59):
My father was very rigid and mymother, a person who gave me
little affection and love.
I have very bitter memories ofmy tender childhood.
When I came to have the use ofreason, I saw how my father, on
countless occasions, hit mymother and dragged her.
I still have those screams thatshe desperately let out.
(03:20):
I saw when he cut her that imagewas engraved in my brain for
life.
I have not been able to forgetit.
I was the only one who defendedher.
He beat her so much that she waslame when she was pregnant with
my brother, Ricardo.
It was almost 40 years my motherput up with that man's
humiliation and contempt.
End quote.
He also experienced bullyingfrom other children in school
(03:44):
and struggled to perform well.
In 5th grade, he was taken outof school by his father for
financial reasons and forGaravito to help out with the
family.
Garavito does claim that he wassexually molested by a
pharmacist when his father tookhim to a routine vaccination.
This man is reportedly thefather's neighbor and had
(04:05):
bitten, burned, and cut Garavitowhen he was assaulted by him.
However, some do question thetruth of his claims.
Allgedly after this incidentGaravito killed and dissected a
couple birds because of hisfrustration.
It's also reported that he wouldsexually fondle and
inappropriately look at hisyounger siblings.
(04:25):
He also claimed in 1969 that hemolested a 6 year old boy, which
he would have been 12 at thattime.
Around 1971, a neighbor hadshown Garavito heterosexual
porn, and Garavito claimed theneighbor mocked him when he was
disgusted by the porn, and thenbeat and sexually assaulted him.
(04:45):
Now, I do want to clarify somethings here.
Yes, Garavito is claiming tohave been sexually molested and
did go on to rape children inhis adult years, but that does
not mean that sexually assaultedchildren go on to become
pedophiles themselves.
When you look at how manychildren have been assaulted,
(05:07):
sexually assaulted in theirlifetime, and the percentage
that go on to become pedophiles,it is so small that it's not
really even statistically likesignificant for there to be
like, you know that there is alink.
So I want to just make thatclarification here, because I
don't want anyone to get thewrong information and think that
this is normal That there's likethis connection, because I don't
(05:30):
want people to blame thevictims.
And people think that this is areal thing that happens often,
which it does not.
It could lead other victims fromnot speaking out, out of fear
that they would be judged.
So I just want to make thatclarification.
Sophia (05:43):
And I don't think it's an excuse for him to go on to do
what he did.
If what he's saying is trueabout his childhood, wow, that
is so horrific.
Right.
It sounds very traumatic.
And I definitely think it's notsetting him up to be a healthy,
successful individual whocontributes to society in a
positive manner.
But definitely not an excuse togo out and do what you're saying
(06:06):
he's done.
Elena (06:07):
For sure, if that happened, that is, obviously
very awful to have to go throughas a child, but that is not an
excuse to go on and then do allthese horrific things.
I would agree.
So now, we're actually going tostart to get into all the awful
things he's done.
So I'm going to put out mywarning again, if anyone needs
it, here it is.
His attacks on children startedduring 1980, but the killings
(06:30):
didn't start until the 90s.
So right now, I'm talking aboutthe 80s, so only the assaults.
He started sexually assaultingchildren on the street when he
would have his two hour longbreak at his job working at a
central supermarket.
He would leave, find a child,sexually assault them, then
return to work.
And it was later in 1980, closerto 1981, that he started
(06:54):
carrying weapons around totorture his victims.
Weapons such as blades, candles,and lighters.
He would even write their namesin a book and pray for them.
And he would Yeah, and he woulddo all this while pacing in his
room naked and beating hischest.
Sophia (07:10):
Oh my god, that's so animalistic.
Elena (07:12):
It's definitely a little weird.
Garavito discovered AdolfHitler's autobiography Mein
Kampf.
I think that's how you pronounceit.
And he took a liking to Hitlerand found a lot of similarities
between them.
He spent five years inpsychiatric care, but that
didn't stop the assaults becauseby 1984, he had assaulted over a
(07:33):
hundred kids.
D (07:35):
Excuse me, he was in mental health care and what was he in
there for?
Elena (07:41):
Just things like depression.
I think not necessarilyalcoholism, but I think his
alcoholism did contribute to hisdepression and his anger and
stuff like that.
I think he just had Like reallybad depression.
D (07:56):
And they never figured out while he was in there that he
was also a pedophile.
Elena (08:02):
No, I don't think he said anything.
I remember reading this onepoint where he said like why are
you here?
Something like that.
And he was like.
I want kids and they're like,you want kids?
And he quickly changed it to Iwant to start a family.
So I think like he, in his mind,it was, even if he had said
something, he would havebacktracked it because it
(08:22):
sounded like he didn't want themto know that.
D (08:25):
Also, I have another question.
You said he would leave his,occupation and for two hours and
molest children.
Was this every day or was thisonce a month or was it on the
schedule or just how he felt?
Elena (08:37):
The way, I read it, it seemed like he would only do it
like a couple times a month,maybe like four times tops.
Sophia (08:46):
And where was this happening?
Because he worked at asupermarket, so where would he
find these boys and then?
Elena (08:51):
On the street.
Sophia (08:52):
And he would do it where, in like an alley or?
Elena (08:55):
Depends an alley, wooded area, anywhere.
I think there's a lot of like,around there that he could
choose from.
Sophia (09:02):
So would he lure these boys?
Elena (09:04):
I'll get into how he did all that later on.
So he spent five years inpsychiatric care, but that
didn't stop the assaults becauseby 1984 he had assaulted over a
hundred kids.
He was then briefly arrested fortheft after he stole something
from a friend.
He also fantasized about killinghis family and then committing
(09:25):
suicide, stating that was Theperfect death in his mind.
At one point, around'86,Garavito was seen by his friends
drunk with young boys at localmotels.
Those boys are like 12, 14, sopeople in his life, some people,
at least, were aware.
Of what he was doing.
(09:47):
Obviously not to the extent thathe was doing it, not to, the
torture and everything that,that part of it, but they knew
that he was partying, withyounger boys.
In 1988, Garavito startedkeeping trophies from his
victims and also starteddocumenting his attacks.
Sophia (10:05):
You said 1988?
Yeah.
Okay.
Elena (10:08):
So, between 1980 and 1992, how many children do you
believe Garavito had raped andtortured?
Sophia (10:15):
Well, if he's been assaulting at least one boy a
month for the past 10 to 12years now, I'm assuming it'd
have to be over a hundred.
Elena (10:23):
I said by 1984 it was already a hundred.
So I'm saying from, in totalfrom 1980 to 92, how many do you
think it was?
Because it was already 100 in1984.
Sophia (10:37):
Oh wow, 200?
I hate to say that.
Elena (10:40):
Yeah, it was 200.
Sophia (10:41):
That's insane.
Elena (10:42):
Yeah, and remember, he spent five of those 12 years in
psychiatric care.
It really wasn't even all those12 years.
In fact, wherever he would livebecause he would move around a
lot, there would be an increasein child molestation report.
Sophia (10:59):
He was making that much of a significance.
Yeah.
That should say something.
Elena (11:03):
Wherever he went, there was the problem.
Yeah.
So what changed?
Why did he start murdering hisvictims?
Because remember, this is aserial killer case.
In 1993, everything changed forGaravito.
Garavito was in a park inJamundi, and again sorry if I
pronounce any of these namesincorrectly, when Juan Carlos
(11:27):
had the misfortune of walkingpast Garavito at the wrong time.
Garavito, was already drinkingand starting to feel his
disgusting urges.
He wasn't prepared.
So he followed the boy and gotsupplies, such as a butcher's
knife and rope.
He was able to convince Juanwith the promise of work and
money, and took him into awooded place.
(11:49):
For this next part, I'm going tohave Garavito describe it in his
own words.
Talking about this murder, hestated, quote,"Two meters from
the train, it was alreadywooded, the moon was shining,
and the reflection in the watercould be seen.
I was transformed to mychildhood.
I felt a lot of hate, but Inever killed the children I took
with me.
And that's where I grabbed thischild.
(12:11):
I began to cut him up with aknife and something strange took
hold of me that told me, Kill,because killing already brings
many things.
That's how I proceeded to killhim.
That was my first death.
After that, he took a secondvictim only six days later in
Taluá.
His second victim was little 12year old, Jhon Alexander,
(12:31):
Talking about this murder,Garavito stated, quote, I see a
child passing by and it makes mefeel bad.
I get so strong and I know whatI have to do.
When I can't do that, do it witha minor.
(12:54):
Then I repress, drink morealcohol, and start breaking
bottles.
I hate others, I look fortrouble, I explode and I want to
grab people and tear theirthroats out, tear their throats
apart.
I get angry, I lose control.
It seems like alcohol has a partin when he decides what to do.
Within that same year, 1993, hestarted to cut their abdomin and
(13:19):
completely destroyed theirdigestive system.
Unfortunately, I can't name allthe victims because there's
sadly too many So from here onout, I'll just be describing his
horrors and not detailing everysingle one of his killings.
I also won't be going into asmuch detail about what he did to
these children because it's justtoo graphic and honestly the
(13:39):
whole thing would have to bebleeped out.
So if what you hear is badenough just know that there are
worse things I couldn't includeand if you want you can always
search those up if you reallywant to know.
D (13:50):
Does he remember all his victims?
Elena (13:52):
From what I've seen it seems like he remembers most
because he able to identify manymore than what they knew and was
able to lead them to the bodieslater on.
D (14:09):
And at this time, the authorities had no idea that
this is going on?
Elena (14:15):
Yes.
They know a few people havedied.
I don't think they know Thatit's a serial killer yet, but
they I mean there are a fewdeaths as of right now.
Sophia (14:23):
I wonder if he's keeping track of them because to
remember that many which heshould remember all of them.
Elena (14:29):
I know he has some mementos and some like trophies
that he's kept But I'm not sureif he remembers like every
single one or how that is.
Also, before I dive in, I wantto briefly talk about Columbia
and what kind of place it waslike in the 90s.
Columbia during the mid 90swasn't an easy place to be.
Many rural areas were plagued bypoverty and violence due to drug
(14:53):
trade, this was the perfectbackdrop for someone like
Garavito, who was able to preyon poor, vulnerable children
with little oversight.
Since 93, Garavito would travelacross Colombia targeting
vulnerable young boys, oftenusing the excuse of selling
goods or offering money slashwork to lure them.
(15:13):
He would also wear disguises,sometimes pretending to be a
monk.
Once he gained their trust, hewould take them to rural areas,
and once they started to gettired, he would attack them.
He would tie them up, rape them,mutilate them, then slit their
throats or decapitate them.
(15:34):
Also, started to keep evidenceof his crimes with him, which
would eventually aid in hisconvictions.
He would keep things such as bustickets and would keep a
detailed journal of where hetraveled.
At one point, he stoppeddrinking and really focused on
work, so his rapes and murdersstopped for a bit.
But eventually, he couldn'tcontain it and he started up
again.
(15:55):
He would also read the Bible,but eventually started to
embrace other spiritualities,such as witches and even the
Ouija board.
But he felt like they were asmuch liars as he was.
When talking about the devil andsatanic rituals, he said, quote,
"I practiced satanic ritualswith the minors I murdered.
I did it my way, but I don'twant to explain how I did it.
(16:15):
I made a pact with the devil."End quote.
Sophia (16:18):
I don't know if I believe that or if he's just
spewing whatever at this point.
He's just evil.
Elena (16:23):
Yeah, like I said I'm not gonna get into all the details
of what he did to thesechildren, but I do think it's
important to tell their storyand what they went through.
Like I mentioned earlier theywere molested and tortured for
long periods, but he would alsostab their hands buttocks or
feet With a screwdriver and hewould sever the genitals and put
(16:45):
them in their mouths.
Sophia (16:47):
Oh my God!
D (16:49):
Is this while they're still alive?
Yeah, he's doing this whilethey're alive?
Elena (16:53):
Yeah.
D (16:53):
Okay.
Elena (16:54):
They were also burned and had deep cuts all over them and
in some severe cases Theirintestines would pour out of
their stomachs as they werebeing sexually abused.
Sophia (17:05):
Their stomachs were falling out as he was abusing
them?
Elena (17:08):
Yeah.
Sophia (17:09):
I cannot wrap my mind around that.
Elena (17:10):
Yeah.
Their intestines would pour outof their stomach, yeah.
Sophia (17:13):
It's the most disgusting monster I've ever heard of.
Elena (17:16):
He would also climax when he decapitated their head or cut
off their throats, often leavingtheir genitals in their mouth.
Sophia (17:24):
Sick.
D (17:25):
And the authorities still don't have an idea this is going
on?
Elena (17:30):
They know, like, they have some of the bodies.
D (17:33):
So he killed about a hundred people, correct?
He molested about a hundredwithout killing them, and then
another hundred?
Elena (17:38):
No, he molested about two hundred people without killing
them.
And now he is molesting andmurdering additional people.
D (17:45):
And what's the total there?
Elena (17:47):
I'm not sure at this point.
I don't know.
I have the total, when he'sdone.
Which is about 200 so.
D (17:55):
He's actually ruined 400 lives and then their families.
Yeah, and I can see maybe inthat era they didn't talk to
police when they were beingmolested but as these murders
are wrapping up no one Isputting the pieces together of
this puzzle?
Elena (18:13):
No, because he moved around a lot.
So he took advantage of thetimes and the lack of
communication betweendepartments So I think that's
how he was able to get away withthis for so long.
D (18:25):
Okay, I understand especially if they're all little towns or
something.
They're not communicating.
Elena (18:29):
He also did target lower income families, so it probably
did make it harder for them tolike, bring awareness to their
children, just because lack offinancial means, which played a
big part of
D (18:42):
Did any point did the authorities thought the kids
were maybe runaways orprostitutes or anything of that
sort or they knew they weren'tand because they were poor, they
didn't figure this out.
Elena (18:54):
I'm actually not sure about what they thought of
before they found the bodies.
I'm not sure if any of theparents said, hey, my kid is
missing and they didn't doanything.
I just know that when theydiscovered the bodies, like it
was clear to them like someonehad killed them, but they didn't
put two and two together for awhile.
D (19:16):
Okay.
Elena (19:17):
Now he also participated in necrophilia with some of the
corpses as he could only climaxby beating and stabbing them.
Sometimes that would lead to thechildren dying prematurely and
he not stopping and continuinghis ritual.
The bodies were found nakedwhile also having signs of bite
marks and severe sodomy.
(19:38):
There would also be lubricantand brandy found near the
bodies.
By 1999 he had raped about 200children and murdered an
additional 192.
So how did all of this come toan end?
How did he get caught?
Well, on April 22nd, 1999 inVillavicencio Meta, he attempted
(20:01):
to rape a child, however, thechild fortunately escaped.
The child reported what hadhappened, and the police were
contacted.
Eventually, the little boy, JohnIván, identified Garavito as his
attacker, and the policequestioned him.
He gave them a different name,Bonifacio Morera Lizcano, but
(20:24):
they were able to eventuallyidentify him as Garavito,
because there was already anarrest warrant out for him for
the murder of a child in Tunja.
So, remember how we talked abouthow this man's horrific reign
went on for four years?
Well, How was he able to do it?
During the 80s, when he was onlyassaulting children and not
(20:45):
killing them, it was easier forhim to go unnoticed for so long
because of who he targeted.
He specifically targetedchildren from low income
families who didn't have theresources to find who did this.
Also, I would assume that someof the parents might not have
believed their children or theirchildren just didn't tell them
at all, tell the parents.
(21:05):
And as for the murders, I thinkhe took advantage of the lack of
communication that local lawenforcement had at the time.
He would intentionally travel todifferent places to commit his
crime, so they wouldn't all beconnected to one person.
Fortunately, one brave child wasable to break free from his
horrific grasp and was able toidentify him.
(21:25):
I read somewhere.
I'm not like a hundred percentsure how true this is, but I did
read somewhere that back then inColumbia how true a report was
Like a criminal like a policereport was I guess was based off
of how much income you have.
So if you're a lower income, itdoesn't seem like There's not
that much truth to your reportas compared to someone with more
(21:47):
wealth.
So I'm sure that also played alot in it when parents came and
reported, hey, my child wasmolested.
And the thing is heintentionally targeted low
income children.
If that's true, it would havebeen harder for them.
The police would have been lesslikely to believe them.
Or take them seriously.
D (22:04):
Well, at some point someone did believe the boy, the first
boy, because there was an arrestwarrant out for him.
Elena (22:12):
Well, that's not the first boy, that was just one
child in Tunja.
D (22:16):
Wasn't there an arrest warrant for him from one child?
Elena (22:20):
Yeah, in Tunja.
But that's not where he killedhis first victim.
No, no, I'm not saying that.
Oh, okay.
I'm just
D (22:26):
saying that at some point Someone believed the child, and
there was an arrest warrant forhim.
Unless this child was not fromlower class, and that's why they
believed him.
Elena (22:37):
This child is dead, but Oh, I see.
Yeah, but it's for the murder ofthat child, but they were able
to connect it to him.
D (22:45):
Oh, I see.
So it's the death of a child.
Mm hmm.
Okay.
Elena (22:48):
Even though he would leave town after a few murders,
in November of 97, at least twodozen children were found in a
ravine near Pereira.
These bodies are what ledinvestigators to reach out and
create a nationwide task forceand find other similar cases
across the country.
Eventually, there was one deathin Tunja that led the
(23:09):
investigators to Garavito, butby then he was going under a
different name and had left thecity.
It wasn't until the last attackthat they were able to identify
him as Garavito, and it was bythis time that he had gotten
arrested, the prosecutor'soffice had already been checking
information from otherdepartments and cross checking
(23:30):
them with their records.
It's also important to note thatGaravito went to Ecuador for the
summer of 98, where he killedtwo boys, one 14 year old Abel
Gustavo and year old JimmyLeonardo Palacios Anchundia.
What happened to him after hewas arrested?
(23:52):
Well, he confessed, but forColombia's Justice Department,
that wasn't enough.
Luckily, there was so muchevidence that he left behind,
like very specific glasses thatwere made for a very specific,
rare eye condition that Garavitohad.
He also left DNA behind on hisvictims and other items that
(24:12):
he'd left behind.
They compared the DNA found atthe crime scene to the DNA
Garavito left in his cell.
The DNA, surprise, matched theDNA found in the crime scenes.
After that, he was interrogatedand the detective read his
crimes to him until Garavitostarted crying.
He was complaining about thealcohol and blamed his actions
(24:35):
on that.
Garavito would be found guiltyof 138 out of 173 counts and was
sentenced to 1853 years and ninedays, which is the highest
sentence in Columbia history.
His victims ages ranged from sixto 16 years old from lower
social classes.
(24:56):
Unfortunately, Columbia doesn'tallow for imprisonment to be
more than 40 years, and becauseGaravito did help the police
find some of the victims bodies,his sentence got reduced to 22
years.
He was actually supposed tobecome eligible for parole last
year in 2023, but he ended updying on October 12th, 2023 at
(25:16):
the age of 66 in a hospital inValledupar.
When he asked if, he wanted tospeak in the court, he said,
quote,"I ask for forgiveness foreverything I do.
I don't want you to see me as amonster.
I need help to stop drinking andnot drink anymore.
Alcohol is what harmed me," endquote.
(25:38):
And in which the prosecutorresponds,"Why are you asking for
forgiveness?" To which Garavitosays,"I ask forgiveness from
God, from many people, fromsociety, and from justice.
I ask forgiveness because I,without wanting to, Something
inside me pushed me to committhese crimes.
This happened to me every time Idrank.
(25:59):
It is something I cannotexplain.
My whole being was transformed.
There was something inside of methat forced me to do this.
When I was in my right mind, Idid not drink.
I saw life differently.
Everything was different.
Now that I met Chella and theboy, I always hid many things
from them.
They asked me why he drinks somuch if we love him.
(26:20):
However, I could never acceptmyself as I was.
I saw myself as an uncleanbeing, something vile that life
has created.
What's more, now that I am onthe path of God, now during my
stay in prison."
D (26:34):
Who is Chella and the boy?
Elena (26:35):
I think Chella was like some woman that he was dating.
And it was her son.
D (26:41):
Did he kill that boy too?
Elena (26:42):
No.
That's the only time I've everheard of this Chella person, so
I don't know what happened.
Sophia (26:50):
I would not be surprised if somebody took care of him in
that hospital or prison orwhatever.
For somebody to be such a knownchild murderer, child pedophile,
and they're going to releasethis guy after 23 years and then
he dies right before he is goingto be released.
Yeah.
I think that somebody You know..
Elena (27:12):
Right as he was like able to be eligible for parole, too.
Sophia (27:16):
He would have continued to murder children.
Yeah, there's not a doubt in mymind that he wouldn't have
continued to hurt And murderchildren.
Elena (27:23):
Yeah, I mean they definitely had to put him in a
separate area in the prisonbecause he would have been.
Sophia (27:31):
They should have just let him stay with everyone
Elena (27:32):
They knew he had to be in a separate area right away.
So he Was in like a differentarea.
Sophia (27:39):
Try to see a special treatment for hurting children.
Elena (27:41):
I'm not sure what he died from.
No reports have said what he'sdied from.
It's kind of like hush hush.
Sophia (27:48):
That's intentional.
Elena (27:50):
I read somewhere that he was like getting blood
transfusions every day.
He had leukemia.
He was on his last leg though.
Sophia (27:58):
That's interesting.
I don't know, maybe he did diefrom leukemia.
Elena (28:02):
I don't know.
Sophia (28:02):
I think he would have had a target on him as soon as
he got out of prison.
Elena (28:05):
It was interesting, he said he wanted to go into
politics when he got out, andthat he wanted to work with
children.
Sophia (28:11):
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
He doesn't want to work withchildren.
He wants to hurt with children.
No.
There is a person in this bookIrredeemable.
Elena (28:21):
When I read that, I was like, are you kidding me?
Like, no one's going to believeyou.
Are you that delusional.
We're getting to the psycheevalve.
So when evaluated by apsychiatrist, he was diagnosed
with antisocial personalitydisorder.
And they also said that he hasnarcissistic personality traits.
So this can help us betterunderstand who Garavito was and
(28:43):
why he was capable of doing allthese horrific things.
Where does this leave us?
Well, Garavito's story is notonly a cautionary tale about the
mind of a predator, but also areflection of the dangers of a
system unprepared for evil ofthis magnitude.
This case is a reminder that theworst monsters often come from
(29:05):
the backgrounds we might thinkwe understand, traumas we might
sympathize with.
But in Garavito's case, hissuffering became a weapon, Used
against hundreds of innocentlives.
Thank you for joining us on thistroubling journey into one of
the darkest chapters of truecrime history.
Also, you want to know what'sreally interesting guys is when
(29:27):
I was doing this research, likeI didn't know this.
But he's actually the serialkiller with the highest body
count like the highest deathcount murder toll.
Sophia (29:36):
I was gonna say, even I think it's Israel Keyes.
What was it confirmed that hedid 20 or something?
Elena (29:42):
Something like that.
Sophia (29:43):
Obviously, that's horrific.
We do talk about serial killerswho have victim counts in
dozens, but he has them inhundreds.
Elena (29:53):
Yeah, and then an additional 200 just from rapes.
Sophia (29:57):
He's disgusting, I'm telling you.
I think he's the worst personI've ever heard of and targeting
the most vulnerable children.
Elena (30:04):
Right.
Sophia (30:05):
Or the most vulnerable people in society, which is
children.
Elena (30:08):
I know for Gacy, he killed around like at least 33,
so it's crazy to put that inperspective.
Sophia (30:15):
And he was torturing these children, right?
Elena (30:17):
He was Horrifically.
Sophia (30:19):
What did he do to them?
Because I know you said he wasthem.
Elena (30:23):
It was definitely a big part of it was the torture.
I mean, he really enjoyed, asdisgusting as it is, torturing
these children.
He would bite, burn, stab, cut,penetrate.
Stuff like that.
He, would rape them.
He would do everything that youcan imagine to these poor, poor
children.
(30:43):
It was horrific.
I mean, just to have your gutsjust pouring out while you're
being assaulted is bad enough,and then everything else on top
of it is just horrific.
This is the definition ofsomeone who truly enjoys
torturing people.
Sophia (31:01):
It seems like Luis actually enjoyed torturing these
children.
The fact that he climaxed Youknow after he had decapitated
them and this is completehorror.
I I don't know how it could getany worse than this.
He is the monster.
He's just a sick, sick monster.
Elena (31:17):
I would say he's like the little definition of the monster
and the worst of the worst iswhat he is and there's no way
around that.
Sophia (31:27):
At least he's not walking the earth anymore, and
yeah i hope that makes Columbiaa lot safer for children.
Elena (31:34):
Yeah I would agree.
D (31:35):
So they didn't have any idea in the health community about
him since he was in there andthen they just let him go and
then there was no connection tohim at all from there on till
they arrested him.
Elena (31:49):
Yeah, which makes you wonder how good of a manipulator
he was.
unrecognized for that long, evenwhile being evaluated by people
who are, who are the specialistsin that department.
D (32:04):
Was he ever, made as a bipolar or multiple
personalities or anything likethat after he was arrested or
no?
Elena (32:13):
No, just antisocial personality disorder, which is
like, the term sociopath is,connected.
With this disorder.
Not everyone who has antisocialpersonality disorder is a
psychopath.
How one psych teacher explainedit to me a while back was a
psychopath is like an even moresevere version of someone with
(32:35):
antisocial personality disorder,so he has that, and narcissistic
traits.
Which, I think we can tell bythe fact that he thinks he can
manipulate his way out ofeverything, and just claiming
Oh, I'm so sorry for everythingI did.
It's all the alcohol; I want toget better; I want to work with
kids.
That's, I feel like, where youcan see that narcissistic traits
come out.
D (32:56):
Okay, so they do know that he is a psycho.
Yes.
Elena (33:00):
They didn't say psychopath They just said
antisocial personalitydisorders.
I don't want to speculate but incase people were wondering what
antisocial personality disorderis that's what that is.
D (33:10):
Okay.
Did he hurt any of his familymembers?
Elena (33:15):
Not that I'm aware of.
I know he did say, he would lookat his siblings, he said a lot,
and, inappropriately fondled.
He would sexually fondled allhis siblings, but that was all
that I have for anything he'sdone towards his family.
D (33:35):
And he claims that at the age of 12, he himself molested a
child.
Elena (33:42):
Yeah.
D (33:42):
So, either there's an individual who is born with some
mental issues, Or, there wassome major abuse to him as a
child, other than just hisfather being an alcoholic.
Elena (33:56):
Right, he did claim that he was sexually assaulted, so
it's possible that is true, andthat does, play a part into who
he is.
In his story, this person whoassaulted him like bit and
burned him.
And he did do that with hisvictims.
So it's possible that he learnedthat from him or that's his way
of getting his repressed angeror hurt.
Sophia (34:17):
Power back, something his mind or whatever.
I think it's very unlikely thatsomebody is born as a bad
monster like this.
Elena (34:25):
This bad.
Yeah.
Sophia (34:27):
I personally think it's very likely something happened
to him, to especially beengaging in such disgusting acts
at such a young age.
Elena (34:34):
Right?
That, or maybe nature is justmuch stronger than we imagine,
to be born like this.
It's crazy to picture a six yearold born evil.
D (34:44):
The abuse he watched with his father hitting his mother which
probably did change his brain alittle bit, but there had to be
a lot more going on for hisbrain to go to that extreme.
He's an extreme psychopath and,pedophile killer.
It's just nonstop serial killer.
He's an extreme serial killer.
Elena (35:06):
I bet for people who like use the term psychopath, cause I
know it's not a term in like theDSM 5, but for people who use
it, they would probably say thisis what a psychopath is, and if
I had to take a guess, he islike a psycho.
He was the oldest of seven, so Idon't know if having maybe the
pressure of being the oldest hadsomething to do with it.
(35:27):
Especially, like his fatherprobably put a lot of pressure
on him and expected a lot out ofhim, so that also probably
contributed to it as well.
D (35:35):
There has to be more than just oh, yeah for sure
Elena (35:37):
But just trying to figure out, how someone could be made
like this.
It's crazy.
Sophia (35:42):
A lot of anger.
Yeah within him.
Elena (35:45):
I remember one of the quotes that I said that he was
talking about his first kill andhe said I was transported to my
childhood.
I felt a lot of hate, and Ithink that if what he's saying
is true, it makes a lot ofsense.
That assault from his childhoodhas stayed with him.
Alright guys, that's it fortoday.
(36:05):
I do want to thank you guys forlistening to us this week.
We love our listeners and it'sbecause of you guys that we are
able to do this podcast.
Your help and engagement reallyhelps this podcast grow.
And if you enjoyed this episode,please send it to a family
member or a friend to listen.
Until next time make sure youstay in the Eerie Side.
(36:27):
Bye guys.
D (36:28):
Bye Bye and be safe
Hey guys! Welcome to the Eerie Side Podcast with your
(00:02):
hosts Elena, Sophia, and D.
We really appreciate you guyslistening and I hope you're
ready to get on the Eerie Side.
(00:42):
Before we get into the show, Ijust want to say we would really
appreciate it if you guys couldgive the podcast a like, and
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(01:03):
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Please follow us on Instagram.
Just want to give a warning thatthis episode contains
discussions of highly sensitiveand disturbing topics including
sexual assault, torture, andmurder of children.
(01:26):
These subjects may be triggeringor deeply unsettling for some
listeners, listener discretionadvised.
Okay, today I'm going to betaking you into the harrowing
world of one of the mostprolific serial killers ever
recorded.
Luis Garavito, a man whosecrimes shook Colombia and the
(01:46):
world.
Known as La Beast.
Known as La Bistia or The Beast,Garavito's story reveals how one
man's horrors went unchecked foryears and how the Innocence of
hundreds of children were stolenin the most brutal way
imaginable.
Alright, do we know about thiscase?
(02:06):
Have you heard about this personyet?
D (02:09):
I have not.
Sophia (02:10):
No, but I'm actually very interested to hear what
it's about because this onedoesn't ring a bell for me.
Elena (02:16):
Okay.
Luis Garavito was born onJanuary 25th, 1957 in Génova
Quindio, Columbia.
Now, one of the first questionspeople ask when they discover a
serial killer is what was theirchildhood like, right?
Because we want to know howsomeone who could rape and kill
innocent children came to be.
(02:38):
Well, Garavito didn't have thebest childhood growing up, and
described how he and hissiblings were neglected.
His father was an alcoholic whowas physically abusive.
He claimed his father would onlyinteract with him for work
related reasons.
Here's a quote from Garavitoafter his arrest, talking about
his father and childhood.
(02:59):
My father was very rigid and mymother, a person who gave me
little affection and love.
I have very bitter memories ofmy tender childhood.
When I came to have the use ofreason, I saw how my father, on
countless occasions, hit mymother and dragged her.
I still have those screams thatshe desperately let out.
(03:20):
I saw when he cut her that imagewas engraved in my brain for
life.
I have not been able to forgetit.
I was the only one who defendedher.
He beat her so much that she waslame when she was pregnant with
my brother, Ricardo.
It was almost 40 years my motherput up with that man's
humiliation and contempt.
End quote.
He also experienced bullyingfrom other children in school
(03:44):
and struggled to perform well.
In 5th grade, he was taken outof school by his father for
financial reasons and forGaravito to help out with the
family.
Garavito does claim that he wassexually molested by a
pharmacist when his father tookhim to a routine vaccination.
This man is reportedly thefather's neighbor and had
(04:05):
bitten, burned, and cut Garavitowhen he was assaulted by him.
However, some do question thetruth of his claims.
Allgedly after this incidentGaravito killed and dissected a
couple birds because of hisfrustration.
It's also reported that he wouldsexually fondle and
inappropriately look at hisyounger siblings.
(04:25):
He also claimed in 1969 that hemolested a 6 year old boy, which
he would have been 12 at thattime.
Around 1971, a neighbor hadshown Garavito heterosexual
porn, and Garavito claimed theneighbor mocked him when he was
disgusted by the porn, and thenbeat and sexually assaulted him.
(04:45):
Now, I do want to clarify somethings here.
Yes, Garavito is claiming tohave been sexually molested and
did go on to rape children inhis adult years, but that does
not mean that sexually assaultedchildren go on to become
pedophiles themselves.
When you look at how manychildren have been assaulted,
(05:07):
sexually assaulted in theirlifetime, and the percentage
that go on to become pedophiles,it is so small that it's not
really even statistically likesignificant for there to be
like, you know that there is alink.
So I want to just make thatclarification here, because I
don't want anyone to get thewrong information and think that
this is normal That there's likethis connection, because I don't
(05:30):
want people to blame thevictims.
And people think that this is areal thing that happens often,
which it does not.
It could lead other victims fromnot speaking out, out of fear
that they would be judged.
So I just want to make thatclarification.
Sophia (05:43):
And I don't think it's an excuse for him to go on to do
what he did.
If what he's saying is trueabout his childhood, wow, that
is so horrific.
Right.
It sounds very traumatic.
And I definitely think it's notsetting him up to be a healthy,
successful individual whocontributes to society in a
positive manner.
But definitely not an excuse togo out and do what you're saying
(06:06):
he's done.
Elena (06:07):
For sure, if that happened, that is, obviously
very awful to have to go throughas a child, but that is not an
excuse to go on and then do allthese horrific things.
I would agree.
So now, we're actually going tostart to get into all the awful
things he's done.
So I'm going to put out mywarning again, if anyone needs
it, here it is.
His attacks on children startedduring 1980, but the killings
(06:30):
didn't start until the 90s.
So right now, I'm talking aboutthe 80s, so only the assaults.
He started sexually assaultingchildren on the street when he
would have his two hour longbreak at his job working at a
central supermarket.
He would leave, find a child,sexually assault them, then
return to work.
And it was later in 1980, closerto 1981, that he started
(06:54):
carrying weapons around totorture his victims.
Weapons such as blades, candles,and lighters.
He would even write their namesin a book and pray for them.
And he would Yeah, and he woulddo all this while pacing in his
room naked and beating hischest.
Sophia (07:10):
Oh my god, that's so animalistic.
Elena (07:12):
It's definitely a little weird.
Garavito discovered AdolfHitler's autobiography Mein
Kampf.
I think that's how you pronounceit.
And he took a liking to Hitlerand found a lot of similarities
between them.
He spent five years inpsychiatric care, but that
didn't stop the assaults becauseby 1984, he had assaulted over a
(07:33):
hundred kids.
D (07:35):
Excuse me, he was in mental health care and what was he in
there for?
Elena (07:41):
Just things like depression.
I think not necessarilyalcoholism, but I think his
alcoholism did contribute to hisdepression and his anger and
stuff like that.
I think he just had Like reallybad depression.
D (07:56):
And they never figured out while he was in there that he
was also a pedophile.
Elena (08:02):
No, I don't think he said anything.
I remember reading this onepoint where he said like why are
you here?
Something like that.
And he was like.
I want kids and they're like,you want kids?
And he quickly changed it to Iwant to start a family.
So I think like he, in his mind,it was, even if he had said
something, he would havebacktracked it because it
(08:22):
sounded like he didn't want themto know that.
D (08:25):
Also, I have another question.
You said he would leave his,occupation and for two hours and
molest children.
Was this every day or was thisonce a month or was it on the
schedule or just how he felt?
Elena (08:37):
The way, I read it, it seemed like he would only do it
like a couple times a month,maybe like four times tops.
Sophia (08:46):
And where was this happening?
Because he worked at asupermarket, so where would he
find these boys and then?
Elena (08:51):
On the street.
Sophia (08:52):
And he would do it where, in like an alley or?
Elena (08:55):
Depends an alley, wooded area, anywhere.
I think there's a lot of like,around there that he could
choose from.
Sophia (09:02):
So would he lure these boys?
Elena (09:04):
I'll get into how he did all that later on.
So he spent five years inpsychiatric care, but that
didn't stop the assaults becauseby 1984 he had assaulted over a
hundred kids.
He was then briefly arrested fortheft after he stole something
from a friend.
He also fantasized about killinghis family and then committing
(09:25):
suicide, stating that was Theperfect death in his mind.
At one point, around'86,Garavito was seen by his friends
drunk with young boys at localmotels.
Those boys are like 12, 14, sopeople in his life, some people,
at least, were aware.
Of what he was doing.
(09:47):
Obviously not to the extent thathe was doing it, not to, the
torture and everything that,that part of it, but they knew
that he was partying, withyounger boys.
In 1988, Garavito startedkeeping trophies from his
victims and also starteddocumenting his attacks.
Sophia (10:05):
You said 1988?
Yeah.
Okay.
Elena (10:08):
So, between 1980 and 1992, how many children do you
believe Garavito had raped andtortured?
Sophia (10:15):
Well, if he's been assaulting at least one boy a
month for the past 10 to 12years now, I'm assuming it'd
have to be over a hundred.
Elena (10:23):
I said by 1984 it was already a hundred.
So I'm saying from, in totalfrom 1980 to 92, how many do you
think it was?
Because it was already 100 in1984.
Sophia (10:37):
Oh wow, 200?
I hate to say that.
Elena (10:40):
Yeah, it was 200.
Sophia (10:41):
That's insane.
Elena (10:42):
Yeah, and remember, he spent five of those 12 years in
psychiatric care.
It really wasn't even all those12 years.
In fact, wherever he would livebecause he would move around a
lot, there would be an increasein child molestation report.
Sophia (10:59):
He was making that much of a significance.
Yeah.
That should say something.
Elena (11:03):
Wherever he went, there was the problem.
Yeah.
So what changed?
Why did he start murdering hisvictims?
Because remember, this is aserial killer case.
In 1993, everything changed forGaravito.
Garavito was in a park inJamundi, and again sorry if I
pronounce any of these namesincorrectly, when Juan Carlos
(11:27):
had the misfortune of walkingpast Garavito at the wrong time.
Garavito, was already drinkingand starting to feel his
disgusting urges.
He wasn't prepared.
So he followed the boy and gotsupplies, such as a butcher's
knife and rope.
He was able to convince Juanwith the promise of work and
money, and took him into awooded place.
(11:49):
For this next part, I'm going tohave Garavito describe it in his
own words.
Talking about this murder, hestated, quote,"Two meters from
the train, it was alreadywooded, the moon was shining,
and the reflection in the watercould be seen.
I was transformed to mychildhood.
I felt a lot of hate, but Inever killed the children I took
with me.
And that's where I grabbed thischild.
(12:11):
I began to cut him up with aknife and something strange took
hold of me that told me, Kill,because killing already brings
many things.
That's how I proceeded to killhim.
That was my first death.
After that, he took a secondvictim only six days later in
Taluá.
His second victim was little 12year old, Jhon Alexander,
(12:31):
Talking about this murder,Garavito stated, quote, I see a
child passing by and it makes mefeel bad.
I get so strong and I know whatI have to do.
When I can't do that, do it witha minor.
(12:54):
Then I repress, drink morealcohol, and start breaking
bottles.
I hate others, I look fortrouble, I explode and I want to
grab people and tear theirthroats out, tear their throats
apart.
I get angry, I lose control.
It seems like alcohol has a partin when he decides what to do.
Within that same year, 1993, hestarted to cut their abdomin and
(13:19):
completely destroyed theirdigestive system.
Unfortunately, I can't name allthe victims because there's
sadly too many So from here onout, I'll just be describing his
horrors and not detailing everysingle one of his killings.
I also won't be going into asmuch detail about what he did to
these children because it's justtoo graphic and honestly the
(13:39):
whole thing would have to bebleeped out.
So if what you hear is badenough just know that there are
worse things I couldn't includeand if you want you can always
search those up if you reallywant to know.
D (13:50):
Does he remember all his victims?
Elena (13:52):
From what I've seen it seems like he remembers most
because he able to identify manymore than what they knew and was
able to lead them to the bodieslater on.
D (14:09):
And at this time, the authorities had no idea that
this is going on?
Elena (14:15):
Yes.
They know a few people havedied.
I don't think they know Thatit's a serial killer yet, but
they I mean there are a fewdeaths as of right now.
Sophia (14:23):
I wonder if he's keeping track of them because to
remember that many which heshould remember all of them.
Elena (14:29):
I know he has some mementos and some like trophies
that he's kept But I'm not sureif he remembers like every
single one or how that is.
Also, before I dive in, I wantto briefly talk about Columbia
and what kind of place it waslike in the 90s.
Columbia during the mid 90swasn't an easy place to be.
Many rural areas were plagued bypoverty and violence due to drug
(14:53):
trade, this was the perfectbackdrop for someone like
Garavito, who was able to preyon poor, vulnerable children
with little oversight.
Since 93, Garavito would travelacross Colombia targeting
vulnerable young boys, oftenusing the excuse of selling
goods or offering money slashwork to lure them.
(15:13):
He would also wear disguises,sometimes pretending to be a
monk.
Once he gained their trust, hewould take them to rural areas,
and once they started to gettired, he would attack them.
He would tie them up, rape them,mutilate them, then slit their
throats or decapitate them.
(15:34):
Also, started to keep evidenceof his crimes with him, which
would eventually aid in hisconvictions.
He would keep things such as bustickets and would keep a
detailed journal of where hetraveled.
At one point, he stoppeddrinking and really focused on
work, so his rapes and murdersstopped for a bit.
But eventually, he couldn'tcontain it and he started up
again.
(15:55):
He would also read the Bible,but eventually started to
embrace other spiritualities,such as witches and even the
Ouija board.
But he felt like they were asmuch liars as he was.
When talking about the devil andsatanic rituals, he said, quote,
"I practiced satanic ritualswith the minors I murdered.
I did it my way, but I don'twant to explain how I did it.
(16:15):
I made a pact with the devil."End quote.
Sophia (16:18):
I don't know if I believe that or if he's just
spewing whatever at this point.
He's just evil.
Elena (16:23):
Yeah, like I said I'm not gonna get into all the details
of what he did to thesechildren, but I do think it's
important to tell their storyand what they went through.
Like I mentioned earlier theywere molested and tortured for
long periods, but he would alsostab their hands buttocks or
feet With a screwdriver and hewould sever the genitals and put
(16:45):
them in their mouths.
Sophia (16:47):
Oh my God!
D (16:49):
Is this while they're still alive?
Yeah, he's doing this whilethey're alive?
Elena (16:53):
Yeah.
D (16:53):
Okay.
Elena (16:54):
They were also burned and had deep cuts all over them and
in some severe cases Theirintestines would pour out of
their stomachs as they werebeing sexually abused.
Sophia (17:05):
Their stomachs were falling out as he was abusing
them?
Elena (17:08):
Yeah.
Sophia (17:09):
I cannot wrap my mind around that.
Elena (17:10):
Yeah.
Their intestines would pour outof their stomach, yeah.
Sophia (17:13):
It's the most disgusting monster I've ever heard of.
Elena (17:16):
He would also climax when he decapitated their head or cut
off their throats, often leavingtheir genitals in their mouth.
Sophia (17:24):
Sick.
D (17:25):
And the authorities still don't have an idea this is going
on?
Elena (17:30):
They know, like, they have some of the bodies.
D (17:33):
So he killed about a hundred people, correct?
He molested about a hundredwithout killing them, and then
another hundred?
Elena (17:38):
No, he molested about two hundred people without killing
them.
And now he is molesting andmurdering additional people.
D (17:45):
And what's the total there?
Elena (17:47):
I'm not sure at this point.
I don't know.
I have the total, when he'sdone.
Which is about 200 so.
D (17:55):
He's actually ruined 400 lives and then their families.
Yeah, and I can see maybe inthat era they didn't talk to
police when they were beingmolested but as these murders
are wrapping up no one Isputting the pieces together of
this puzzle?
Elena (18:13):
No, because he moved around a lot.
So he took advantage of thetimes and the lack of
communication betweendepartments So I think that's
how he was able to get away withthis for so long.
D (18:25):
Okay, I understand especially if they're all little towns or
something.
They're not communicating.
Elena (18:29):
He also did target lower income families, so it probably
did make it harder for them tolike, bring awareness to their
children, just because lack offinancial means, which played a
big part of
D (18:42):
Did any point did the authorities thought the kids
were maybe runaways orprostitutes or anything of that
sort or they knew they weren'tand because they were poor, they
didn't figure this out.
Elena (18:54):
I'm actually not sure about what they thought of
before they found the bodies.
I'm not sure if any of theparents said, hey, my kid is
missing and they didn't doanything.
I just know that when theydiscovered the bodies, like it
was clear to them like someonehad killed them, but they didn't
put two and two together for awhile.
D (19:16):
Okay.
Elena (19:17):
Now he also participated in necrophilia with some of the
corpses as he could only climaxby beating and stabbing them.
Sometimes that would lead to thechildren dying prematurely and
he not stopping and continuinghis ritual.
The bodies were found nakedwhile also having signs of bite
marks and severe sodomy.
(19:38):
There would also be lubricantand brandy found near the
bodies.
By 1999 he had raped about 200children and murdered an
additional 192.
So how did all of this come toan end?
How did he get caught?
Well, on April 22nd, 1999 inVillavicencio Meta, he attempted
(20:01):
to rape a child, however, thechild fortunately escaped.
The child reported what hadhappened, and the police were
contacted.
Eventually, the little boy, JohnIván, identified Garavito as his
attacker, and the policequestioned him.
He gave them a different name,Bonifacio Morera Lizcano, but
(20:24):
they were able to eventuallyidentify him as Garavito,
because there was already anarrest warrant out for him for
the murder of a child in Tunja.
So, remember how we talked abouthow this man's horrific reign
went on for four years?
Well, How was he able to do it?
During the 80s, when he was onlyassaulting children and not
(20:45):
killing them, it was easier forhim to go unnoticed for so long
because of who he targeted.
He specifically targetedchildren from low income
families who didn't have theresources to find who did this.
Also, I would assume that someof the parents might not have
believed their children or theirchildren just didn't tell them
at all, tell the parents.
(21:05):
And as for the murders, I thinkhe took advantage of the lack of
communication that local lawenforcement had at the time.
He would intentionally travel todifferent places to commit his
crime, so they wouldn't all beconnected to one person.
Fortunately, one brave child wasable to break free from his
horrific grasp and was able toidentify him.
(21:25):
I read somewhere.
I'm not like a hundred percentsure how true this is, but I did
read somewhere that back then inColumbia how true a report was
Like a criminal like a policereport was I guess was based off
of how much income you have.
So if you're a lower income, itdoesn't seem like There's not
that much truth to your reportas compared to someone with more
(21:47):
wealth.
So I'm sure that also played alot in it when parents came and
reported, hey, my child wasmolested.
And the thing is heintentionally targeted low
income children.
If that's true, it would havebeen harder for them.
The police would have been lesslikely to believe them.
Or take them seriously.
D (22:04):
Well, at some point someone did believe the boy, the first
boy, because there was an arrestwarrant out for him.
Elena (22:12):
Well, that's not the first boy, that was just one
child in Tunja.
D (22:16):
Wasn't there an arrest warrant for him from one child?
Elena (22:20):
Yeah, in Tunja.
But that's not where he killedhis first victim.
No, no, I'm not saying that.
Oh, okay.
I'm just
D (22:26):
saying that at some point Someone believed the child, and
there was an arrest warrant forhim.
Unless this child was not fromlower class, and that's why they
believed him.
Elena (22:37):
This child is dead, but Oh, I see.
Yeah, but it's for the murder ofthat child, but they were able
to connect it to him.
D (22:45):
Oh, I see.
So it's the death of a child.
Mm hmm.
Okay.
Elena (22:48):
Even though he would leave town after a few murders,
in November of 97, at least twodozen children were found in a
ravine near Pereira.
These bodies are what ledinvestigators to reach out and
create a nationwide task forceand find other similar cases
across the country.
Eventually, there was one deathin Tunja that led the
(23:09):
investigators to Garavito, butby then he was going under a
different name and had left thecity.
It wasn't until the last attackthat they were able to identify
him as Garavito, and it was bythis time that he had gotten
arrested, the prosecutor'soffice had already been checking
information from otherdepartments and cross checking
(23:30):
them with their records.
It's also important to note thatGaravito went to Ecuador for the
summer of 98, where he killedtwo boys, one 14 year old Abel
Gustavo and year old JimmyLeonardo Palacios Anchundia.
What happened to him after hewas arrested?
(23:52):
Well, he confessed, but forColombia's Justice Department,
that wasn't enough.
Luckily, there was so muchevidence that he left behind,
like very specific glasses thatwere made for a very specific,
rare eye condition that Garavitohad.
He also left DNA behind on hisvictims and other items that
(24:12):
he'd left behind.
They compared the DNA found atthe crime scene to the DNA
Garavito left in his cell.
The DNA, surprise, matched theDNA found in the crime scenes.
After that, he was interrogatedand the detective read his
crimes to him until Garavitostarted crying.
He was complaining about thealcohol and blamed his actions
(24:35):
on that.
Garavito would be found guiltyof 138 out of 173 counts and was
sentenced to 1853 years and ninedays, which is the highest
sentence in Columbia history.
His victims ages ranged from sixto 16 years old from lower
social classes.
(24:56):
Unfortunately, Columbia doesn'tallow for imprisonment to be
more than 40 years, and becauseGaravito did help the police
find some of the victims bodies,his sentence got reduced to 22
years.
He was actually supposed tobecome eligible for parole last
year in 2023, but he ended updying on October 12th, 2023 at
(25:16):
the age of 66 in a hospital inValledupar.
When he asked if, he wanted tospeak in the court, he said,
quote,"I ask for forgiveness foreverything I do.
I don't want you to see me as amonster.
I need help to stop drinking andnot drink anymore.
Alcohol is what harmed me," endquote.
(25:38):
And in which the prosecutorresponds,"Why are you asking for
forgiveness?" To which Garavitosays,"I ask forgiveness from
God, from many people, fromsociety, and from justice.
I ask forgiveness because I,without wanting to, Something
inside me pushed me to committhese crimes.
This happened to me every time Idrank.
(25:59):
It is something I cannotexplain.
My whole being was transformed.
There was something inside of methat forced me to do this.
When I was in my right mind, Idid not drink.
I saw life differently.
Everything was different.
Now that I met Chella and theboy, I always hid many things
from them.
They asked me why he drinks somuch if we love him.
(26:20):
However, I could never acceptmyself as I was.
I saw myself as an uncleanbeing, something vile that life
has created.
What's more, now that I am onthe path of God, now during my
stay in prison."
D (26:34):
Who is Chella and the boy?
Elena (26:35):
I think Chella was like some woman that he was dating.
And it was her son.
D (26:41):
Did he kill that boy too?
Elena (26:42):
No.
That's the only time I've everheard of this Chella person, so
I don't know what happened.
Sophia (26:50):
I would not be surprised if somebody took care of him in
that hospital or prison orwhatever.
For somebody to be such a knownchild murderer, child pedophile,
and they're going to releasethis guy after 23 years and then
he dies right before he is goingto be released.
Yeah.
I think that somebody You know..
Elena (27:12):
Right as he was like able to be eligible for parole, too.
Sophia (27:16):
He would have continued to murder children.
Yeah, there's not a doubt in mymind that he wouldn't have
continued to hurt And murderchildren.
Elena (27:23):
Yeah, I mean they definitely had to put him in a
separate area in the prisonbecause he would have been.
Sophia (27:31):
They should have just let him stay with everyone
Elena (27:32):
They knew he had to be in a separate area right away.
So he Was in like a differentarea.
Sophia (27:39):
Try to see a special treatment for hurting children.
Elena (27:41):
I'm not sure what he died from.
No reports have said what he'sdied from.
It's kind of like hush hush.
Sophia (27:48):
That's intentional.
Elena (27:50):
I read somewhere that he was like getting blood
transfusions every day.
He had leukemia.
He was on his last leg though.
Sophia (27:58):
That's interesting.
I don't know, maybe he did diefrom leukemia.
Elena (28:02):
I don't know.
Sophia (28:02):
I think he would have had a target on him as soon as
he got out of prison.
Elena (28:05):
It was interesting, he said he wanted to go into
politics when he got out, andthat he wanted to work with
children.
Sophia (28:11):
No.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
He doesn't want to work withchildren.
He wants to hurt with children.
No.
There is a person in this bookIrredeemable.
Elena (28:21):
When I read that, I was like, are you kidding me?
Like, no one's going to believeyou.
Are you that delusional.
We're getting to the psycheevalve.
So when evaluated by apsychiatrist, he was diagnosed
with antisocial personalitydisorder.
And they also said that he hasnarcissistic personality traits.
So this can help us betterunderstand who Garavito was and
(28:43):
why he was capable of doing allthese horrific things.
Where does this leave us?
Well, Garavito's story is notonly a cautionary tale about the
mind of a predator, but also areflection of the dangers of a
system unprepared for evil ofthis magnitude.
This case is a reminder that theworst monsters often come from
(29:05):
the backgrounds we might thinkwe understand, traumas we might
sympathize with.
But in Garavito's case, hissuffering became a weapon, Used
against hundreds of innocentlives.
Thank you for joining us on thistroubling journey into one of
the darkest chapters of truecrime history.
Also, you want to know what'sreally interesting guys is when
(29:27):
I was doing this research, likeI didn't know this.
But he's actually the serialkiller with the highest body
count like the highest deathcount murder toll.
Sophia (29:36):
I was gonna say, even I think it's Israel Keyes.
What was it confirmed that hedid 20 or something?
Elena (29:42):
Something like that.
Sophia (29:43):
Obviously, that's horrific.
We do talk about serial killerswho have victim counts in
dozens, but he has them inhundreds.
Elena (29:53):
Yeah, and then an additional 200 just from rapes.
Sophia (29:57):
He's disgusting, I'm telling you.
I think he's the worst personI've ever heard of and targeting
the most vulnerable children.
Elena (30:04):
Right.
Sophia (30:05):
Or the most vulnerable people in society, which is
children.
Elena (30:08):
I know for Gacy, he killed around like at least 33,
so it's crazy to put that inperspective.
Sophia (30:15):
And he was torturing these children, right?
Elena (30:17):
He was Horrifically.
Sophia (30:19):
What did he do to them?
Because I know you said he wasthem.
Elena (30:23):
It was definitely a big part of it was the torture.
I mean, he really enjoyed, asdisgusting as it is, torturing
these children.
He would bite, burn, stab, cut,penetrate.
Stuff like that.
He, would rape them.
He would do everything that youcan imagine to these poor, poor
children.
(30:43):
It was horrific.
I mean, just to have your gutsjust pouring out while you're
being assaulted is bad enough,and then everything else on top
of it is just horrific.
This is the definition ofsomeone who truly enjoys
torturing people.
Sophia (31:01):
It seems like Luis actually enjoyed torturing these
children.
The fact that he climaxed Youknow after he had decapitated
them and this is completehorror.
I I don't know how it could getany worse than this.
He is the monster.
He's just a sick, sick monster.
Elena (31:17):
I would say he's like the little definition of the monster
and the worst of the worst iswhat he is and there's no way
around that.
Sophia (31:27):
At least he's not walking the earth anymore, and
yeah i hope that makes Columbiaa lot safer for children.
Elena (31:34):
Yeah I would agree.
D (31:35):
So they didn't have any idea in the health community about
him since he was in there andthen they just let him go and
then there was no connection tohim at all from there on till
they arrested him.
Elena (31:49):
Yeah, which makes you wonder how good of a manipulator
he was.
unrecognized for that long, evenwhile being evaluated by people
who are, who are the specialistsin that department.
D (32:04):
Was he ever, made as a bipolar or multiple
personalities or anything likethat after he was arrested or
no?
Elena (32:13):
No, just antisocial personality disorder, which is
like, the term sociopath is,connected.
With this disorder.
Not everyone who has antisocialpersonality disorder is a
psychopath.
How one psych teacher explainedit to me a while back was a
psychopath is like an even moresevere version of someone with
(32:35):
antisocial personality disorder,so he has that, and narcissistic
traits.
Which, I think we can tell bythe fact that he thinks he can
manipulate his way out ofeverything, and just claiming
Oh, I'm so sorry for everythingI did.
It's all the alcohol; I want toget better; I want to work with
kids.
That's, I feel like, where youcan see that narcissistic traits
come out.
D (32:56):
Okay, so they do know that he is a psycho.
Yes.
Elena (33:00):
They didn't say psychopath They just said
antisocial personalitydisorders.
I don't want to speculate but incase people were wondering what
antisocial personality disorderis that's what that is.
D (33:10):
Okay.
Did he hurt any of his familymembers?
Elena (33:15):
Not that I'm aware of.
I know he did say, he would lookat his siblings, he said a lot,
and, inappropriately fondled.
He would sexually fondled allhis siblings, but that was all
that I have for anything he'sdone towards his family.
D (33:35):
And he claims that at the age of 12, he himself molested a
child.
Elena (33:42):
Yeah.
D (33:42):
So, either there's an individual who is born with some
mental issues, Or, there wassome major abuse to him as a
child, other than just hisfather being an alcoholic.
Elena (33:56):
Right, he did claim that he was sexually assaulted, so
it's possible that is true, andthat does, play a part into who
he is.
In his story, this person whoassaulted him like bit and
burned him.
And he did do that with hisvictims.
So it's possible that he learnedthat from him or that's his way
of getting his repressed angeror hurt.
Sophia (34:17):
Power back, something his mind or whatever.
I think it's very unlikely thatsomebody is born as a bad
monster like this.
Elena (34:25):
This bad.
Yeah.
Sophia (34:27):
I personally think it's very likely something happened
to him, to especially beengaging in such disgusting acts
at such a young age.
Elena (34:34):
Right?
That, or maybe nature is justmuch stronger than we imagine,
to be born like this.
It's crazy to picture a six yearold born evil.
D (34:44):
The abuse he watched with his father hitting his mother which
probably did change his brain alittle bit, but there had to be
a lot more going on for hisbrain to go to that extreme.
He's an extreme psychopath and,pedophile killer.
It's just nonstop serial killer.
He's an extreme serial killer.
Elena (35:06):
I bet for people who like use the term psychopath, cause I
know it's not a term in like theDSM 5, but for people who use
it, they would probably say thisis what a psychopath is, and if
I had to take a guess, he islike a psycho.
He was the oldest of seven, so Idon't know if having maybe the
pressure of being the oldest hadsomething to do with it.
(35:27):
Especially, like his fatherprobably put a lot of pressure
on him and expected a lot out ofhim, so that also probably
contributed to it as well.
D (35:35):
There has to be more than just oh, yeah for sure
Elena (35:37):
But just trying to figure out, how someone could be made
like this.
It's crazy.
Sophia (35:42):
A lot of anger.
Yeah within him.
Elena (35:45):
I remember one of the quotes that I said that he was
talking about his first kill andhe said I was transported to my
childhood.
I felt a lot of hate, and Ithink that if what he's saying
is true, it makes a lot ofsense.
That assault from his childhoodhas stayed with him.
Alright guys, that's it fortoday.
(36:05):
I do want to thank you guys forlistening to us this week.
We love our listeners and it'sbecause of you guys that we are
able to do this podcast.
Your help and engagement reallyhelps this podcast grow.
And if you enjoyed this episode,please send it to a family
member or a friend to listen.
Until next time make sure youstay in the Eerie Side.
(36:27):
Bye guys.
D (36:28):
Bye Bye and be safe
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