logo
episode-header-image
Apr 2021
9m 1s

Mexico's female serial killer

Bbc World Service
About this episode

Former female wrestler Juana Barraza was found guilty in March 2008 of murdering at least eleven elderly women in Mexico city over a period of seven years. Barraza, who became known as the "little old lady killer", admitted to murdering three women, and told investigators that it was because of her lingering resentment for the abuse that she'd suffered as a child at the hands of her alcoholic mother. Mike Lanchin has been hearing from Mexican neuro-psychologist Dr Feggy Ostrosky, who spent days interviewing Barraza in jail, trying to understand what had turned her into a serial killer.

(Photo: Former female wrestler Juana Barraza. Credit: David Deolarte/AFP/Getty Images)

Up next
Apr 2025
The Cu Chi tunnels of the Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, North Vietnamese VietCong guerrillas built a vast network of tunnels in the south of the country as part of the insurgency against the South Vietnamese government and their American allies. The tunnel network was a key base and shelter for the North Vietna ... Show More
9m 43s
Feb 27
Syria's secret library
A group of young men in the besieged town of Darayya came together to build a secret library during the Syrian civil war, which started in 2011 and ended in 2024. Braving snipers and bombardment, they rescued thousands of books from bombed-out buildings to rehouse. The library wa ... Show More
10m 51s
Feb 26
Charles Taylor and the blood diamond trial
In 2008, the former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, faced a courtroom in the Hague accused of war crimes.His trial would last more than three years at the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone, and involve witness appearances by the supermodel Naomi Campbell and the Holl ... Show More
10m 43s
Recommended Episodes
Jul 2022
Murder Made Me Famous: Ken & Barbie Killers Karla Homolka
The Canadian serial killer, alongside her husband Paul Bernardo, drugged, raped and murdered three women, including her own younger sister. While the world watched in shock as her sentencing unfolded, Karla struck a deal claiming that she had been an unwilling accomplice to her h ... Show More
44m 3s
Jan 2022
Episode 478: Juana Barraza - La Mataviejitas
<p>This week the boys don their detective caps yet again, breaking down a case that might not be as pinned down as it seems. It's time for one of Mexico's most famous alleged serial killers, the lucha libre slayer, Juana Barraza a.k.a. "La Mataviejitas" a.k.a. The Little Old Lady ... Show More
1h 38m
Feb 2024
EP53: Lucha Libre Lady Killer
Unveiling the story of Mexico's first documented serial killer, Juana Barazza, presents a narrative steeped in stark contrasts and harrowing realities. At the age of 48, this single mother's life was shadowed by a disturbing past filled with horrific childhood abuse and sexual ex ... Show More
1h 19m
Jun 2021
MEXICO: The Little Old Lady Killer
A former luchadora disguises herself as a social worker and breaks into the homes of elderly women in Mexico City. From the late ‘90s to 2006, Juana Barraza strangled sixteen victims — but that number might actually be in the forties. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca ... Show More
38m 41s
Oct 2019
Ken & Barbie Killers Karla Homolka
The Canadian serial killer, alongside her husband Paul Bernardo, drugged, raped and murdered three women, including her own younger sister. While the world watched in shock as her sentencing unfolded, Karla struck a deal claiming that she had been an unwilling accomplice to her h ... Show More
44m 7s