José Paz Bezerra

José Paz Bezerra (born December 12, 1945), known as The Monster of Morumbi (Portuguese: O Monstro do Morumbi), is a Brazilian serial killer who was convicted of killing at least seven women in São Paulo and Pará from 1970 to 1971, but claimed he was responsible for 24 murders overall. Sentenced to 100 years imprisonment, he was sent to the São José Prison in Belém, where he served 30 years (the maximum available sentence) before being released in 2001.

Early life José Paz Bezerra was born on December 12, 1945, in Alagoa Nova, Brazil to José Borges Filho and Maria Paz. His early life proved to be difficult, as his father suffered from leprosy for which young Bezerra had to take care of him, while his mother resorted to prostituting herself due to the extreme poverty they lived in. After his father's death, the surviving family members moved to a favela in Rio de Janeiro, where his mother found a new companion, Severino, who tolerated her extramarital activity, but resented Bezerra, whom he frequently beat. His mother eventually broke off their relationship after Severino started to bring in other men to have sex with in front of the boy, and moved in with another man, Manuel, who was not violent but still resented the young boy.

At the age of 10, Bezerra ran away from home and began living on the streets, selling candies at the Central do Brasil station. Even at a young age, he compulsively masturbated, and it was even claimed that he drove nails into his arm because he liked the sight of blood.

Murders São Paulo On July 16, 1970, 36-year-old teacher Iolanda Pacheco was picked up by a taxi driver wearing a coat and scarf from Augusta Street. However, instead of dropping her off at the requested address, the driver announced that he would take her to Morumbi.

Three days later, police were alerted about the presence of a woman's body in a vacant lot in the Real Parque neighborhood, just one kilometer away from the Palácio dos Bandeirantes. The victim was found half naked, gagged with her own bra and with her arms and legs tied with pieces of nylon stockings that also partially wrapped around her body and neck, indicating strangulation.

By September 1970, the bodies of other victims started appearing in the Greater São Paulo area. What caught the attention of the authorities was the similarity in all the crimes: all victims had been dumped in vacant lots, naked, gagged, their hands and feet tied with pieces of their own clothes and with signs of strangulation and sexual violence (later proven to be carried out post-mortem). The press initially dubbed the unknown criminal "The São Paulo Strangler" (Portuguese: O Estrangulador de São Paulo) and drew parallels with the earlier serial killer Benedito Moreira de Carvalho.

Three victims were found in that same July:

Pará After fleeing Rio de Janeiro, Bezerra hitchhiked with several truck drivers until he arrived in Belém in November 1970. Not long after, he resumed his attacks. On December 23, the Belém State Police found the bodies of two women in a vacant lot on the grounds of a radio station belonging to the Brazilian Navy. The first one was identified as 44-year-old teacher Maria Teresa Marvão, but the second victim's identity was never established. After these two, Bezerra is known to have struck twice unsuccessfully, with one victim escaping while the other ended up living with him until his arrest. On September 21, 1971, police found the body of his final confirmed victim, merchant Anibalina Martins, whose body was found in a vacant lot on Benfica Road, near Benevides.

Arrest, trial and imprisonment After spending several months on the run, Bezerra was arrested by policemen in Belém on November 12, 1971. He initially claimed to be a man named Gilberto José Oliveira, but his true identity was established after his papers were run through the Félix Pacheco Identification Institute of Rio de Janeiro, who positively confirmed that the detainee was the wanted fugitive.

Bezerra soon after interned at the São José Prison in Belém to await trial, where he attempted to commit suicide. During interrogations, he admitted responsibility for 24 total murders in the period between 1966 and 1971, claiming that they were in relationships with him and he lured them with his charm and good looks. Despite these admissions, he was found guilty of only seven murders and sentenced to 100 years imprisonment. A psychiatric examination determined that he had a compulsive hatred towards women that may have originated from his mother, whom he alleged had sex with several men at a time while he watched.

Release After initially serving his sentence in Belém, Bezerra was transferred to São Paulo in 1979, where he continued to serve until November 19, 2001. Since Brazilian law did not allow for prisoners to serve beyond 30 years, he was released at age 56. A few days after his release, he gave an interview with Agora by telephone, in which he claimed that his time in prison has made him reflect on his life, and that he is now completely reformed. He is still alive today, and presumably lives under a new identity.