Juan Severino Mallari

Juan Severino Mallari (September 22, 1785 – 1840) was a Filipino Catholic priest and serial killer. He is the first documented serial killer from the Philippines. During the Spanish colonial period, Mallari served as a parish priest in Magalang, Pampanga. He reportedly killed 57 people in the area before he was discovered, arrested, imprisoned and hanged in 1840.

Early life and career Mallari was from San Nicolas, Pampanga (present-day Macabebe, Pampanga). He studied theology at the University of Santo Tomas and completed his studies in 1809, after which he was ordained and became the coadjutor in Gapan, Lubao, and Bacolor. He then vied for the position of parish priest in several areas, namely Orani, Mariveles, Lubao and in the Port of Cavite as a chaplain, but was consistently rejected.

During this period, Mallari also pursued calligraphy, earning him the recognition of being the second Filipino calligraphic artist-priest, after Fr. Mariano Hipolito. It was during this period that he started believing his mother was cursed, which became his motive for killing. He believed killing people could cure his mother's ailments. It is also plausible that around this time, Mallari's peers noticed signs of the priest's mental instability. Santiago might have been referring to either Hospicio de San Jose or San Lazaro Hospital.

In 1840, the Spanish colonial government executed Mallari by hanging. Meanwhile, a television series Severino starring Dennis Trillo as Mallari by a co-production of studios from the Philippines, Japan, Singapore and Slovenia was slated for a 2025 release.