Maníaco do Trianon

Fortunato Botton Neto (10 September 1963 – February 1997), known as The Trianon Maniac, was a Brazilian serial killer who killed between three and thirteen gay men in the vicinity of Parque Trianon in São Paulo from 1986 to 1989. He was convicted of three murders and sentenced to 8 years imprisonment, dying in prison in 1997.

Early life Fortunato Botton Neto was born on 10 September 1963, in São Paulo. He was raised in a religious household with what was described as a loving family, but from an early age he showed signs of an intellectual impairment, learning to speak when he was five years old. According to his later confessions, Botton was raped by a truck driver when he was eight, causing him to develop a deep hatred towards those who were physically stronger than him.

By the late 1980s, Botton began to have financial difficulties, as he had fewer and fewer clients willing to have sex with him due to his age.

The first recorded victim was 66-year-old decorator José "Zezinho" Liberato, whose naked body was found in his apartment on 7 December 1986. His legs had been tied together with a white sheet, his hands had been tied to his chest with an electrical wire, and a long scarf had been wrapped around his mouth. He had apparently been asphyxiated, as there was a piece of nylon tied around his neck.

The next known victim was Antônio Carlos Di Giacomo, a psychiatrist employed at the Instituto de Assistência Médica ao Servidor Público Estadual, who was found dead in his apartment in Vila Olímpia on 17 August 1987. Di Giacomo's killer had shoved his own socks down the man's throat, reaching his esophagus, before strangling him with a pair of jeans and then stabbing him repeatedly in the heart with a knife. This was shortly followed by the murder of Manoel "Maneco" Iraldo Paiva, a theater director living in Consolação, who was found strangled to death in his apartment. Like the previous victims, his killer had stolen numerous items from his apartment, including a Panasonic TV, a walkman, a watch, a portable typewriter, a Gucci messenger bag, a Mondaine watch, a checkbook from Banco Bradesco, and several pieces of clothing.

Following these murders, at least four more followed, on which little to no information was released to the public. The killings went under the police's radar until 1989, when Botton was arrested for extorting a 19-year-old student for money he had nicked from his car. When brought to the police station, Botton admitted that he had killed seven gay men from 1986 onwards, explaining in detail how he would repeatedly stab them post-mortem. According to him, most of the killings were a result of the victim underpaying him, but on a few occasions the reason was a negative remark; in the Di Giacomo case, he claimed to have killed the psychiatrist because he complained that he smoked too much.

Not long after his arrest, Botton was charged with three of the seven admitted murders, despite the fact that police believed he might've been responsible for 13 murders overall. Before his trial, he was examined by psychiatrist Guido Palomba, who concluded in a later report that Botton was a sexual sadist with epileptic episodes that caused him to have a violent temper, and that if released, he would likely kill again. He would be convicted on these charges, sentenced to 8 years imprisonment and sent off to Taubaté Prison. In the months after his conviction, he would be interviewed by Veja Magazine, where Botton would talk about his travels to foreign countries, his personal interests and even brag about his high-class clients, whom apparently ranged from important political figures to rock stars.

In February 1997, Fortunato Botton Neto was found dead in his cell at Taubaté Prison. An autopsy of the body confirmed that he had died from bronchopneumonia, caused by contracting AIDS.