María Delfina González Valenzuela (1912, El Salto,

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

– 17 October 1968,

Irapuato Irapuato is a Mexican city (and municipality) located at the foot of the Arandas Hill (in Spanish: ''Cerro de Arandas''), in the central region of the state of Guanajuato. It lies between the Silao River and the Guanajuato River, a tributary of t ...

Guanajuato Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...

, México), María del Carmen González Valenzuela (1918–1969), María Luisa González Valenzuela (1920 – 19 November 1984, Irapuato, Guanajuato, México) and María de Jesús González Valenzuela (1924 – 1990), known as ''Las Poquianchis,'' were four sisters from the north-central

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

state of

. From 1950 until 1964, the sisters ran "Rancho El Ángel"', the locus of their largescale

prostitution ring Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pene ...

and the site of the murder of at least 91 people, but it is believed that the four sisters killed more than 150 people or even more than 200 people.

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

called them the "most prolific murder partnership".

Biography

The police picked up a woman named Josefina Gutiérrez, a

procuress Procuring or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term pimp has still ...

, on suspicion of kidnapping young girls in the Guanajuato city area, and during questioning, she implicated the González sisters. Police officers searched the sisters' property near the city of

San Francisco del Rincón San Francisco del Rincón is a city and municipality in the western part of the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. The city serves as the municipal seat for the municipality of San Francisco del Rincón. The city lies at the extreme northwest corner of t ...

and found the bodies of eighty women, eleven men, and several

fetus A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal deve ...

es. Investigations revealed that the sisters' criminal operation recruited prostitutes through deceptive help-wanted ads for housemaids. Many of the girls were

force-fed Force-feeding is the practice of feeding a human or animal against their will. The term ''gavage'' (, , ) refers to supplying a substance by means of a small plastic feeding tube passed through the nose ( nasogastric) or mouth (orogastric) into t ...

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

. The sisters killed the prostitutes when they became too ill, damaged by repeated sexual activity, lost their looks, or stopped pleasing the customers. They would also kill customers who showed up with large amounts of cash. When asked for an explanation for the deaths, one of the sisters reportedly said, "The food didn't sit well with them." Tried in 1964, the González sisters were each sentenced to forty years in prison. In prison, Delfina died due to an accident where a construction worker heard her and tried to catch a glimpse at the serial murderer before accidentally dumping cement on her head, and María finished her sentence and dropped out of sight after her release. Although they are often cited as the killers, there were two other sisters who helped in their crimes, Carmen and María Luisa. Carmen died of cancer whilst still in prison; María Luisa went mad because she feared that she would be killed by angry protesters. The sisters and their crimes were dramatized in the

Felipe Cazals Felipe Cazals (28 July 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a Mexican film director, screenwriter, and producer. His wife was Rosa Eugenia Báez de Cazals. Together with Arturo Ripstein, Cazals was considered in Mexico one of the most representative f ...

film ''Las Poquianchis'' (1976) and the

Jorge Ibargüengoitia Jorge Ibargüengoitia Antillón (January 22, 1928 – November 27, 1983) was a Mexican novelist and playwright who achieved great popular and critical success with his satires, three of which have appeared in English: ''The Dead Girls'', ''Tw ...

novel ''Las Muertas'' (1977).

References

Bibliography

*Peter Vronsky: ''Female Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters'',

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...

, New York (2007), p. 440

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Delfina and Maria de Jesus Criminal duos Date of birth missing Date of death unknown Female organized crime figures Forced prostitution Human trafficking in Mexico Mexican brothel owners and madams Mexican female serial killers Mexican people convicted of murder Mexican pimps Mexican sex workers People convicted of murder by Mexico Sibling quartets Year of birth missing

Biography

See also

References

Bibliography

External links