Diego Casanova (born 1980) is an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

serial killer A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more persons,A * * * * with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. While most authorities set a threshold of three ...

who

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

ed six people between in 2004 and 2016. Casanova is known as The Prisoner Killer as he murdered five inmates while imprisoned. Additionally, he participated in sixty-seven

fights Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

and several

riots A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targeted ...

in prison. Experts describe Casanova as an extremely dangerous prisoner with psychopathic behavior, and one of the cruelest serial killers in Argentine history.

Biography

In 1980, Diego Casanova was born in the city of Maipú,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Casanova began committing robberies at a young age, and became known in his neighborhood as "''Gordo Picurú"''. In 2004, he was briefly arrested for robbery, but released a few weeks later. In April of 2012, Casanova lost his left eye after another inmate stabbed it with a knife. This earned him the nickname "''El Tuerto''." Casanova's behavior behind bars is considered appalling by other inmates and prison staff. Experts have described him as psychopathic and antisocial, which is why he is being medicated with an anxiolytic.

Victims

Francisco Quevedo

On October 14, 2004, Casanova and an

accomplice Under the English common law, an accomplice is a person who actively participates in the commission of a crime, even if they take no part in the actual criminal offense. For example, in a bank robbery, the person who points the gun at the teller ...

planned to rob a home in Barrio México, Maipú. However, the owner of the house, 67-year-old Francisco Quevedo, woke up during the ordeal, so Casanova

stabbed A stabbing is penetration or rough contact with a sharp or pointed object at close range. ''Stab'' connotes purposeful action, as by an assassin or murderer, but it is also possible to accidentally stab oneself or others. Stabbing differs fro ...

him to death. After murdering the man, Casanova and his accomplice placed his body on a couch, and put a blanket on Quevedo's lap to not arouse suspicion. However, a 12-year-old girl witnessed the murder and alerted the police. Later that day, Casanova was arrested and sentenced to 20 years in prison. He was then transferred to the Boulogne Sur Mer prison.

Diego Ferranti and Gerardo Gómez

Diego Ferranti and Gerardo Gómez were two prisoners who participated in a riot at another prison. The two had agreed to

testify In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

and were transferred to the Boulogne Sur Mer prison for their own protection. On June 17, 2006, the day after Ferrani and Gómez arrived at the prison, Diego Casanova and three accomplices stabbed them to death and wrapped their bodies in sheets. The motive behind the murders is still unknown, but Casanova and the three accomplices were subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

José Manuel Cruz

On November 27, 2006, Casanova murdered José Manuel Cruz, another inmate. Cruz was serving a sentence for assault, and had been in the Boulogne Sur Mer prison for a month at the time of his death. While Cruz was sleeping, Casanova wrapped a sheet around him and stabbed him twenty times. Casanova then dragged his corpse to the door of a pavilion. Casanova was sentenced to an additional twelve years in prison for Cruz's murder.

Darío Vega González

On April 24, 2010, Casanova and two other inmates started a prison riot. One of the collaborators faked having a

seizure An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

. Five

prison guards A prison officer or corrections officer is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation of prisoners. They are responsible for the care, custody, and control of individuals who have been ...

opened his cell to try and help; but it was a ruse, and four inmates took the guards hostage. During the riot, Casanova killed 35-year-old Darío Vega González, who was serving time for sexual abuse. After the murder, Casanova and the others freed the guards and turned themselves in. Casanova stated that he wanted to attract attention so that he would be transferred to another prison. For the killing, Casanova received another life sentence.

Andrés Florentino Peñaloza

Andrés Peñaloza, 17, was serving a sentence for

kidnapping In criminal law, kidnapping is the unlawful confinement of a person against their will, often including transportation/asportation. The asportation and abduction element is typically but not necessarily conducted by means of force or fear: the p ...

and murder. At Peñaloza's own request, he was moved to the same cell as Casanova. Since Casanova was a feared prisoner, Peñaloza wanted to establish a friendship with him for security. Their coexistance lasted for forty-five days, until May 29, 2016, when Casanova

bludgeoned A club (also known as a cudgel, baton, bludgeon, truncheon, cosh, nightstick, or impact weapon) is a short staff or stick, usually made of wood, wielded as a weapon since prehistoric times. There are several examples of blunt-force trauma caused ...

Peñaloza to death with a makeshift

crowbar A crowbar, also called a wrecking bar, pry bar or prybar, pinch-bar, or occasionally a prise bar or prisebar, colloquially, in Britain and Australia sometimes called a jemmy or jimmy (also called jemmy bar), gooseneck, or pig foot, is a tool ...

. Casanova reportedly reacted indifferently to the murder he committed, caring more about if he would have visitors that day, and that his clothes had been ruined by Peñaloza's blood. Since the murder of Peñaloza, Casanova has lived in solitary confinement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Casanova, Diego 1980 births 21st-century Argentine people 21st-century criminals Argentine prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Argentine serial killers Burglars Living people Male serial killers People from Maipú, Argentina People with antisocial personality disorder