The curious case of Juana Barraza - once a professional wrestler, now a convicted murderer of 11 elderly Mexican women (although it is believed that she was actually complicit in the killing of between two and five times that number). The 58-year-old - whose ring name was an eerily apt "La Dama De Silencio" ("The Silent Lady") - was originally not a suspect for a lot of the murders because, due to her build as a former professional wrestler, witnesses to the crimes reported seeing "a heavily-built man in women's clothing". Therefore the police originally assumed it was a male killer who was robbing houses disguised as a woman - and so the search commenced for a transvestite. However, the 14-and-a-half-stone ex-pro wrestler was arrested in January 2006 while attempted to flee a crime scene having strangled her latest victim to death with a stethoscope. Despite being giving a total of 759 years in prison, Mexican law dictates that no criminal can serve more than 60 years. Yet, due to her advanced years, thankfully it is highly unlikely that the serial killer - whose trademark was to bludgeon or strangle her elderly victims before robbing them - will ever be released.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
