Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos, also known as La Bestia ("The Beast") is a Colombian rapist and serial killer. In 1999, he admitted to the rape, torture, and murder of 138 children and teenagers. His victims, based on the locations of skeletons listed on maps that Garavito drew in prison, could eventually exceed 300; Garavito continues to confess to more murders. He has been described by local media as "the world's worst serial killer." According to the Attorney General's Office and various judicial bodies, Luis Alfredo Garavito is the "second serial killer of the world." Likewise, the judicial body ruled that all Garavito's sentences total 1,853 years and nine days in jail.
Garavito was born on January 25, 1957, in Génova, Quindío, Colombia. He is the eldest of seven brothers. Garavito lived in a home where he was physically and emotionally abused by his alcoholic father. In his testimony, Garavito also described being subjected to sexual abuse. His abusive and unstable familial living situation, among other reasons, led him to flee home at age sixteen in an attempt to start a life away from his family. Garavito started working as soon as he left home, traveling a substantial amount to keep up with the job demands in Colombia. Although he frequently moved, Garavito had a girlfriend. His girlfriend had a small child which she recalls him getting along with very well. Garavito was known by his friends to be kind, yet easily angered.
Garavito's victims were clearly identified by their age, gender, and social status. Garavito targeted boys between the ages of 6 to 16 who were either homeless, peasants or orphaned. He would approach the young boys, either on the crowded streets or alone in the countryside, and lure them away by bribing them with small gifts such as money, candy or odd jobs. He offered easy work for money and even disguised himself as different characters who could be seen as legitimately offering work to the boy, such as a priest, a farmer, a homeless man, a street vendor, a drug dealer, an elderly man, and a gambler. To prevent suspicions about his activities from developing, Garavito would change his disguise often.
Once he had the trust of a child, Garavito would walk with the boy until they were tired and vulnerable, which then made them easy to handle. First, their hands were bound. Then, Garavito would remove all their clothes, and proceed to torture, rape, and sometimes decapitate them. Usually, the boy would endure prolonged rape and torture by having his buttocks stabbed and sharpened objects inserted into his anus; his testicles were often severed and placed into his mouth. The bodies of the children were all found completely naked, and all bore bite marks and signs of anal penetration; bottles of lubricant were found near the bodies, along with empty liquor bottles. Most corpses showed signs of prolonged torture.
