Profile
All of Barraza's victims were women aged 60 or over, most of whom lived alone. She bludgeoned or strangled her victims, and afterward would rob them. Police reported that there was evidence of abuse in a number of cases.
Bernardo Bátiz, the chief prosecutor in Mexico City, initially profiled the killer as having "a brilliant mind, quite clever and careful", and probably struck after a period spent gaining the trust of an intended victim. Officers investigating suspected that she posed as a government official offering the chance to sign up to welfare programs.
The search for Barraza was complicated by conflicting evidence. At one point, the police hypothesized that two killers might be involved. Then an odd coincidence distracted the investigation: at least three of Barraza's victims owned a print of an 18th century painting by the French artist Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Boy in Red Waistcoat.
Read more about this topic: Juana Barraza
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