A man identified as Pedro Alonso López, widely known as the “Monster of the Andes,” has been documented as one of the most active serial killers in history. López, who asserted to have strangled countless young girls in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, has eluded capture for many years, leaving his whereabouts unknown.
Born in October 1948 in Colombia’s Tolima region, López had a tumultuous upbringing marked by violence. Raised by his mother, a sex worker supporting 13 children in poverty, López faced brutality from a young age. He recounted being expelled from his home at eight years old after an incident with his sister, leading to a life on the streets of Bogotá.
Living among street gangs, López endured hardships, including assaults by both adults and older children. His troubled past culminated in criminal activities, including theft and violence, shaping his future as a notorious criminal.
Following a stint in prison for car theft, López embarked on a gruesome killing spree across Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, preying on vulnerable young girls from impoverished backgrounds. He used deception to lure his victims before assaulting and strangling them, then concealing their bodies in shallow graves.
Despite his heinous crimes, López managed to evade capture for years until a series of events in 1979 led to the discovery of his atrocities. Uncovered graves and the attempted abduction of a young girl exposed López’s reign of terror, culminating in his confession to hundreds of murders.
Following a high-profile trial in Ambato, Ecuador, López was convicted on multiple murder charges but faced a surprisingly short prison sentence due to the country’s laws at the time. Despite pleas for a longer incarceration, López was released in 1994, only to face further legal troubles in Colombia.
Deemed insane following a murder trial in Colombia, López spent time in a psychiatric facility before being released. Subsequently, he vanished and has been sighted sporadically over the years, with his last confirmed appearance in 1999.
Today, López, if alive, would be in his late seventies, with his whereabouts still unknown. Despite the passage of time, the legacy of the “Monster of the Andes” persists, with authorities remaining vigilant for any signs of his reappearance and potential threat to society.