1969 to 1980

Colombia, Peru and Ecuador

over 350 victims

Pedro Alonso López

The Infamous Monster of the Andes

In the dark annals of criminal history, few names evoke as much  fear and revulsion as Pedro Alonso López, infamously known as  “The Monster of the Andes.” Born in 1948 in the harsh landscape of  Tolima, Colombia, López’s early life was characterized by neglect,  abuse, and violence. Expelled from home at a young age, he drifted  into a life of petty crime, which tragically evolved into something  far more sinister. The brutality of his childhood seemingly sowed the seeds for the horrors he would later unleash upon hundreds of young girls across South America.  

During the 1970s and early 1980s, López embarked on a killing  spree that spanned Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, claiming the lives  of what he confessed to be over 300 young girls. His method was  chillingly methodical: he would gain the trust of his victims,  typically aged between 8 and 12, by pretending to offer them small  gifts or assistance. Once isolated, López would carry out his  gruesome acts, often burying the bodies in shallow graves. This  calculated approach allowed him to evade capture for years, leaving  a trail of devastation and shattered families in his wake.

"I am the man of the century, no one will ever forget me." - Pedro Lopez, bragging while in prison in Ecuador

"I am the man of the century, no one will ever forget me." - Pedro Lopez, bragging while in prison in Ecuador

The full scale of López’s atrocities came to light in 1980, when he  was apprehended in Ecuador. His capture was the result of a failed  abduction attempt that led to his arrest. Under interrogation, López  shocked authorities by confessing to the murder of over 300 girls,  providing detailed accounts and locations of their graves. His  confessions were corroborated by the grim discovery of numerous  remains, which confirmed the appalling extent of his killing spree.  The international media descended on the story, fascinated and  horrified by the sheer magnitude of his crimes. 

In 1983, López was convicted of 110 murders in Ecuador, receiving  a maximum sentence of 16 years, the harshest penalty available at the time. This lenient sentence, by international standards, sparked  outrage and highlighted the inadequacies of the local judicial  systems in dealing with such prolific offenders. During his  incarceration, López reportedly exhibited good behavior, a factor  that played a significant role in his eventual release. His time in  prison, however, did little to assuage the public’s fear and anger, as  the memory of his crimes remained painfully fresh. 

López’s release in 1998, after serving only 18 years, was met with  widespread disbelief and condemnation. Deported to Colombia, he  was briefly held in a psychiatric facility before being declared sane and released under probation. This decision was met with outrage  from victims’ families and the public, who feared the potential for  him to reoffend. The legal and ethical implications of his release  continue to be a topic of intense debate, raising questions about the  justice system’s ability to deal with serial killers and protect society  from their potential recidivism.

Today, Pedro Alonso López’s whereabouts remain unknown, and he  is considered one of the world’s most dangerous fugitives. His case  is a haunting reminder of the depths of human depravity and the  systemic failures that allowed him to escape full accountability.  López’s story has been the subject of numerous books,  documentaries, and academic studies, all seeking to understand the  mind of a man capable of such unimaginable evil. The legacy of his  crimes continues to cast a long, dark shadow over the lives of his  victims’ families and serves as a stark warning of the potential for  horror that exists within the human condition. 

“The moment of death is enthralling and exciting. Only those who actually kill know what I mean."

Captured in Ecuador 

The murderer was not talking.

Ecuadorian police stood around the prison cell. They were  starting to run out of ideas. And patience. Pedro Lopez, a  deranged killer, sat behind just a few metal bars that kept them  just beyond his reach. He was fuming silently.  

Lopez knew they would be unable to build their case against  him unless he said something. He would be hard to break, but  the police could not give up, especially now they finally had a  suspect in custody for the countless missing girl cases in Ambato  city. Threats and intimation were not working on this mass  killer. 

The police left him for now. For a while, Lopez remained alone  in his cell. When the door creaked open a little later, he was  surprised to see not an officer coming inside, but a complete  stranger. A fellow criminal. The new inmate appeared to be a bit  older than Lopez. His dark hair and stern expression gave him  an almost authoritative presence.

When the stranger introduced  himself, Lopez was surprised the police had locked him up with  a kindred spirit. 

His name was Cordova Gudino, and he was a rapist. Despite his  stern appearance, he gave Lopez an easy smile that quickly won  him over. The common interest roused Lopez’s memories of the  countless rapes and murders he had committed. He recalled the  divine moment when the spark of life faded from a girl’s eyes as  she died. It was an experience only a killer could fully  appreciate, and Lopez wondered if Gudino had known it, too.  

The pair immediately got along well, as though they had been friends for years. When Gudino brought up the past exploits that had landed him in prison, Lopez began to brag about his own. It was thrilling for him to finally be able to tell someone about what he had been doing with his life for the past few years, especially to someone who could understand him.

Inside the Mind of a Serial Killer 

“I lost my innocence at age eight, so I decided to do the same to as many young  girls as I could.”

Innocent victims

Cristina was one of the over 300 young girls murdered. An  Ecuadorian policeman points to where she was found. 

Interview with Ron Laytner

The prison van slipped through the gates of the jail in the dead of night and made its way towards the Colombian border…

Whereabouts Unknown  

Release and Deportation 

On July 31, 1981, 33-year-old Lopez plead guilty to the  murders of 57 girls and was imprisoned in Ambato,  where he was officially diagnosed as a sociopath.  Because of Ecuador’s laws, Lopez only received a  maximum sentence of 16 years, much to the public’s  enormous outrage. (Ecuador would later change its  maximum prison sentence to 25 years.)  

On August 31, 1994, Lopez was released from Garcia  Moreno prison after serving 14 years, having been released two years early for good behavior. He was  summarily deported to Colombia, where authorities  there attempted to convict him of a two-decades-old  murder. But instead, Lopez was declared insane and, in  1995, institutionalized in a psychiatric facility.  

In February 1998, he was declared sane and released  under $50 bail with additional stipulations. He visited  his elderly mother, who said that he asked for his  inheritance and then, upon being informed of her  poverty, sold her sole bed and chair to people on the  street. Lopez then vanished, with concerns having risen  about his possible connection to a 2002 murder. His  whereabouts are unknown.