Alejandro Perez de la Rosa

Timeline

• December 3, 1996 — Yolanda Figueroa, her husband Fernando Balderas, and their three children were found brutally beaten to death in their home in Mexico City.
• August (year not stated) — Yolanda Figueroa and Fernando Balderas released their book about a powerful Mexican drug cartel.
• September (year not stated) — Fernando Balderas was quietly charged with rape.
• December 2 (year not stated) — The drivers and one of the maids plotted the murders of Yolanda Figueroa and Fernando Balderas.
• December 25, 1996 — A Los Angeles Times report described prosecutors’ findings, including charges and the investigation.
• May 15, 1998 — Alejandro Perez de la Rosa was sentenced to 118 years in prison.

Background

Yolanda Figueroa was a prominent Mexican journalist in Mexico City. Her husband was Fernando Balderas, a former anti-drug agent. Investigators later described Balderas as a publisher of the weekly scandal sheet Cuarto Poder (Fourth Estate).

The couple had released their muckraking book in connection with the sale campaign and prominence described in the case background. Investigators later linked the couple’s campaign selling their expose on Gulf cartel boss Juan Garcia Abrego with the broader public narrative that had initially surrounded the murders. Authorities had initially assumed the family had been a victim of a narco hit.

Authorities later said the murders had nothing to do with the drug cartels and were instead “a simple act of revenge.”

The offence

On the night of the murders, assailants beat to death Yolanda Figueroa, Fernando Balderas, and their three children as they slept in their beds.

A lone survivor, the family driver, was left in critical condition by the assailants. When Alejandro Perez de la Rosa regained consciousness, he told a tale describing sex, revenge and murder.

The killing suspects initially intended to kill only the parents, but they killed the children too.

After the murders, two men argued over cash and jewelry they found inside the home.

Investigation

Police and prosecutors investigated possible cartel involvement and initially treated the killings as closely connected to the drug trade. The results of the investigation later provided an alternative motive based on personal shame and alleged sexual abuse.

Mexico City’s deputy attorney general Mariano Herran Salvatti unveiled the results of an intensive, two-week investigation at a news conference.

Prosecutors’ findings on motive and allegations

Mariano Herran Salvatti said:

“The motive for the murders was personal shame,” said Mariano Herran Salvatti, Mexico City’s deputy attorney general, who unveiled the results of an intensive, two-week investigation at a news conference here late Monday. “Fernando Balderas raped [the two maids] while holding both women sexual hostages.”

Investigators described Fernando Balderas as having turned the family’s maids into “sexual hostages” and reported that, behind the walls of the couple’s home in the Pedregal district, Balderas sexually abused the two servants for months. Authorities reported that in September he was quietly charged with rape and that arrest warrants had been issued in the past but never served for rape. Authorities also reported that Fernando Balderas had been under investigation for alleged links to drug traffickers. Arrest warrants were also described as having been issued for trying to extort account holders of a bank.

During an investigation, police reported discovering possessions such as expensive cars that would seem beyond the family’s earnings.

Arrest

The family driver, Alejandro Perez de la Rosa, survived the attack and later regained consciousness.

At the time described, Alejandro Perez de la Rosa was one of the lethal chauffeurs, while two other accomplices remained at large.

Trial

On May 15, 1998, Alejandro Perez de la Rosa was sentenced to 118 years in prison for the murders.

The sentencing judge was Jose Eligio Rodriguez Alba, who said:

The 118-year sentence was a symbolic gesture because of the brutality of the crime, even though Mexican law allows only a 50-year sentence.

Outcome

Alejandro Perez de la Rosa was sentenced to 118 years in prison on May 15, 1998.

As of the report, Martin and Josefina, who were described as accomplices, remained at large. The report also described that Martin and Josefina both shared the last name of Hernandez but were unrelated.

Other details

Fernando Balderas had been under investigation for alleged links to drug traffickers and had been publisher of Cuarto Poder (Fourth Estate).

The investigation described that the fury of the maids’ husbands, who worked as the family drivers, led to planning by the drivers and one of the maids.

Authorities declared the case all but closed and alleged that “the fugitive couple and another driver now in custody” murdered Balderas, Figueroa and their children for revenge.

An individual named Mark Fineman was associated with the Los Angeles Times reporting dated December 25, 1996.