José Antonio Rodríguez Vega

Case identification

José Antonio Rodríguez Vega was a Spanish serial killer nicknamed El Mataviejas (The Old Lady Killer).

Status

Rodríguez Vega was sentenced to 440 years in prison in 1992.

Background

Rodríguez Vega was born in Santander, Cantabria, Spain. He hated his mother because she had thrown him out of the house when Rodríguez Vega beat his father, who was terminally ill. In “revenge” against his mother, Rodríguez Vega started his criminal career raping many women.

On 17 October 1978, he was arrested and sentenced to a term of 27 years in prison. His behavior while in prison, and his ability to charm his victims into forgiving him, led to a reduction in his sentence to 8 years. He was released in 1986, and his wife left him. He did not take the break up well, but eventually remarried, this time to a mentally disabled woman. He tortured and humiliated her while keeping up the pretense of having an excellent marriage. He was considered to be a good person, a hardworking man and good husband to those around him.

Investigation

The extent of Rodríguez Vega’s killing spree was not realized until police released a videotape of his home, showing his mementos. Families of the victims identified objects that linked Rodríguez Vega to their dead relatives.

Arrest

On 19 May 1988, Rodríguez Vega was arrested while walking on the street Cobo de la Torre in Santander. At the time of his arrest, he was sharing an apartment with María de las Nieves V.P (23 years old). After being arrested, he confessed to the murders.

The offence

Rodríguez Vega raped and killed at least 16 elderly women between August 1987 and April 1988, in and around Santander, Cantabria. The women ranged in age from 61 to 93 years old.

On 6 August 1987, Rodríguez Vega entered the home of Margarita González (82 years old). He raped and suffocated her. He forced the woman to swallow her own false teeth.

A few weeks later, on 30 September 1987, Carmen González Fernández (80 years old) was found dead in her home. Rodríguez Vega was accused of this murder.

Soon after, in October, Rodríguez Vega killed Natividad Robledo Espinosa (66 years old), beating, raping and suffocating her.

Rodríguez Vega did not kill again until 21 January 1988, when Carmen Martínez González was found dead in her home.

On 18 April 1988, he killed Julia Paz Fernández (66 years old). She was raped and suffocated and was found naked.

The other victims’ identities were not released.

Trial

His trial began in November 1991 in Santander. At the time of his arrest, he had confessed to the murders, but on trial he denied all charges against him and said that the women had died by natural causes.

Rodríguez Vega was diagnosed as a psychopath who was a fastidiously neat individual. His killing was well organized: he first identified a victim, then observed her until he was familiar with every aspect of her routine. He then made contact with the victim, tried to gain her trust using his charm and looks, until he gained access to her home, often under the guise of doing work to or around her home.

He was described as a cold-hearted and calculating serial killer who took mementos from each of his kills. When he was arrested, police found a red room where he displayed his mementos, which ranged from a television to a bouquet of plastic flowers.

Because of the age of his victims, some of their deaths were attributed to natural causes.

Sentencing

Rodríguez Vega was sentenced to 440 years in prison. The extent of his killing spree was discovered when authorities broadcasted a video of Rodríguez Vega’s home showing his collection of fetishes.

Death

On 24 October 2002, Rodríguez Vega was walking in the prison common grounds when two inmates attacked and brutally stabbed him, inflicting fatal wounds.

Rodríguez Vega was buried the next day in a poor coffin. The burial was attended by only two gravediggers.

On October 25, 2002, he was stabbed to death by two fellow prisoners in the courtyard of Topas jail in western Salamanca province.

Other details

He was described as a fastidiously neat individual who hardly left a trace of his crimes at the scene. Authorities had not even classified his first three victims as homicides until he was arrested.

The description of his attacks included that once inside a victim’s home he would become “overcome by excitement” and would jump his geriatric victims. He would usually strangle them, take off their panties, fondle their genitalia, and/or rape them post mortem using brooms and other objects. Although each attack was sexually driven, no semen was found in the victims because the killer was impotent.

In his burgundy draped, one-room apartment which he shared with a woman, he created a lavish altar dedicated to his fetishistic collection of mementos from each of his crimes.

By law, Rodríguez Vega, who was 44 at the time of his death, could only serve a maximum of 30 years in jail, and he was due to be released in 2008.