Its citizens are more and more shocked El Salvador, discovering the true face of former police officer Hugo Osorio, who may prove to be the worst serial killer in history a country otherwise accustomed to the extreme violence of street gangs.
The husky man, 1.70 m tall, joined the police in 1997. But he was deported in 2005 after being accused of sexually abusing a minor. He served a prison sentence until 2011 for this case.
“This is a completely crazy guy”, judges the criminologist Israel Tikas. At his home, police found an icon of “Santa Muerte”, candles and masks, with which the killer undoubtedly terrorized his victims during “rituals”, he adds.
On the night of May 7, it was the screams of terror and the voices of Jacqueline Cristina Palomo, 26, the last victim of Hugo Osorio, that ended the former police officer’s criminal career.
Annoyed, Hugo Osorio’s neighbors on Esteves Street in Chalcuapa – about 90 miles (90 km) west of the capital San Salvador – called for immediate action.
Since then, the search, which is still ongoing, has allowed 18 bodies to be found.
Until that night, the former police officer had never attracted the attention of his neighbors. But on the fateful night he chased his prey, which he was trying to escape desperately by screaming. He caught her at the door. He killed her using an iron bar, according to police investigating.
Traces of blood to the door
Everything was revealed “thanks to her, because she tried to escape, leaving traces of blood to the door of the criminal. “If it had not happened, it would have continued,” said Jose Cruz, Jacqueline’s grandfather.
At home, police found the bodies of Jacqueline and her mother, Mirna. A short distance away, next to an already opened tomb, lay the body of Alexis, Jacqueline’s younger brother, 24, and that of another man: his own brother Hugo Osorio.
The family had given $ 7,000 to the former police officer’s brother to help Alexis immigrate to the United States, the grandfather explained.
“Fourteen corpses were exhumed” from a plot belonging to the former police officer, opposite his house, said the Minister of Justice and Security, Gustavo Vigiatoro.
According to journalistic estimates, a total of about forty corpses are expected to be retrieved.
“Psychopath”
Relatives of missing people go to the front of the house every day to learn news.
With a photo in her hand, like everyone who arrives there, Telma Mancia, 55, is looking for her granddaughter, Camila, who disappeared on April 15, 2020, at the age of 17. “I can not sleep,” he confesses. “I would like to find her alive, but if she is not, I want to find her for a Christian burial,” he explains.
Most of the remains exhumed belonged to women. The indictment includes at least 11 cases of homicide with aggravating circumstances.
In El Salvador, with a population of 6.7 million, 70 women were killed in 2020 and over 100 in 2019, according to official statistics.
Researchers describe Hugo Osorio as a “psychopathic sex addict”, a “serial killer” who hunted his prey on social networking sites, luring them with job offers or help to immigrate to the US.
For Janet Aguilar, an independent researcher working for UN and EU institutions and services, the former police officer’s case is “immersed in a culture of extreme violence” favored by the absolute impunity often enjoyed by criminals in the Central American country.
According to Ms. Aguilar, there have been more than 40,000 disappearances in El Salvador in the last fifteen years: “the country has no idea of ​​the extent of the phenomenon (…) because it is hidden, it remains invisible.”
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
