Miguel Cortés Miranda
Miguel Cortés Miranda | |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 October 1984 Mexico City, Mexico |
| Died | 13 April 2025 (aged 40) Reclusorio Oriente, Mexico City, Mexico |
| Cause of death | Heart attack caused by a drug overdose and head trauma |
| Other names | "The Monster of Iztacalco" "The Demon of Iztacalco" "The Femicidal Chemist" |
| Education | National Polytechnic Institute |
| Conviction | N/A |
| Criminal penalty | N/A (died before trial) |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3+ (charged) 30+ (claimed) |
Span of crimes | 2012–2024 |
| Country | Mexico |
| State | Mexico City |
Date apprehended | 16 April 2024 |
Miguel Cortés Miranda (25 October 1984 – 13 April 2025), known as The Monster of Iztacalco (Spanish: El monstruo de Iztacalco), was a Mexican suspected serial killer and bacteriological chemist who was implicated in the rape and murder of at least three young girls and women in Mexico City, all of which occurred between 2012 and 2024.
Caught after killing his final victim, he was indicted for two additional murders after police located human skeletal remains in his apartment and was under investigation for other homicides and missing persons cases. However, he died before being brought to trial in April 2025, leading to the investigation being prematurely closed.
Early life
[edit]Relatively little is known about Cortés' early life. Born on 25 October 1984 in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City, Cortés claimed that he and sister were victims of domestic violence while growing up.[1]
In school, he studied to be a bacteriological chemist and parasitologist, and later graduated from the National School of Biological Sciences and the Instituto Politécnico Nacional. He was then able to find job opportunities around various labs in Mexico City.[2]
Personality and psychological profile
[edit]Outwardly, Cortés boasted of his various academic, scientific and professional qualifications, and often participated in various recreational and social activities such as going to the cinema; theater; touring around the world; reading literature and learning new languages. He also professed to be an animal rights activist and openly stated his support for social causes such as feminism and LGBTQ rights.[2] These actions led people around him to regard him as a positive, albeit quiet, man.[2]
This contrasted sharply with his personal life, as unbeknownst to his associates, Cortés was visiting a therapist to deal with undisclosed issues.[3] During one sessions, he claimed that he was estranged from his family and that at some point in his youth, he had supplied a suicidal friend of his with potentially lethal substances.[3] He continued to reiterate this claim on his Facebook profile, in addition to claiming that he suffered from OCD, which has never been proven.[4]
Following his arrest, psychological experts conducted interviews with Cortés and examined his postings on social media to better understand his psyche. According to their report, he exhibited violent antisocial traits and disturbing sexual inclinations, with one possibility being that he was a necrophile.[4]
Murders
[edit]Most of Cortés' confirmed and suspected victims were young to middle-aged women with whom he had some sort of acquaintance with, including fellow students or colleagues. Alternatively, he also targeted prostitutes and the homeless.[2] A defining feature of his crimes is that he published poetry on his Facebook account, which authorities believed alluded to his crimes.[5]
The following is a list of his confirmed and alleged victims.[6][7]
Victims
[edit]Confirmed
[edit]| Identity | Date of disappearance | Age | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amairany Roblero González | 1 August 2012 | 18 | Iztapalapa | Medical student. Cortés was indicted for her murder. |
| Frida Sofía Lima Rivera | 7 February 2015 | 32 | Iztacalco | Medical student. Cortés was indicted for her murder. |
| María José Castillo Calles | 16 April 2024 | 17 | Iztacalco | Raped, stabbed and strangled to death in her apartment. Her mother was also injured in the attack. |
Alleged
[edit]| Identity | Date of disappearance | Age | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karen Ornelas Balzataz | 2012 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Viviana Elizabeth Garrido Ibarra | 30 November 2018 | 32 | Iztacalco | Industrial bioengineer and colleague of Cortés. Last seen at a bus stop with him.[8] |
| Norma Elena "O" | Undisclosed | 41 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Cinthia Vanesa "E" | Undisclosed | 39 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Laura "V" | Undisclosed | 33 | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Claudia Andrea "A" | December 2019 | 36 | Undisclosed | Ex-girlfriend of Cortés. Cause of death was initially ruled to be of natural causes.[9] |
| Multiple unnamed victims | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed |
Arrest and detention
[edit]His last confirmed murder occurred on 16 April 2024, when he broke into an apartment in Iztacalco belonging to his downstairs neighbor. There, he raped and stabbed 17-year-old María José Castillo Calles, after which he strangled her to death.[10] The girl's mother, Cassandra Calles, discovered him in the act and was subsequently attacked as well.[10] However, she managed to survive long enough for neighbors to arrive and detain Cortés.[11]
While he was sent to the Reclusorio Oriente Prison to await charges, investigators decided to inspect his home, where they found 20 sets of human remains; five human skulls; several ID cards; cellphones and some notebooks, as well as surgical and medical equipment.[11] At least two missing women were quickly identified as being among the deceased, but the amount of bones indicated that Cortés likely more since his presumed first murder dating back to 2012.[12]
Cortés was eventually charged with three murders: those were of Roblero, Lima and María Castillo. While awaiting trial, he supposedly boasted of killing more than 30 women in the span of twelve years. In addition to this, he also called the victims' family members and taunted them, saying that he had no regrets for the killings.[11]
During his detention, Cortés was kept in solitary confinement and was under constant surveillance due to the high-profile nature of his case, due to which he was supplied with his necessary medication by the prison's Medical Service.[12] He was disliked and viewed as arrogant by other inmates, openly admired Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer and insisted on reading serial killer-related media, including a book titled Manual of Serial Murder: Criminological Aspects by Juan Francisco Alcaraz Albertos.[12]
Despite this, he was allowed visits by Castillo's mother and her lawyer, in which he answered all of her questions calmly and politely.[13]
Death
[edit]On the morning of 13 April 2025, Cortés was found on the floor of his cell in Reclusorio Oriente and immediately rushed to the General Hospital of Iztapalapa, where he later died.[14] His cause of death was attributed to a cardiac arrest brought on overdosing on prescription medication, aggravated by a head injury he sustained when he fell off his bunk bed.[14]
Due to the sudden nature of his death, Mexican authorities launched an investigation to determine whether there was anything suspicious surrounding it.[15] At the time of his death, Cortés was scheduled to appear at a court hearing and was under investigation for making phone call to his victims' relatives.[15] As a result of his death, investigations into his case ceased.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Rodrigo Ek (24 April 2024). "Hermana de Miguel Cortés Miranda, el feminicida de Iztacalco, revela detalles de su vida personal" [The sister of Miguel Cortés Miranda, the Iztacalco murderer, reveals details of his personal life.]. sdpnoticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ a b c d Stephanie León (20 April 2024). "¿Quién es Miguel 'N', el feminicida serial de Iztacalco y asesino de María José, al que se le relaciona con al menos 20 asesinatos?" [Who is Miguel 'N', the serial killer from Iztacalco and murderer of María José, who is linked to at least 20 murders?]. Vanguardia (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ a b Baruc Mayen (1 December 2024). "Cuando era niño, el feminicida serial de Iztacalco le dio veneno a una compañera que pensaba suicidarse" [When he was a child, the serial killer of Iztacalco gave poison to a classmate who was thinking of committing suicide.]. Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ a b Ulises Flores Hernández (22 April 2024). "¿Miguel 'N', supuesto feminicida serial de CDMX, confesó sus crímenes en Facebook? Esto es lo que sabemos" [Did Miguel 'N', the alleged serial killer from Mexico City, confess to crimes on Facebook? Here's what we know.]. Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ Fernando Palacios, Edmundo Morelos and Eduardo Mendoza (22 April 2025). "¿Quién era Miguel Cortés Miranda? Químico feminicida de Iztacalco que murió en la cárcel" [Who was Miguel Cortés Miranda? The chemical killer from Iztacalco who died in prison.]. sdpnoticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ Andrea Fernández (14 April 2025). "Feminicida de Iztacalco murió sin sentencia; qué avances hubo del caso a casi 1 año de su detención" [Iztacalco murderer dies without sentencing; what progress has been made in the case almost a year after his arrest?]. Canal 6 (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ Fernando Palacios (9 May 2024). "¿Quiénes son las víctimas identificadas hasta ahora de Miguel Cortés Miranda, el feminicida serial de Iztacalco?" [Who are the identified victims so far of Miguel Cortés Miranda, the serial killer from Iztacalco?]. sdpnoticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ Nadia Cruz and Jazmin Serrano Trejo (21 April 2024). "¿Quién es Viviana Garrido? La ingeniería bioquímica desapareció en 2019 y pudo haber sido víctima de Miguel Cortés, feminicida serial de Iztacalco" [Who is Viviana Garrido? The biochemical engineer disappeared in 2019 and may have been a victim of Miguel Cortés, a serial killer from Iztacalco.]. sdpnoticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 May 2025.
- ^ Fernando Palacios (25 April 2024). "Claudia Andrea murió por "causas naturales", pero ahora investigan si fue víctima de Miguel Cortés Miranda, el feminicida de Iztacalco" [Claudia Andrea died of "natural causes", but they are now investigating whether she was a victim of Miguel Cortés Miranda, the Iztacalco murderer.]. sdpnoticias (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 May 2025.
- ^ a b Micaela Varela and Pablo Ferri (27 April 2024). "Gritos, ventanas abiertas y un puñado de negligencias: así descubrieron al feminicida de Iztacalco" [Screams, open windows, and a handful of negligence: this is how the Iztacalco murderer was discovered.]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 April 2025.
- ^ a b c Micaela Varela (15 April 2025). "El feminicida serial de Iztacalco llamó a familiares de las víctimas antes de morir para burlarse de ellas" [The serial killer from Iztacalco called the victims' families before his death to mock them.]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 15 April 2025.
- ^ a b c Micaela Varela (16 April 2025). "La vida del presunto feminicida de Iztacalco en prisión: soberbio, en aislamiento y con "un olor desagradable"" [The life of the alleged Iztacalco murderer in prison: arrogant, in isolation, and with "an unpleasant odor"]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 16 April 2025.
- ^ Micaela Varela (16 April 2025). "El presunto feminicida de Iztacalco murió de una "intoxicación" después de una caída en prisión "mientras dormía"" [The alleged Iztacalco murderer died of "intoxication" after falling in prison "while sleeping"]. El País (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ a b Nayelli Ramírez (16 April 2025). "Muerte de feminicida de Iztacalco, por golpe en la cabeza: TSJ CDMX" [Death of Iztacalco killer by blow to the head: CDMX Supreme Court]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.
- ^ a b David Saúl Vela (13 April 2025). "Muere en prisión Miguel 'N', el químico vinculado a una serie de feminicidios en Iztacalco" [Miguel 'N', the chemist linked to a series of femicides in Iztacalco, dies in prison.]. El Financiero (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 May 2025.