A 34-year-old mother of two, Reyna Gonazales, said goodbye to her family one morning and headed out to the shops—but she never returned home. Her police officer husband, Bruno Portillo, immediately began searching for her, only to uncover a horrifying truth that would lead to the capture of a shocking serial killer.
The perpetrator, 72-year-old Andres Filomeno Mendoza from Atizapán de Zaragoza, Mexico, had long been respected in his community and even elected to lead a local political group. But behind this façade, Mendoza had been murdering and cannibalizing women for over 20 years. Under the cover of nightclubs and social gatherings, he would lure victims to his home, kill them, dismember their bodies, and consume them.
The spree came to light when Reyna became his target. Bruno visited Mendoza’s home to ask about his wife, but Mendoza initially refused entry, raising suspicion. When Bruno returned with law enforcement colleagues, they discovered Reyna’s dismembered remains laid out on the kitchen table. Mendoza, a former butcher, admitted to killing her and attempting to flee but was quickly apprehended.
Police searches of his home revealed remains of many other victims, evidence linked to cold cases, and a chilling record of his crimes. Mendoza had kept a notebook listing the names of 30 women, while investigators found over 4,500 pieces of bone throughout the house, including more than 300 fragments in the basement and videotapes documenting the murders.
By 2022, authorities had confirmed 19 victims: 17 women, one child, and one man. Mendoza, who became infamously known as the “Cannibal of Atizapán,” stunned neighbors who described him as an “affable” man, revealing the terrifying double life he had been living for decades.
