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The Monster of Atizapán, the serial femicide killer jailed since 2021, has died

Andrés Filomeno Mendoza Celis died at 78 from health problems. He had eight convictions for femicide, murder and disappearance, and authorities had identified only six of his possible victims.

1 min read · October 30, 2026
A street in Atizapán de Zaragoza, State of Mexico, the municipality where he lived (file photo).
A street in Atizapán de Zaragoza, State of Mexico, the municipality where he lived (file photo).Photo: ProtoplasmaKid · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized.

Translated from the original Spanish article. Read in Spanish

News published on October 30, 2026. The situation may have changed since then.

Andrés Filomeno Mendoza Celis, known as the Monster or the Cannibal of Atizapán, died on Thursday, October 29, 2026. He was 78.

How he died

He died from health problems. He had diabetes and high blood pressure, and in 2025 he had been hospitalized with pneumonia.

The media do not agree on the place. Infobae says he died in his cell at the Tenango del Valle prison. Uno TV reports that it was at a hospital in Toluca, from complications of diabetes.

Who he was

He was arrested on May 15, 2021, at his home in Atizapán de Zaragoza, in the State of Mexico. Police arrived looking for a missing woman, Reyna González.

At his home they found evidence of other crimes. The investigation made him one of Mexico's best-known serial femicide killers.

Between 2022 and 2024 he received eight sentences: one life sentence, one of 92 years and six of 55 years.

The victims

The State of Mexico Prosecutor's Office estimates that he committed about 19 murders over nearly four decades. But only six victims have been identified.

A notebook of his contained 29 names, so the real number could be higher.

What remains pending

His death closes the criminal case against him. What remains open is the work of identifying the other victims and giving answers to their families.

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Sources (in Spanish)

  • Muerte, edad, salud, condenas y víctimas: Infobae (29 de octubre de 2026).
  • Lugar y causa según otra versión, detención: Uno TV (29 de octubre de 2026).

Photos are from Wikimedia Commons under free licenses; the author and license are shown under each image.