Los Huipas
Los Huipas refers to the media-coined nickname of a group of Mexican serial killers, all of whom were members of the Mayo ethnic group.[1] They are considered the first serial killers of indigenous descent in the country.[2]
- Eusebio Yocupicio Soto was the leader.[2]
The rest of the members included:
- Adelaido Huipas Quijano
- Leonardo Yocupicio Huipas
- Basilio Humo Valenzuela[3]
All natives of Huatabampo, Sonora, the men were first and second cousins, whom allegedly had incestual homosexual relationships with one another. Rumors about their lifestyles led to them being marginalized and discriminated against by the rest of the community.[4] Motivated by their desire for revenge, between 1949 and 1950, the gang ended up murdering seven men, who had previously ridiculed them.[2][5] Using deception, they would lure their victims to a secluded hut, where they stabbed, strangled, or beat them to death. After the killings, they would mutilate the corpses, preserving the castrated genitals from the bodies.
They were arrested on April 13, 1950, following a complaint from Felipe Buitimia, the father of Los Huipas' last victim - Vicente Buitimia.[4] The four were sentenced to death, but after the abolition of the death penalty in Mexico, each of their sentences were commuted to 30 years imprisonment.[3] Eusebio and Basilio died in prison from tuberculosis, while Adelaido and Leonardo served out their sentences fully, with nothing known about them after their release.[2]
References
- "History of the serial killers in Sonora". culturacolectiva.com (in Spanish). May 27, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
In the town of Huatabampo, Sonora, a story floats on the streets that will leave you feeling helpless. In 1949, there were four subjects who castrated and murdered their enemies, a cruel and excessive sample of the unusual and mystical reality of the Mayan Indians. This murder story traveled beyond a geographical barrier to the point that the simple phrase "Beware of Los Huipas" marked a time of terror and anxiety...
- E56: Los Huipas (with Raúl G. Meneses) (in European Spanish), retrieved March 25, 2020
- "InfoCajeme.com: Tesopaco: The last execution in Sonora". InfoCajeme.com. Retrieved March 25, 2020.
When the death sentences were applied to these people, there were also other inmates who were awaiting their application in prison, among them, four Mayan indigenous people whose crimes shocked Sonoran society at the time. They were Adelaido Huipas Quijano, Leonardo Yocupicio Huipas, Eusebio Yocupicio Soto and Basilio Humo Valenzuela. However, despite the fact that the judge of the First Instance sentencing them to death, they appealed the sentence, and it was later changed to 30 years, having to serve in the state capital. Eusebio Yocupicio Sota and Basilio Humo Valenzuela died in the Hermosilla prison in Sonora, the other two were imprisoned for thirty years.
- Yocupicio, Emilia Buitimea (2015-10-21). "Los huipas: los míticos asesinos seriales de Sonora". Vice (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-03-25.
- "Huipas: seven were skinned for homophobic ridicule". www.elgrafico.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved March 25, 2020.