Serial Killer: Ángel Maturino Reséndiz (The Railroad Killer)

[Midnight Man 2]

Ángel Maturino Reséndiz a.k.a. "The Railroad Killer", was a serial killer and rapist active in several U.S. states, all of which he entered through stowing away on trains. Reséndiz in Izúcar de Matamoros, Mexico in 1960 and was very physically small. His mother, Virginia Resendiz de Maturino, never married his father and frequently abused him physically. At the age of six he was sent to live with his maternal uncle, who raped him, and was also sexually assaulted by a local pedophile. At the age of eleven, he ran away from home and spent some time living on the street, where he took up glue sniffing. At the age of 16, he tried to enter Texas, but was deported. It became the first of his many entries into the United States. In 1988, he spent some time living in St. Louis, where he worked for a temp agency. In adulthood, he spent a total of 11 years in American prisons for crimes such as assault, auto theft, firearm possession and burglary. After finishing each sentence he would be deported back to Mexico, only to return every time. At the time of his arrest he was married to a woman named Julieta Dominguez Reyes, with whom he had a daughter, Liria.

Reséndiz's first known murder was in 1986, when he killed a homeless woman and her boyfriend. In 1991, he committed his first known murder on U.S. soil, killing 33-year-old Michael White in Kentucky by beating him to death with a brick. Over the course of the following eight years, he continued traveling by train in the U.S., during which time he killed at least a dozen people. When the crimes were connected forensically and by VICAP, a manhunt started. He was nicknamed "The Railroad Killer" because all the killings occured near train tracks. In June of 1999, after being identified as the killer, he was placed in the Top Ten of the FBI's Most Wanted list and a reward of $50,000, which just some days later was raised to $125,000. The same month, a Texas Ranger, Drew Carter, contacted Manuela, Reséndiz's sister who lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico and to whom he was close. He promised her that Reséndiz would be granted personal safety in jail, regular visitation rights for his family and a psychological evaluation. At the time, he had been tracked down to Mexico.

After the promised deal was put into writing, the sister convinced him to turn himself in to U.S. authorities. On July 13, Reséndiz met with Drew Carter and surrendered himself. He was tried for first-degree murder with damning evidence to back the charges up, found guilty and sentenced to death. On June 27, 2006, he was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas. His last words were: "I want to ask if it is in your heart to forgive me. You don't have to. I know I allowed the Devil to rule my life. I just ask you to forgive me and ask the Lord to forgive me for allowing the devil to deceive me. I thank God for having patience in me. I don't deserve to cause you pain. You do not deserve this. I deserve what I am getting."

He found his victims, all of whom were randomly picked, while travelling by train. They were attacked, sometimes through burglaries, near the railways and were usually bludgeoned to death with some incidental object. A few female victims were also raped, though it was usually only a secondary intent. After the murders he would spend some time in their houses. He also took jewelry, cash, valuables and other items and gave them to his wife in Mexico. Most victims were found covered with something or obscured from view in some other way.

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