This week, Gina covers the crimes of The Railroad Killer, serial killer Ángel Maturino Reséndiz. Occurring throughout the 1990's, it is believed he is responsible for a minimum of 23 murders, the crimes being of such violent nature he landed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list. Considering he evaded capture for so long by crossing borders, how many additional victims could he be responsible for?
Angel Maturino Reséndiz was born on August 1, 1960 in Izúcar de Matamoros, Mexico. His mother Virginia raised him and his siblings primarily on her own. His parents had never married and though he reportedly had little contact with his father, he was allegedly physically abused by him. Around the age of six, Reséndiz went to live with his maternal uncle for a period of time. During this time his uncle raped him, and Reséndiz was also sexually abused by a local pedophile. In his pre teen years, Reséndiz left home and began living on the streets. When he was sixteen years he first attempted to enter the United States but was deported. He would later successfully move to St. Louis, where he took up work through a temp agency.
In September of 1979 Reséndiz was sentenced to twenty years in prison for auto theft and assault in Miami, Dade County, Florida. Lucky for him, after just six years he was released on parole and deported back to Mexico. Throughout the 1980’s Reséndiz was arrested time and time again. In 1986 he was arrested in Texas for falsifying US citizenship and served 18-months in prison. In 1988 he was arrested in New Orleans for possessing a concealed weapon, which he spent some time in prison for but was paroled. In 1989, he was arrested in St. Louis for social security fraud and sentenced to 30 months in prison. In New Mexico in 1992, he got an 18-month sentence for burglary, but was released after 12 months, and in Santa Fe in 1995 he was arrested for trespassing and illegally carrying a firearm, and was once again deported back to Mexico. In fact after every prison sentence he completed he was deported back to Mexico, but somehow managed to keep coming back into the United States.
Ángel Maturino Reséndiz committed his first known murder, in Bexar County, Texas, in 1986. By his own admission, he met the victim Jane Doe at a homeless shelter, and the pair hit it off. He persuaded her to take a ride with him on his motorcycle. Unbeknownst to the victim, Resendez also had a firearm in his possession. While it is somewhat unclear exactly what events lead up to the crime, he reported the two got into some kind of disagreement, though he would claim that she disrespected him in some way. Because of this, Rezéndiz grew angry, and fired his .38 caliber gun four times, killing the victim instantly. He then transported her body and dumped it near an abandoned farm house. What happened next again is not entirely clear, but Resendiz then tracked down the female victim's alleged boyfriend. We do not know much about the victim, but Resendiz claimed to have shot and killed the man, and then dumped his body somewhere between San Antonio, Texas and Uvalde, Texas. The victims bodies have never been recovered.
On July 19, 1991, in San Antonio, Texas, Reséndiz murdered 22 year old Michael White, by bludgeoning him to death with a brick. White’s body would later be discovered in the front yard of an abandoned house. Resendez late claimed the motive for this murder, was because Michael White was a homosexual.
On March 23, 1997 in Ocala, Florida Resendez murdered a young couple. He bludgeoned 19 year old Jesse Howell to death with an air hose coupling, and then raped and strangled 16 year old Wendy Von Huben. He suffocated both victims manually and buried them both in a shallow grave, near some railroad trackers, in Sumter County, Florida.
On July 5, 1997 in Colton, California, Reséndiz claimed his 6th victim, a drifter, Robert Castro. Reséndiz beat Castro to death with a piece of plywood in a railyard. Now, I did find some reports that stated he was considered the main suspect in this murder though he was never officially charged.
On August 29, 1997, in Lexington, Kentucky, University of Kentucky students, 21 year old Christopher Maier and his girlfriend, 20 year old Holly Dunn Pendleton, attended a friends party. After a while the two got a little bored so they decided to grab some beers and go for a walk together on the railroad tracks. They sat and talked for a while, and then decided to head back to the party. They collected their things and started to head back when they were approached by Reséndiz. He first asked them for money, but they said they didn’t have any because they were broke college students. That’s when Reséndiz pulled out an ice pick and ordered Chris down to his hands and knees where he then tied him up. He took off Holly’s belt and tied her up with it as well. The young couple started to panic as they prepared to face death. They started to ask questions, so Reséndiz tied up a shirt and gagged them. Chris and Holly managed to spit the gags out, and Reséndiz would walk back and forth between the tracks where they were and a field just off of the tracks. Chris and Holly used this time to plan some kind of escape attempt. Chris told Holly that he wasn’t able to get untied so she needed to make a run for it. That’s when suddenly Reséndiz dropped a 52 pound boulder on top of Chris’ head, killing him instantly. Holly watched her boyfriend be murdered right before her eyes. That’s when Reséndiz climbed on top of her and raped her. After the sexual assault he viciously beat Holly, and left her for dead.
After some time Holly summoned up enough strength to walk about 200 yards to another students house, where the paramedics were called. While she suffered a number of injuries Holly was able to make a full recover. When she spoke with police all she could tell about the offender. She described him as having a Mexican accent, so she figured he was Hispanic. She said he was around 5’5 or 5’8 in height, had wavy black hair and wore glasses.
On October 4, 1998, in Hughes Springs, Texas, Reséndiz broke into the home of 87 year old Leafie Mason, beat her to death with an antique flat iron, and fled the scene.
On December 10th, 1998 in Carl, Georgia, 81 year old Fannie Whitney Byers, was bludgeoned to death in her home, with a tire rim. Her home was located close to transit railroad tracks. While a Lexington couple had been charged with her murder, Reséndiz would later admit his guilt to an FBI agent.
On December 17th, 1998, Reséndiz broke into a home located near Union Pacific railroad tracks. The homeowner was pediatric neurologist, 39 year old Claudia Benton. She was repeatedly raped, stabbed, and bludgeoned with a statue. Police later found her Jeep Cherokee in San Antonio, Texas, and found Reséndiz 's fingerprints on the steering wheel. When the murder of Claudia Benton occured, Reséndiz had one active warrant out for his arrest, for a charge of burglary. But up to that point no murders had been attributed to him.
On May 2, 1999 in Weimar, Texas. Reséndiz broke into the home of 46 year old Norman J. Simic and 47 year old Karen Simic. He sexually assaulted Karen, before beating her and Skip to death with a sledge hammer. Their red Mazda was discovered in San Antonio about three weeks later. Police dusted the vehicle for fingerprints, and discovered Reséndiz’s prints on the steering wheel, and were able to tie this case to Claudia Benton’s case.
On June 4, 1999 in Houston, Texas, Reséndiz broke into the apartment of 26 year old Elementary School teacher, Noemi Dominguez. Reséndiz sexually assaulted her, before bludgeoning her to death with a pickaxe. Before leaving her apartment he grabbed her keys, stole her white Honda Civic, and made his way to Dubina, Texas. Where he then broke into the home of 73 year old Josephine Konvicka.
He bludgeoned to death with the same pickaxe he used on Noemi Dominguez. Reséndiz tried stealing Konvicka’s car but was unable to locate her keys, he fled the scene in Dominguez’s honda civic. Seven days later police discovered the abandoned Honda Civic on the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas.
On June 15, 1999 in Gorham, Illinois, Reséndiz broke into the home of 80 year old George Morber, Sr, located just 100 yards from a railroad track. Morber was home with his 52 year old daughter, Carolyn Frederick. He tied Morber to a chair and shot him multiple times in the back of the head. He then raped Carolyn and bludgeoned her to death with the gun he had used to kill her father. When Reséndiz bludgeoned Carolyn, he did so with so much force that the shotgun broke in two. He then ransacked the home and stole Morber’s red pickup. Police would find his fingerprints throughout the home, and located the stolen pick up truck discovered 60 miles away, in Cairo, Illinois. Once again Reséndiz’ fingerprints were located on the steering wheel.
Local law enforcement agencies around the country did the little they could to help capture Reséndiz. Rail yard security measures were increased, and local drifters and attempted train hoppers were immediately brought into local jail houses for a positive identification or questioning. Some trains would even be stopped and searched, which caused delays and rail hold ups.
In June of 1999, the FBI placed Ángel Reséndiz of the Top 10 Most Wanted List, The FBI’s initial reward for any information leading to his arrest was posted for $50,000, but within a couple of days that amount was increased to $125,000. More than 1,000 tips came in through phone lines, from individuals claiming to see Reséndiz or from those close to victims that thought a new detail that could help investigators.
With the help of the FBI, officials were able to track Reséndiz to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, just over the border from El Paso, Texas. After weeks long efforts in building trust with Angel’s family, Deputy Drew Carter proposed that if Ángel peacefully surrendered himself to authorities he would be guaranteed: personality safety in prison, regular visits with his family and friends, and a psychological evaluation. Finally, Ángel agreed to meet with Carter, his sister, and a pastor, and would turn himself in. On Tuesday, July 13th, 1999, the group gathered on a bridge that connected Zaragoza, Mexico with El Paso, Texas. Ángel arrived at the bridge, walked over to Carter, the two shook hands, and finally he was taken into custody.
On May 8th, 2000, Reséndiz went to trial for the murder of Claudia Benton. The major focus of the trial was deciding whether Reséndiz was insane during the time he committed the murders. The Defense called Psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Cohen to the stand, to testify regarding his diagnosis that Reséndiz was a schizophrenic. Cohen described how Reséndiz had an inability to distinguish right from wrong due to a “mental delusion," which led him to believe the victims were evil, so he believed he was justified in his behaviors. The prosecution countered this testimony by calling psychiatrist, Dr. Ramon Laval to testify. Laval agreed with the defense that Reséndiz had unhealthy attitudes towards women and society in general, and that he did suffer from obsessive behaviors, but Laval was adamant that Reséndiz was aware of what he was doing and knew right from wrong when he committed his crimes.
After ten hours of deliberation, the jury found Ángel Maturino Reséndiz , guilty of premeditated first-degree capital murder. The jury had sentenced Resendez to death.
On the morning of June 27th, 2006, outside the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, protestors and supporters alike gathered as they awaited Reséndiz’s execution. He met with his mother and his seven-year-old daughter. After this, he was taken to a holding cell, where he was reported as remaining calm, and was offered his last meal, though he declined.
Present at his execution were various members of his own family, as well as individuals close to the number of his victims, including, Josephine Konvicka’s son, Karen Sirnic’s brother, and the grandson and son of victims George Morber and Carolyn Frederick. . When Reséndiz saw the witnesses in their chamber he nodded toward them and stated his last words. “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 with me. I don’t deserve to cause you pain. You did not deserve this. I deserve what I am getting.” As he received the lethal injection at 7:58 pm, he prayed in both Hebrew and Spanish. Hebrew because when he was on death row he started saying he was jewish sooo…. He was pronounced dead at 8:05 pm. He was 46 years old.
Holly Dunn Pendleton made it her life's work to be a victims advocate and share her story. In 2017 she published her book Sole Survivor THE INSPIRING TRUE STORY OF COMING FACE TO FACE WITH THE INFAMOUS RAILROAD KILLER. She also does speaking events around the country. She opened a non-residential center for children and adults that have been victims of intimate crimes, which is located in Evansville, Indiana. They work to provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice. If you want to learn more about Holly you can check out her website, hollykdunn.com.
Following Reséndiz's death, law enforcement officials speculated whether he could be responsible for additional murders, which they strongly believe he is. FBI profiler John Douglas said he believes Reséndiz had also killed before his first known murder, he thinks he probably killed people all the way back in the 1970’s. After his death it was reported that the FBI was looking into 200 unsolved cases that could fit his M.O. Officials in Mexico also found crimes that could fit his M.O. and they also strongly believe he committed murders on their soil as well.
Sources
Blanco, Juan Ignacio. “Angel Maturino Resendiz.” Murderpedia.org, murderpedia.org/male.R/r1/resendiz-angel.htm.
CBS News. “Angel Maturino Resendiz: The ‘Railroad Killer.’” Www.Cbsnews.com, www.cbsnews.com/pictures/angel-maturino-resendiz-the-railroad-killer/17/.
Kinney, Morgan. “How the Railroad Killer Reached the End of the Line.” Houstonia Magazine, 26 Nov. 2018, www.houstoniamag.com/news-and-city-life/2018/11/railroad-killer-angel-maturino-resendiz. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
Comments