Sara Aldrete
Encyclopedia
Sara María Aldrete is a multiple murderer known as "La Madrina". She attended high school in Brownsville, Texas
, United States
, while still living south of the border, and gained resident alien
status so she could attend Texas Southmost College
. She was known among her peers as a good student. She is 6 in 1 in (1.85 m) tall and studied physical education
, preparing to transfer to a university to earn a physical education teaching certification.
Adolfo Constanzo
, a Cuban American fortune-teller
and religious cult
leader, introduced her to witchcraft and dark magic. He gave her the nickname "La Madrina", Spanish for "godmother", and initiated her into his cult, which was a conglomeration of Santería
, Aztec warrior ritual
, and Palo Mayombe
, complete with blood sacrifices. Costanzo sexually assaulted and killed drug dealers and used their body parts for religious sacrifice ceremonies in an old warehouse near Matamoros. Many of his victims' body parts were cooked in a large pot called a nganga
. Costanzo made Sara Aldrete second-in-command of his cult, and directed her to supervise his followers while he was out shipping marijuana
over the border into the US.
In 1989 the killings grew more frequent and gained attention when affluent American tourist Mark J. Kilroy
, a University of Texas student on Spring Break, was abducted. Costanzo, Aldrete and the rest of the cult went on the run when detectives discovered their 'shrine'. They found human hair, brains, teeth and skulls at the site of the murders. Eventually, the police found their hideout in Mexico city
on May 6, 1989. After a shootout, Costanzo and one of his accomplices were shot and killed by another member of the cult, apparently at Constanzo's behest. Aldrete was convicted of criminal association in 1990 and jailed for six years. In a second trial, she was convicted of several of the killings at the cult's headquarters, and sentenced to 68 years in prison. If Aldrete is ever released from prison, American authorities plan to prosecute her for the murder of Mark Kilroy.
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, while still living south of the border, and gained resident alien
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...
status so she could attend Texas Southmost College
Texas Southmost College
Texas Southmost College was established in 1926 under the name of The Junior College of the Lower Rio Grande Valley and admitted its first class on September 21 of that year. The school was originally a subsidiary of the local school district in Brownsville...
. She was known among her peers as a good student. She is 6 in 1 in (1.85 m) tall and studied physical education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, preparing to transfer to a university to earn a physical education teaching certification.
Adolfo Constanzo
Adolfo Constanzo
Adolfo de Jesús Constanzo was an American serial killer, drug dealer and cult leader. His nickname was El Padrino de Matamoros .- Early years :...
, a Cuban American fortune-teller
Fortune-telling
Fortune-telling is the practice of predicting information about a person's life. The scope of fortune-telling is in principle identical with the practice of divination...
and religious cult
Cult
The word cult in current popular usage usually refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre. The word originally denoted a system of ritual practices...
leader, introduced her to witchcraft and dark magic. He gave her the nickname "La Madrina", Spanish for "godmother", and initiated her into his cult, which was a conglomeration of Santería
Santería
Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....
, Aztec warrior ritual
Aztec religion
Aztec religion is the Mesoamerican religion practiced by the Aztec empire. Like other Mesoamerican religions, it had elements of human sacrifice in connection with a large number of religious festivals which were held according to patterns of the Aztec calendar...
, and Palo Mayombe
Palo (religion)
Palo, or Las Reglas de Congo are a group of closely related religions or denominations, which developed in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean amongst Central African slaves of mostly Bantu ancestry...
, complete with blood sacrifices. Costanzo sexually assaulted and killed drug dealers and used their body parts for religious sacrifice ceremonies in an old warehouse near Matamoros. Many of his victims' body parts were cooked in a large pot called a nganga
Nganga
Nganga is a Bantu term for herbalist or spiritual healer in many African societies and also in many societies of the African diaspora such as those in Haiti, Brazil and Cuba....
. Costanzo made Sara Aldrete second-in-command of his cult, and directed her to supervise his followers while he was out shipping marijuana
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
over the border into the US.
In 1989 the killings grew more frequent and gained attention when affluent American tourist Mark J. Kilroy
Mark J. Kilroy
Mark J. Kilroy was a University of Texas at Austin student who vanished in March 1989 on the streets of Matamoros, Mexico along the Texas/Mexico border across from the city of Brownsville, Texas....
, a University of Texas student on Spring Break, was abducted. Costanzo, Aldrete and the rest of the cult went on the run when detectives discovered their 'shrine'. They found human hair, brains, teeth and skulls at the site of the murders. Eventually, the police found their hideout in Mexico city
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
on May 6, 1989. After a shootout, Costanzo and one of his accomplices were shot and killed by another member of the cult, apparently at Constanzo's behest. Aldrete was convicted of criminal association in 1990 and jailed for six years. In a second trial, she was convicted of several of the killings at the cult's headquarters, and sentenced to 68 years in prison. If Aldrete is ever released from prison, American authorities plan to prosecute her for the murder of Mark Kilroy.