Born in Tolmia, Columbia in 1949

Mother was Benilda López de Castañeda, father was Megdardo Reyes

His father was murdered six months before he was born

Attempted to molest his sister at the age of 8 and was kicked out of the house by his mother

Lopez ended up homeless in Bogota and was sexually abused frequently

At age 12 he was adopted by an American immigrant couple

Eventually ran away after being sexually assaulted by a teacher

Lopez was arrested for auto theft in 1969

Sentenced for 7 years in prison in Bogota, Colombia

Was gang-raped by 4 other inmates during his sentences, he murdered all 4 days later

The murders were ruled as self-defense, sentence was extended by only 2 years

Released from prison in 1978

It is known that Lopez was captured by an Ayacuchoan indigenous tribe after trying to abduct a 9 year old girl

He had murdered over 100 girls at this point, mostly children on the streets and young girls from indigenous tribes

The tribe eventually turned him over to police

Lopez was deported from Peru instead of being arrested

Lopez refused to cooperate during interrogation, he chose to remain silent

Eventually unknowingly confessed his crimes to Police Captain Pastor Cordova, who was disguised as a prisoner in the same cell with him

Bragged about his murders say he had killed " “over 200 in Ecuador, some tens in Peru, and many more in Columbia” 

Continued killing spree after leaving Peru

Ended up in Ecuador, police started to notice an increase in missing person cases, specifically young girls

Cases at the time were concluded as human trafficking

Ambato, Ecuador was hit with a flash flood in 1979, remains of several missing young girls were found

Lopez was arrested on March 9th, 1980 in Ecuador after an attempted abduction of a 12 year old girl and the other missing persons cases were connected to him

Sentenced to 16 years in the Garcia Moreno Prison, the maximum sentence available in Ecuador at the time

Lopez confessed that he stalked his victims days before to learn their lives and tactics

Would lure young girls with "trinkets", then would rape and strangle them with his bare hands

Claimed he would sometimes take their bodies from their burial sites and have "tea parties" with them

After confessing, Lopez directed authorities to the bodies of 53 victims, led to confirmations of 110 unsolved murder cases in Ecuador

Lopez was released 2 years early on August 31, 1994 for "good behavior"

Was immediately deported to Columbia and detained as an illegal immigrant

Colombian authorities declared Lopez insane and he was committed to a mental hospital

Released in 1998, declared sane with $70 bail

Was directed to report to authorities frequently, but almost immediately fled after being released

The last reported sighting of Lopez was in September 1999 at the National Civil Registry to renew his citizenship card

Colombian police issued a warrant for Lopez's arrest in 2002 after a murder had similarities to his past killings

Warrant was deactivated in 2005, but Lopez still remains as a fugitive

Possible suspect in a homicide committed in 2012 in Colombia