Angel Colon Maldonado

Serial Killer

Ángel Colón Maldonado: Puerto Rico's "Ángel de los Solteros"

Ángel Colón Maldonado is a Puerto Rican serial killer whose crimes created fear in San Juan's gay community during the mid-1980s. He became known in the Puerto Rican press as "El Ángel de los Solteros," or "The Angel of the Bachelors," and was also given other sensationalized nicknames connected to the fact that his victims were men. Colón Maldonado was extraordinarily young when the known murders began in 1985, yet the brutality of the crimes and the similarities between several of the cases quickly attracted the attention of homicide investigators. Colón Maldonado was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1968. By his teenage years, he was moving within San Juan's nightlife and social circles and making contact with adult men, some of whom were considerably older than he was. Investigators ultimately concluded that he used these relationships to gain access to victims in private residences, where the men became vulnerable to attack. Several victims were restrained, stabbed or otherwise violently assaulted, and property was taken from some of the residences afterward.

The Beginning of the Murder Series

The known series began in April 1985. Although Colón Maldonado was still only about 17 years old, investigators would eventually connect him with a succession of violent deaths occurring within a remarkably short period. The three killings that ultimately resulted in murder convictions involved dentist Luis Manuel González López, well-known model and social figure Iván Frontera Benítez, and Cuban musician Gustavo Faxas de Miguel. The attacks had several disturbing similarities. The victims were attacked inside their own homes or apartments, often after the killer had been allowed inside. Restraints appeared in more than one crime scene, and sharp-edged weapons were repeatedly used. Investigators also encountered unusually violent crime scenes in which the amount of force used appeared far beyond what would have been necessary simply to kill or rob the victim.

Verified Victims

• Luis Manuel González López — April 21, 1985 — Isla Verde, Carolina, Puerto Rico: González López was a dentist living in a penthouse at the New San Juan condominium in Isla Verde. Colón Maldonado had become acquainted with him before the killing. On April 21, 1985, González López was restrained and attacked inside his residence. He suffered stab wounds and a severe wound to his throat. His body was placed in a bathtub, and investigators found the crime scene deliberately arranged in an unusual manner. Colón Maldonado subsequently fled with property belonging to González López, including the victim's automobile. This murder became one of the principal cases used to prosecute him.
• Iván Frontera Benítez — May 2, 1985 — Miramar, San Juan, Puerto Rico: Frontera was a model and recognizable figure in Puerto Rico's social and entertainment circles. He was killed during the evening of May 2, 1985, inside his apartment near Calle Hoare and Calle Martí in Miramar. His body was discovered the following afternoon, May 3. Frontera's hands and legs had been restrained with silk neckties, and he had been stabbed 128 times in an exceptionally violent assault. Investigators determined that more than one sharp instrument had apparently been used. The brutality of Frontera's death made the case one of the most widely publicized murders associated with Colón Maldonado.
• Gustavo Faxas de Miguel — May 29, 1985 — Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico: Faxas de Miguel was a Cuban-born musician who worked in Puerto Rico's entertainment and restaurant scene. He was attacked in his apartment in the Torres del Mar condominium in the Condado area. Evidence at the scene indicated that a sharp object, reportedly including a pair of scissors, had been used during the assault and that he had also suffered significant blunt-force injuries. Investigators found a broken, bloodied lamp that was believed to have been used to strike him. His death became the third murder for which Colón Maldonado was eventually prosecuted.

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Confirmed Victims: (3)

Luis Manuel González López , Date of Death: 1985-04-21

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