Tiago Rocha, 26, has confessed to killing 39 people, making him one of the world's most prolific killers
The serial killer always stuck to his system.
Prostitutes were stabbed. Homeless men were shot. Gays he choked.
And young women — the victims he came to savor killing the most — he would shoot in the chest.
That
was the modus operandi of Tiago Henrique Gomes da Rocha, the Brazilian
serial killer who has confessed to murdering at least 39 people in just
three years, making him of the most prolific killers in the world.
Rocha,
26, was arrested Tuesday after being pulled over in the city of
Goiania, when local police found he was facing trial for stealing a
motorcycle's license plate in January.
He
was stopped while riding with fake plates on the motorcycle he often
used during the murders, when he would drive by and attack random
victims before speeding away.
A
day later, he confessed to killing 39 people — 15 young women as well
as prostitutes and random people he thought to be gay or homeless.
In
a sick twist, it has been revealed that Rocha was in a romantic
relationship with a pretty church girl with long hair, her appearance
similar to that of his victims, the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo
reported.
This is the moment confessed killer Tiago Rocha, 26, described his 20th murder to police
Lilian Mesquita, 28, was the 20th victim Rocha confessed to killing
Cops say he may have been engaged to the young woman, who would often take him to her Assembly of God church.
Rocha
began killing in 2011, at first targeting homeless people, gays and
prostitutes. His first victim was a man, the first of 17 males he would
eventually kill.
This year, he turned his attention to young women.
His
first young female victim was 14-year-old Bárbara Costa, who had been
waiting for her grandmother in a public square on January 18 when a man
riding a motorcycle shot her in the chest and left without taking
anything.
The next day, 23-year-old Beatriz Moura was shot also by a man in a motorcycle. He once again didn't take anything.
In
all, he killed 15 women in seven months in Goiania, a city of 1.3
million people located some 200 miles from the country's capital of
Brasilia. They were ages 14 to 29.
Even
as late as Sunday, he had once again tried to kill a woman — but the
attempt was foiled when his gun didn't go off, and he ran away.
Pictured here two of the victims, 24-year-old Janaina Souza (left ) and Barbara Costa, 14
Victim Ana Maria Duarte, 26
Victim Wanessa Felipe, 22
In an interview with Folha, he said he was 'moved by a greater power' and regrets the crimes.
'I
wanted to say that I am remorseful, that I wanted to have a chance to
pay for what I've done — to ask for forgiveness,' he told Folha.
Rocha spoke little, his eyes downcast. He paused frequently and gave short answers.
He said he was feeling 'badly, very badly' about the killings.
He
wouldn't explain why he killed so many people, and avoided personal
questions but to confirm that he had problems in his childhood.
It was 'stronger than me,' he told Folha. 'I couldn't explain.'
He was asked twice about the number of victims. The first time he refused to answer. The second, he said only: 'No comment.'
He would often drink before the killings because it would give him liquid courage to proceed, Folha reported.
While speaking to police, he would refer to his victims only as numbers.
'All
the police officers who followed the interrogation were shocked by his
coldness, not only with his modus operandi but also in the way he
formulated his ideas,' interrogator Douglas Pedroso, of the Goias Civil
Police, told G1 news. 'He identified each victim by a number--number 30,
number 12.'
Pedroso says the killer remembers details of each of his dozens of crimes.
'After admitting to a crime, he would stay there for some five minutes in a catatonic state,' Pedroso told G1.
During
those times, the killer told police, he would be thinking about the
crime — reliving it, even. At times, he would have a smile on his face.
'After,
he would give details about the place and what he was feeling,' Pedroso
told G1. 'He didn't have details of the faces, he had details of the
violence.'
Cops say he was 'cold' during questioning and was visibly bothered by female police staff.
When women walked in he 'stopped talking, said he was bothered and that he wasn't going to talk anymore,' Pedroso told G1.
Chilling pictures of the objects
seized during the arrest of Rocha on Tuesday - officers initially
targeted him when they discovered he was facing trial for stealing a
number plate on a motorbike
Before pulling the trigger, he would always shout 'robbery', but then flee the scene without taking anything
Two of Rocha's victims. He confessed to killing 15 young women in the city of Goiania, where he lived
Rocha's lawyer, Thiago Vidal, told Folha that he counseled the killer of his right to remain silent.
But Rocha pounded his fists on the interrogation table and insisted: 'No, I will talk.'
'I have to get this from inside me,' he said of the murders.
Vidal
at first said Rocha had confessed on Monday under pressure from police.
Then on Wednesday, he was interrogated once again — and the defense
lawyer left the room 'perplexed.'
'At
first I thought the police may have coerced him into confessing to a
crime he didn't commit, but he narrated with richness of detail each of
the deaths,' the lawyer told Folha.
While
Rocha talked, the lawyer read through the police report detailing the
confession from two days earlier. The killer made no mistakes in
retelling his macabre story .
'He didn't hesitate,' Vidal told Folha. 'Everything fit.'
The
lawyer said Rocha attempted suicide with shards from a light bulb on
Thursday. He is now on suicide watch in jail and remains handcuffed.
He is expected to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Rocha was visited by his mother, an aunt and four other relatives on Friday after he asked for them.
A hammer, knives and handcuffs were some of the items seized by the special police task force
Cops walk Rocha into the Goias Civil Police station after his arrest
If Rocha ends up being convicted of
the crimes he confessed to, he will gain a place in the record books as
one of the world's most prolific serial killers
Rocha's family described him to Folha as a quiet young man with few friends. He rarely went out to social events at night.
He lived with his mother and a brother and never met his dad. He was molested by a neighbor when he was 11.
Rocha
graduated high school and worked for a couple of years in a private
security firm. Police say he stole a .38-caliber gun from this job and
used it in the murders.
For the last four months, he's worked a night security shift in a large hospital in Goiania.
Three
victims: a special police task force arrested Rocha on Tuesday after the
string of unexplained murders caused panic among the local population
Police say
the assassin, who lived with his mother in the Goias state capital, has
also confessed to killing transvestites and several homeless people, as
well as women, two of whom are pictured here
Families
and friends of the women murdered this year, including these two
victims, staged a series of demonstrations to put pressure on the police
and local government
Rocha say he killed because of the 'rage he felt against everything', which only subsided when he murdered.
He
was arrested on Tuesday by a special police task force set up to catch
the serial killer after the string of unexplained murders caused panic
among the local population.
Families
and friends of the women murdered this year staged a series of
demonstrations to put pressure on the police and local government to
solve the crime.
They wore white and carried photos of the victims.
Before pulling the trigger, Rocha would always shout 'robbery' — but then flee the scene without taking anything.
Officers
swooped on Rocha when they discovered he was facing trial for stealing
the number plate on a motorbike at a supermarket in Goiania in January.
Days later he was was stopped by police riding a motorbike with a fake plate.
The
murder weapon, a.38 revolver, was seized from the home he shared with
his mother during a search along with a motorbike and stolen plates.
Local reports said he told police before being taken to jail that he killed his victims to alleviate feelings of anxiety.
Rocha shot his dead from a motorbike and shouted 'robbery' before pulling the trigger
The
list of the 15 most prolific modern serial killers is topped by
Colombian Luis Garavito, a child murderer and rapist known as 'La
Bestia' or 'The Beast.' He is thought to have killed more than 400
people, mostly street children. His proven victim count is 138.
Pedro
Rodrigues Filho, Brazil's most prolific killer, claimed to have killed
more than 100 victims, 47 of them inmates. He was convicted of killing
71 people.
He killed his first two victims at the age of 14 and murdered his father and ate a piece of his heart.
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