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Ángel Maturino Reséndiz

Also known as: The Railroad Killer, Angel Maturino Resendiz, Rafael Resendez-Ramirez

Active
1991–1999
Region
Texas and other states along US rail lines
States
FL, GA, IL, KY, TX
Kind
Serial
Status
Executed
Victims
13

Angel Maturino Resendiz, a Mexican drifter who rode freight trains across the United States, was linked to at least 15 killings, most of them in homes or along railroad tracks, between the 1980s and 1999. After he was placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list, a Texas Ranger arranged his surrender on a bridge at El Paso in July 1999. He was convicted of the December 1998 murder of Dr. Claudia Benton in Houston, sentenced to death, and executed in Huntsville on June 27, 2006.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Timeline of locations

  1. July 19, 1991
    San Antonio (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Michael White was killed in San Antonio in 1991. Resendiz confessed to it in 2001.

  2. March 23, 1997
    Railroad tracks, Belleview, Florida (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Jesse Howell's body was found on the railroad tracks through Belleview on March 23, 1997.

  3. August 29, 1997
    Railroad tracks near the University of Kentucky (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Christopher Maier was killed while walking along the tracks with his girlfriend, Holly Dunn, who survived.

  4. October 4, 1998
    Hughes Springs, Texas (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Leafie Mason was killed in her home in Hughes Springs.

  5. December 10, 1998
    Carl, Georgia (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Fannie Byers was killed in her home in Carl. Resendiz later confessed to her killing.

  6. December 17, 1998
    Benton home, West University Place (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Dr. Claudia Benton was killed in her home near the railroad tracks. This is the murder for which Resendiz was tried and executed.

  7. May 2, 1999
    Sirnic home, Weimar (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Norman and Karen Sirnic were killed in their home near a railroad track in Weimar.

  8. June 4, 1999
    Dominguez apartment, Houston (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Noemi Dominguez was killed in her Houston apartment.

  9. June 4, 1999
    Konvicka farmhouse near Dubina (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Josephine Konvicka was killed in her farmhouse in Fayette County.

  10. June 15, 1999
    Morber home, Gorham, Illinois (Crime scene, approximate area)

    George Morber Sr. and his daughter, Carolyn Frederick, were killed in his home in Gorham.

  11. July 13, 1999
    Surrender at the border, El Paso (Arrest, approximate area)

    Resendiz surrendered to Texas Ranger Drew Carter on a bridge between Ciudad Juarez and El Paso, accompanied by his sister and a spiritual adviser.

  12. May 2000
    Harris County trial, Houston (Court / trial, approximate area)

    Tried in Harris County for the Benton murder in spring 2000, he was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death.

  13. July 15, 2000
    Remains found near Oxford, Florida (Recovery site, approximate area)

    In July 2000, after confessing to Marion County detectives, Resendiz led a search team to skeletal remains believed to be Wendy Von Huben's, in Sumter County.

  14. June 27, 2006
    Huntsville Unit (Prison)

    Resendiz was executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit on June 27, 2006.

Watch, listen, read

Read

  • Sole Survivor: The Inspiring True Story of Coming Face to Face with the Infamous Railroad Killer (2017, Holly Dunn with Heather Ebert (Diversion Books))

Active at the same time, nearby

A coincidence of time and place, not a connection. All overlaps

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.