On March 29th, 2008, five-year-old Isabella Nardoni fell from the sixth-floor window of her father's apartment in São Paulo, Brazil. What police initially treated as a tragic accident quickly became the most publicized criminal case in Brazilian history when forensic evidence revealed a far darker truth.
Isabella had been strangled, beaten, and deliberately thrown through a cut protective screen while in the care of the two people who should have protected her most. As investigators pieced together the events of that Saturday night, they uncovered a story of jealousy, violence, and a staged crime scene that captivated an entire nation.

This episode examines the investigation, the forensic evidence, and the trial that gripped Brazil for two years. With 98% of the country following the case, the line between justice and media spectacle became dangerously blurred.

Content Warning: This episode contains detailed discussion of child abuse and violence against a minor.


Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

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Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

In January 2006, Mexico City's most wanted serial killer was finally caught—but the capture shocked a nation. For years, authorities hunted "El Mataviejitas," believing they were chasing a brilliant male predator who targeted elderly women. The truth was far more disturbing: the killer was Juana Barraza, a professional wrestler and mother who used her wrestling persona "La Dama del Silencio" to hide in plain sight.

This episode explores Mexico's first female serial killer case, revealing how gender bias blinded investigators for years while Barraza methodically murdered at least 16 elderly women. From her traumatic childhood to her double life as both devoted mother and calculating predator, we uncover how she exploited society's blind spots and why her victims mattered when thousands of other murdered women didn't.

A chilling examination of prejudice, politics, and the hierarchy of whose lives matter in modern Mexico.

Content warning: This episode contains discussions of violence, murder, and sexual assault.

Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

March 1994, São Paulo. A phone call to TV Globo about alleged child abuse at a small preschool would destroy four innocent lives in just 72 hours.

When 4-year-old children made disturbing claims about their teachers, Brazil's hungry media machine turned speculation into fact and accusation into conviction.

By the time the truth emerged three months later, careers were ended, marriages destroyed, and lives lost to stress and heartbreak.

On this episode of Latin Noir, host Elias Crowe examines how a newly free press became an instrument of destruction, and why the Base School Case is now mandatory study in Brazilian journalism schools as the ultimate example of "what not to do."

Some stories serve as warnings. This is one of them.

Content Warning: Discusses false accusations of child abuse and media harassment.

Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

The Vampire of Niterói: Brazil's Most Horrific Serial Killer

In 1991, the streets of Rio de Janeiro became a hunting ground for one of Brazil's most disturbing predators. Marcelo Costa de Andrade, known as "O Vampiro de Niterói," terrorized the region for nine months, targeting the most vulnerable members of society - street children aged 5 to 13.

This chilling episode explores how a boy abandoned by every system designed to protect him transformed into a monster who murdered at least 14 innocent children. From his traumatic childhood in Rio's Rocinha favela to his capture after a brave 11-year-old's escape, we uncover the dark psychology behind his ritualistic crimes that included sexual assault, murder, and the drinking of victims' blood.

Host Elias Crowe examines the systemic failures that created this predator, the investigation that brought him down, and the ongoing debates about justice and mental illness in Brazil's legal system. More than 30 years later, Andrade remains confined in a psychiatric hospital, still hearing voices that command him to kill.

Content Warning:
This episode contains disturbing discussions of violence against children and is intended for mature audiences only.

Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

The Vargas Vil Brothers

In 1980s Mexico, Sebastián and Álvaro Vargas Vil turned their home into a site of satanic rituals. What began with animal sacrifices escalated into human murders, with Sebastián as the dominant leader and Álvaro as his fearful accomplice. Their crimes were exposed when a victim escaped, leading police to discover blood-soaked altars and human remains. During trial, Álvaro wept while Sebastián boasted proudly of serving Satan. Both were imprisoned, and the case fueled a wave of satanic panic across Mexico.

This is Latin Noir — where every story is a reminder that evil often hides in plain sight.
If tonight’s case unsettled you, remember — the most chilling truths are the ones closest to home.

Join us next time, as we continue our descent into the crimes that shaped Latin America’s darkest history.

Until then… stay in the light, because the shadows are always closer than you think.

Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

This is Latin Noir — where every story is a reminder that evil often hides in plain sight.
If tonight’s case unsettled you, remember — the most chilling truths are the ones closest to home.
Join us next time, as we continue our descent into the crimes that shaped Latin America’s darkest history.
Until then… stay in the light, because the shadows are always closer than you think.

Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

Tonight, we tell the story of a man whose crimes defy comprehension… a predator who roamed the mountains and valleys of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, leaving behind hundreds of shattered families.
His name is Pedro Alonso López.
The world would come to know him as ‘The Monster of the Andes.’
What follows is not just a tale of violence, but of how one man slipped through the cracks of three nations, evading justice for years. It is a story of loss, of failure, and of the chilling possibility that the darkness he carried may still be out there.


Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

In the heart of São Paulo during the late 1990s, a string of disappearances unsettled the city and triggered one of the most haunting criminal investigations in Brazilian history. This podcast unravels a chilling true crime case that begins in a peaceful urban park and slowly reveals a disturbing reality hiding in plain sight. Through detailed storytelling and real-life accounts, it explores how fear spreads, how justice is pursued, and how a community is forever changed.

Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.

Elize Matsunaga killed and dismembered her husband Marcos after uncovering his betrayal—a chilling crime that shocked Brazil and unveiled dark secrets.


Support Resources

Need help?

• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• National Suicide Prevention: 988
• Brazil: Disque 100 (Human Rights Violations) | CVV: 188 (Suicide Prevention)

About Latin Noir

Exploring Latin America's most compelling criminal cases with respect for victims while examining the social forces behind these tragedies. Hosted by Elias Crowe.

Stay Connected

Subscribe wherever you get podcasts for weekly episodes
Email: [email protected]

Latin Noir - Where crime meets culture.

© 2025 Latin Noir Podcast. All rights reserved.