In spite of the fervour building up around him, Adolfo still had to complete his deal on the 800kg of marijuana. He decided that Gilberto Sosa, Sara’s former boyfriend, would make the necessary sacrifice. The deed done, he successfully smuggled the drugs across the border.
ADOLFO ON THE RUN
But the net was closing in on Adolfo. Serafin Hernandez Garcia had been arrested by police and had led them to his ranch, where evidence of his sinister and sadistic rituals, and the mutilated corpses of the victims themselves, had been discovered. Showing less faith in the protection of the spirits than his disciple Garcia, Adolfo fled, taking Sara, two male lovers, and a hit man from the Hernandez family with him.
His first thought was to run to Miami, but the authorities knew that this was where his mother lived, and were already looking for him there. So he remained in Mexico City, relying on his followers to hide him for short periods each.
Media attention was on the increase and shocking television shows were aired which detailed the events in Matamoros. These were broadcast internationally. Nationwide sightings of Adolfo and Sara were repeatedly reported but none of them confirmed. The police presence at border controls swelled and everyone was on the look-out for the fugitives, but they were nowhere to be found.
PARANOIA
Adolfo turned to his tarot cards, and in them read betrayal. He became more and more paranoid that his close friends were going to turn him in. He hardly slept, threatened everyone with the power of the spirits, and kept a submachine gun with him at all times. When he saw on the television news of April 22, 1989, that arsonists had burnt his ranch to ashes, and witnessed priests exorcising the remains with holy water, Adolfo flew into a blind fury and destroyed the apartment in which he was hiding.
Two days later, another of Adolfo’s disciples was arrested. He, like Garcia, held nothing back when questioned by police and confirmed all the statements they had already received detailing the occult practices at the ranch, and naming Adolfo de Jesus Constanza as the leader, El Padrino.
On April 27, Adolfo moved himself and his elite entourage one last time. Still unable to leave Mexico City, they moved to an apartment on Rio Sena. Witnessing the daily change in Adolfo and his increasing paranoia, and consequently fearing for her own safety, Sara secretly wrote a note which she threw from the window on to the street below. It read:
Please call the judicial police and tell them that in this building are those that they are seeking. Give them the address, fourth floor. Tell them that a woman is being held hostage. I beg for this, because what I want most is to talk – or they’re going to kill the girl.
The note was discovered, but discarded. Its finder believed it to be a joke in very poor taste and thought nothing more of it.
In spite of her failed attempt, Sara did not have much longer to wait. On May 6, police were conducting a routine door-to-door enquiry, looking for information on a missing child, completely unconnected with Adolfo’s crimes. They arrived at the building on Rio Sena. Within an hour, Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo lay dead.
SHOOT-OUT
Adolfo had spied the police from his window and lost his nerve, assuming they had come for him. He opened fire, raining bullets down on them. The unsuspecting police very quickly called for help and were instantly joined by their backup. In total, 180 policemen surrounded the building. The shoot-out continued for 45 minutes, until Adolfo realised that he was never going to escape. He gave his gun to the former Hernandez hitman and ordered him to kill him and one of his male lovers. At first, the order was refused, but Adolfo became angry and threatened him with eternal damnation. The gun was fired, and Adolfo slumped to the ground. Police charged into the building, found the two dead bodies, and arrested the three survivors.
SENTENCES FOR THE SURVIVORS
With El Padrino dead, the Mexican authorities turned their attention to the surviving members of Adolfo’s cult – the three they had pulled out of the apartment on Rio Sena, and the many who had already been arrested and had happily confessed to participating in the slaughters.
All but Sara Aldrete admitted to their own involvement. She however, claimed that she had been a victim. Her lengthy protestations gave her away though, and instead of clearing her of guilt, they exposed the knowledge she had had of the secret and brutal rituals of the cult. She received a sentence of 62 years from the Mexican courts, and should she ever be released from prison there, then the US authorities are ready to try her for the murder of Mark Kilroy. Over 20 other members of Adolfo’s cult were brought to justice – the longest sentence passed was 67 years.
Yet Mexico is still not breathing easy. Many suspicious crimes cannot be explained, and some ritual murders remain unsolved. Former members of Adolfo’s cult, including Sara Aldrete, claim that their religion has not reached its conclusion and that Adolfo’s practices continue. Mexican authorities believe that Adolfo de Jesus Constanzo was responsible for the majority of the crimes, even some for which they cannot posthumously convict him. They fear though that he didn’t commit them all, but that somebody else, who has yet to be identified, did.
The Kirtland Killings
Jeffrey Lundgren and his Mormon splinter group
Jeffrey don lundgren was born on May 3, 1950 in the city of Independence, Missouri. The Lundgrens seemed like an average American family in many ways, Jeffrey’s father Don went to work whilst his mother, Lois, stayed at home to look after him and his younger brother and keep the house looking presentable.
The family were avid church goers, and like many Independence residents, were part of the local Reorganized Church of Latter Day Saints (RLDS) congregation, which is an off-shoot in between Christianity and Mormonism. The vision statement of the RLDS reads as follows:
We believe that the future belongs to God and that the promise of God's kingdom shall be fulfiled. We have a vision of that kingdom where the name of Jesus Christ is truly honoured, where God's will is done on earth, where the hungry are fed, poverty is alleviated, sinners are repentant, and sin is forgiven. We believe that love is the proper foundation of our relationship with others, that opportunity to grow in the likeness of Christ should be fostered, and that the resources of the world can be managed to respect and preserve their creation and purpose. We have a vision of a time when all evil is overcome and peace prevails. Impelled by this vision, we will be an international community of prophetic vision, faithful to the risen Christ, empowered by hope, spending ourselves courageously in the pursuit of peace and justice.
Although there was nothing extremely unusual about the Lundgrens, and they did try their best to raise a respectable family, it was noted on many occasions that Don Lundgren was an overly authoritative father with many strict rules. He would often severely punish both Jeffrey and his brother for childish pranks that they did not deserve such reprimand for. In comparison Lois Lundgren was quite a distant mother who did not give her sons much maternal love, she was a stand-offish, unapproachable woman whose main priority in her role as the housewife was definitely the home rather than the children.
Jeffrey Lundgren went to a local school and was seen by the majority of his peers as a loner with a pretentious streak. Throughout school nothing much really kept his attention, but through his father he found one hobby that kept his interest – shooting guns. Don had had this pastime for years and when Jeffrey got to his teens Don thought he should share his hobby with his son. They would spend hours together practising target shooting as well as gun maintenance and also hunting and wilderness survival, these were all skills that Don Lundgren thought any respectable American male should have.