He looked like any other little boy—dark eyes, quiet smile, and a touch of shyness. Born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960, no one could have predicted that this innocent child would grow up to become one of the most feared figures in American criminal history.
He was the youngest of five in a working-class Mexican American family. His mother worked long hours in a shoe factory, while his father, a former soldier, ruled the home with iron discipline and unpredictable anger. Friends remembered the boy as withdrawn and silent, a child who kept to himself. Behind closed doors, however, his world was filled with violence and fear.
By the age of six, he had already suffered several serious head injuries from beatings—damage that led to temporal lobe epilepsy. As punishment, his father would sometimes tie him to a cemetery cross overnight, leaving him alone among the graves.
By ten, he had turned to alcohol and drugs. As a teen, he roamed the El Paso desert at night, carrying his father’s rifle and shooting small animals. When the hunt ended, he would sometimes mutilate the remains and feed them to his dog.
At fifteen, his life took a devastating turn. His cousin Miguel, a Vietnam veteran who showed him disturbing war photos, shot his wife in front of him during an argument. That single moment shattered whatever innocence remained.
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