10-26-2025, 04:26 PM
The year was 1945, in the heart of Guanajuato, Mexico — a time when brothels were common and poverty pushed many women to desperate choices.
Four sisters — Delfina, María de Jesús, Carmen, and María Luisa González — came from a strict, abusive household. Their father, a former police officer, was known for his cruelty and hypocrisy. When the sisters grew older, they decided to make their own fortune — in the only way they knew how.
They opened a brothel called “Rancho El Ángel.” At first, it was a regular house of prostitution, one among many. Business was good. Money flowed in. But greed and control soon poisoned everything.
To expand their “business,” the sisters began recruiting young women — mostly poor girls from nearby towns. They promised them jobs as maids, offering food and lodging. But once the girls arrived, they realized there was no way out. They were locked up, beaten, and forced into sex work for the rest of their lives.
As the years passed, the Poquianchis grew bolder. They opened more brothels across the region — and their cruelty deepened. Those who tried to escape were killed. Those who got sick or became pregnant were disposed of. And the sisters, blinded by power, continued as if nothing was wrong.
Everything came crashing down in 1964, when a woman managed to escape and told the police what was happening.
When authorities raided the property, what they found shocked the entire country:
Dozens of bodies buried in the walls and fields. Women, men, even infants. Some had been dead for years.
The official count listed 91 bodies, but investigators believed there were over 150 victims in total. Newspapers called it “La Casa de las Muertas” — The House of the Dead.
The González sisters were arrested and sentenced to 40 years in prison each — one of the harshest sentences Mexico had handed down at the time.
Delfina died in prison after an accident; María de Jesús reportedly lost her sanity. The remaining sisters faded into obscurity.
Their case remains one of Mexico’s darkest criminal stories, a haunting reminder of what greed, abuse, and silence can create when left unchecked.
Four sisters — Delfina, María de Jesús, Carmen, and María Luisa González — came from a strict, abusive household. Their father, a former police officer, was known for his cruelty and hypocrisy. When the sisters grew older, they decided to make their own fortune — in the only way they knew how.
They opened a brothel called “Rancho El Ángel.” At first, it was a regular house of prostitution, one among many. Business was good. Money flowed in. But greed and control soon poisoned everything.
To expand their “business,” the sisters began recruiting young women — mostly poor girls from nearby towns. They promised them jobs as maids, offering food and lodging. But once the girls arrived, they realized there was no way out. They were locked up, beaten, and forced into sex work for the rest of their lives.
As the years passed, the Poquianchis grew bolder. They opened more brothels across the region — and their cruelty deepened. Those who tried to escape were killed. Those who got sick or became pregnant were disposed of. And the sisters, blinded by power, continued as if nothing was wrong.
Everything came crashing down in 1964, when a woman managed to escape and told the police what was happening.
When authorities raided the property, what they found shocked the entire country:
Dozens of bodies buried in the walls and fields. Women, men, even infants. Some had been dead for years.
The official count listed 91 bodies, but investigators believed there were over 150 victims in total. Newspapers called it “La Casa de las Muertas” — The House of the Dead.
The González sisters were arrested and sentenced to 40 years in prison each — one of the harshest sentences Mexico had handed down at the time.
Delfina died in prison after an accident; María de Jesús reportedly lost her sanity. The remaining sisters faded into obscurity.
Their case remains one of Mexico’s darkest criminal stories, a haunting reminder of what greed, abuse, and silence can create when left unchecked.