The macana brothers

Blood united them, they were  brothers . But they were also united by the blood of others, the taste and  satisfaction of killing .  History remembers them , but not like many of us would like to be remembered. This is the case of the serial killers who inhabited Mendoza more than a century ago.

They were two of the five children that Teresa Paolantonio de Leonelli had, who widowed very young. Marcos Mauricio and José Maria were the oldest, and they had to take over the family economy. Thus, in the house located on Calle Urquiza to 191 City, the brothers carried out, first of all, a  warehouse  with which they did not do well and had to close. Then, as a nod of fate, the Leonelli set up, in that same place, a funeral home.  They had something with death . And it is that, you'll see later, they themselves would generate their own customers.

The business was going very well. As has always been said, the funeral home is a good option because, after all, we all die. That's why they had a lot of profit and they were gaining respect. They bought a farm in  Guaymallén . They were a totally normal family. Except for a little detail, they were real  serial killers .

 The shout of the rallator 

On the morning of  December  20, 1916, heartbreaking alerts alerted the residents of Calle Urquiza almost Salta, Leonelli's home. The brothers Mauricio and Joseph Maria had summoned a Syrian merchant, Tufick Ladekani, to exchange money. When he entered the house, one of the brothers, hidden and behind, hit him with an iron stick, but without too much aim. He left the victim alive and allowed him to cast those desperate cries. Then they beat him again until he ended his life, placing the  corpse lying in the basement of the house .

That is the scene the police found that day, noting that a wire had also been used to strangle the Syrian. They also found the money that was supposed to be the motive for the murder. The Leonelli brothers  were killing for silver .

 Collectors of corpses 

The brothers had a rather bloody hobby: they collected dead people, their own victims. Already with the murderers arrested, the police continued to investigate the home and found the bodies of Julián Azcona, a cigarette seller whose absence had been previously reported and Juan M. Dávila, a mortgage creditor.

Although the bodies were not found, the Leonelli are attributed to the death of Francisco Petruolo and Tomás Guajardo. Added to the bodies that were also found in the farm of Guaymallén.

 At the bench of the defendants 

The murderers went to trial in 1918 for the murders of Azcona, Davila and Ladekani. José Maria was sentenced to  25 imprisonment , while Marcos Mauricio had  to serve life imprisonment . In 1923 they were transferred to Ushuaia prison. Marcos died there. Jose Maria was given freedom 20 years later.