The Lady of Silence: The Mataviejitas Murders (2023) Netflix Documentary Review

Documentary Review: The Lady of Silence

There have been some interesting documentaries lately that have come to Netflix. This one surrounds a true crime case from Mexico that involves their first serial killer. The Lady of Silence* is certainly mysterious and even intriguing, but can the documentary provide enough detail to make this worthwhile?

In 2000, a number of murders has the capital police of Mexico City at a stalemate. Older ladies are being strangled in their own homes, and the victims’ profiles are causing never-before-seen social outrage and media coverage, while the Attorney General’s office is employing all its resources and efforts to capture Mexico’s first serial killer.

The Crimes and the killer

Now, I’ve never heard of this case, and I found that probably the most interesting part of this is that it apparently wasn’t until 2000 that Mexico got its first serial killer. Then, in an even stranger turn of events, the killer turned out to be a woman, which is also unusual.

Juana Barraza was very prolific in her crimes, horrifying the public because of how she exclusively targeted old women who were typically living alone and very vulnerable. She also didn’t typically force her way into a space, but instead worked to gain trust and access before strangling her victims.

A Bungled Investigation

It’s crazy to hear the details recounted, and it almost seems like the events were playing out much longer than 20-ish years ago. I mean, the cops and the legal system weren’t working efficiently, and at times it appeared that they were just plain lazy when it came to tracking down clues and suspects. Tons of assumptions are shown to be made, which then led to numerous false arrests and time wasted.

There’s one time when the police assumed that the suspect is a sex worker, so they round up a ton of people and arrest them, only to then fingerprint them. When they didn’t match any of the prints left behind by the killer, those arrested were set free. This created a ton of apprehension and mistrust for the police—not only for the sex workers but really the community as a whole—because it looks like the police are just grasping at any idea they can to try and appease a community that was growing in impatience and fear.

Interviews and Evidence

There are a lot of interviews with former and current law enforcement, judicial staff, and prosecutors, as well as witnesses and family members of victims. These help to not only paint vivid pictures of all that transpired but also show what ideas finally led to the circumstances that helped in the apprehension of the suspect. The interviews are also very emotional, especially when family and friends are interviewed, as they relive the horrors of discovering that their loved ones were killed and the immense amount of time that it took to actually catch the perp.

The film also gives us a lot of c-rime scene photos. Thankfully, they’re not too gory or detailed, but they usually are up close so that we can see certain elements and clues. It’s haunting and disturbing to see how many victims there actually were. Despite a plethora of photo sketches, there was never enough evidence or even facial detail that worked to identify the killer. After she was caught, though, it’s really easy to see the resemblance that she has to many of the sketches. I mean, she was just effective at blending in and changing her appearance to avoid capture.

Missing Women and Media Bias

I appreciate that the documentary also takes the time to focus a little on the other large-scale crimes that were occurring in Mexico at the time. Young women were going missing, and there was zero media coverage, even when the Lady of Silence was committing her crimes. One overshadowed the other, especially when the mindset surrounding the disappearances of those younger women was that they were likely to blame because of the way they dressed or where they were. The documentary doesn’t take an overwhelming amount of time to focus on this, but the dichotomy that existed within the media concerning the status of all the victims is interesting.

Unanswered Questions and Frustrations

This can feel a little slow at moments because it is on the longer side (just short of two hours), but I liked having a movie rather than a series for this because then the narrative isn’t broken up.

Probably the most frustrating part about the entire documentary—and it’s not even the filmmaker’s fault at all—is that we don’t get all of the details from the killer on her motives. She changes her stories constantly, admitting to some, but then denying others, and then denying the ones she confessed to, so it becomes a confusing and frustrating mess for the police. My brain wants to know why she did what she did, and also why she chose to target elderly women. We do get one possible explanation, but I found it hard to buy, because it felt like the victims would have just been older men versus older women if it had gone that way. Either way, though, it’s a tragedy, but also a good insight into law enforcement and investigation practices in other countries.

I did find it a little funny that, as Mexico’s investigators are struggling to figure out how to investigate a serial killer since they’ve never had one before, they reached out to a European country for assistance rather than just looking up a bit north to talk to U.S. officials, who have had way more than their fair share of serial killers. I mean, we produce a ton of them for some disgusting reason, but Mexico officials just decided to try other experts instead.

Final Verdict

Overall, The Lady of Silence is engaging and informative, along with being disturbing and sad. The case is intriguing to look at from an investigational perspective, showing ineffectiveness and ignorance as well as good problem-solving and a willingness to reach outside for assistance. The narrative can be a little slow at times, but the interviews are heartbreaking and captivating, continuing to not lose sight of the victims and their loved ones affected by these serious crimes.

As a reminder, I don’t give couch ratings to documentaries, but I do recommend checking out The Lady of Silence on Netflix, especially if you’re into true crime.

So, what are you bingeing right now? Anything good that you can recommend? Let me know in the comments below!