The Horrifying and Twisted Case of La Quintrala | A Murderous Beauty

What's up guys, it's Oli from History Profiles and today's video will be about Catalina de los Rios y Lisberger, otherwise known to history as La Quintrala because of her flaming red hair. The infamous La Quintrala would leave her mark on Chile, being famed for installing terror among her servants and lovers, as well as killing without showing any remorse. Some of you may ask, how can a woman so beautiful on the outside have such a cruel and dark mind? This is what we will uncover today. First, let's have a look at her family roots. Catalina was born in October 1604 in Santiago, Chile. At the time, Chile was under control of the Spanish Empire. She was born into wealth as both her parents were influential Chilean nobles, coming from important lineages back in Europe. Her grandfather was named Gonzalo de los Rios and he was a Spanish nobleman and wealthy landowner. In addition, he was also a general and fought in the conquest of Chile. Her mother was also called Catalina Lisberger y Flores and she was the daughter of a German conquistador called Pedro Lisberger. Further down the line, she also had Inca heritage on her mother's side as Catalina's great-grandmother was the Inca princess Elvira of Talangante. This occurred as her great-grandfather was Bartolome Flores, the first German to arrive in Chile, giving him the opportunity to join the conquest of Chile and marry a native of nobility. No doubt her mixed ancestry of German, Spanish and Inca is what attributed to her incredible beauty. She was described as having pale white skin, intense green eyes, long red hair and an incredible tall slender figure. However, we must analyse why Catalina, otherwise known as La Quintrala, grew to be such a cruel woman. Her mother and her aunt Maria would attempt to poison the governor Alonso de Riviera. The governor would survive, however, and her aunt Maria was charged and exiled to Peru. Later, her mother would marry Gonzalo de los Rios and would murder his daughter as well as an indigenous person who tried to uncover her murderous ways. This makes one think, was La Quintrala's nature and crazy tendencies hereditary? Let's have a look at her life and see how she compares to her mother. Not much is known about the childhood of La Quintrala, but when she reached the age of 18, she was accused of murdering her own father Gonzalo by poisoning him with a dinner she had made, which was apparently chicken. Some of her family members reported her to the authorities, but nothing came of it and she was never prosecuted. It is said that in 1624, when La Quintrala was 20, she would exchange love letters with a nobleman from Santiago and eventually invited him to her house. When they were in bed together, she then stabbed him repeatedly until he stopped moving. She blamed the crime on a slave that was serving her household and he was then executed publicly in the main square of Santiago. Another romantic relationship that turned sour was with a man named Enrique Enriquez de Guzman. Enrique bragged about his affairs with La Quintrala and boasted about how he was taking advantage of a loose woman. On one of their meetings, Enrique and La Quintrala would share a kiss. She then requested for a cross, which was a symbol of his nobility, and he refused. La Quintrala then began to beat him and drew her knife and stabbed him. This came to light as Enrique would later confess his sins to a friar and told him about the whole ordeal. Another account states how she went on a date with a knight of Santiago and after killed him while witnesses were present. Her family ties and family name would keep her from harm's reach as she was never convicted of any crimes. Her grandmother would later arrange a marriage for her to perhaps try and change her ways so she could devote herself to a man and a family. When La Quintrala was 22, she married a wealthy landowner called Colonel Alonso Campofrio. He was a 42-year-old landowner from a prestigious family. The first year after their marriage, she gave birth to a son, who died at the tender age of 10 years old. It is said that La Quintrala never loved her husband, but she held him in high regard. The fact that someone married La Quintrala when her nature and deeds were so well known, conveys her prestigious family ties and her beauty as someone would take her on as a wife, no matter her past. As time went on, La Quintrala's wealth would increase as her husband was acquiring more and more land. She spent most of her time in a plantation in La Liga where she would torment her slaves. No longer were her actions the crimes of passion of her youth, they were disturbing and sinister. She would openly whip her slaves herself and even murdered them with her own hand. She is reported to have killed one of her slaves named Natucon Jeton for no reason at all and she left the body to decompose for two weeks before it could be buried. Officials that came to investigate were bribed and La Quintrala would carry on her abusive and murderous tendencies unopposed. She no doubt tormented all those who worked in her plantation. The situation for the workers became so severe that they escaped into the mountains, risking their lives just to get away from La Quintrala. However, it was all in vain. La Quintrala organised a pursuit in order to track down her slaves. Once they had been captured, she personally oversaw and took part in the cruel punishments that she thought up. In 1634, after numerous accusations against her for cruelty and murder, the Bishop Salcedo requested a full-scale investigation to take place. It had to be kept discreet due to the history of bribery and intimidation which La Quintrala was known for. The royal court sent Francisco Millán to question the slaves of her plantation and once the statements matched the accusations, the Judge Juan de la Pena Salazar ordered the arrest of La Quintrala. She was then arrested on her estate and was moved to Santiago to be tried for her crimes. A trial was then begun for the slow and cruel slaughter of her servants. She was charged with 40 murders but the trial was carried out slowly due to the influence of her name and her relatives in high places. As a result, the trial was stalled and La Quintrala was released. From 1637 onwards, she would enjoy her freedom in the mountainous eastern part of Codegua city. In 1654, La Quintrala would become a widow and would gain full control of her late husband's lands and assets. In January 1662, a new trial began regarding the abuses and crimes she had committed against her servants and slaves but her health would deteriorate from then and it gradually got worse and worse. She went from a great beauty in her youth to a despised woman who died alone in 1665. She died at the age of 61 in her Santiago property. In her will, she donated large sums of money for masses to be held for her soul and for the souls of her loved ones at the church of San Agustin and she also left money for sculptures to be built and refurbished. One famous sculpture being El Cristo de Mayo. Another smaller sum was left to relatives and friends and the rest of her assets went to the Agustinians which are a Christian religious order that follow the rule of Saint Agustin. She may have donated the money to the church as a form of atonement for her life of murder, cruelty and torment. The case of La Quintrala is a disturbing one which is well known in Chile today and even though her crimes were never brought to light, she is remembered as one of the cruelest, most evil female serial killers in history. She died a free woman with the illusion of power protecting her as it does to so many people today but no amount of money given to the church can wash away the blood on her hands. I hope you all enjoyed the video, let me know what you think about La Quintrala in the comments section down below and make sure to hit that like and subscribe button if you haven't already. I'll see you next week for another history profile, bye.