On July 16, 1981, a Miami police officer was dispatched to meet Francisco Rizo at an apartment where Rizo had discovered the body of his girlfriend, Grisel Fumero. Rizo let the officer into the apartment and directed him to the kitchen where Fumero was lying face-down on the floor in a pool of blood. She had been shot four times.

During the investigation of the crime scene, an upstairs tenant notified the police that there was another body in an upstairs bedroom. This body was identified as that of [Lara’s] girlfriend, Olga Elviro. She had been bound and gagged and had been stabbed three times.

Evidence introduced at trial indicated that Elviro had also been raped. A handgun found on the premises was determined to have been the weapon that fired at least one of the bullets into Fumero. The police also recovered a serrated knife which was tentatively identified as the weapon used to stab Elviro.

Evidence presented at trial established that, at the time of the homicides, [Lara] was awaiting trial on charges of robbery and voluntary and involuntary sexual battery. The sexual battery victim was Furnero’s 13 -year-old sister and Fumero was expected to testify against appellant at trial, which was to have begun the week of the homicides.

There also was evidence that Elviro had learned of the charges against [Lara] and had threatened to leave him. Further, on the day prior to the homicides, [Lara] had displayed two handguns and had threatened to kill Elviro and her sister-in-law, who had apparently told Elviro of the charges against [Lara].

The evidence further established that, on the day of the homicides, [Lara] went to the upstairs apartment, woke Tomas Barcelo, and stated that he and Elviro needed to use the apartment. Barcelo left the apartment, went out into the yard, and, about half an hour later, saw [Lara] leave the apartment alone. [Lara] next went to the downstairs apartment where he was admitted by Fumero. He went through the kitchen into his brother’s bedroom in the same apartment, At this time Barcelo was in the kitchen at the request of Fumero. [ Lara] returned to the kitchen with his hands behind his back and told Fumero, “It’s your fault that I have lost everything.” He then pulled a gun from behind his back and shot Fumero in the stomach. She said, “Mario, Mario, why are you doing that to me?” [Lara] replied, “Why am I doing that? Son of a bitch,” and continued firing until the gun was empty. [Lara] continued to pull the trigger after the gun was empty. [Lara’s] brother, Arsenio Lara, was in the room at this time and both he and Barcelo told [Lara] he was a murderer.

[Lara] retorted, “Oh, I’m a murderer,” and, while laughing, started to reload the gun. [Lara’s] brother and Barcelo, believing they would also be killed, ran out of the apartment.

Lara 464 So. 2d at 1175.

SEX: M RACE: H TYPE: T MOTIVE: CE/Sex.

MO: Serial rapist; killed female prosecution witness in upcoming trial; stabbed teenage rape victim.

DISPOSITION: Condemned on one count + life with 25-year minimum on second count, 1982.

Michael Newton - An Encyclopedia of Modern Serial Killers

Mario Albo Lara