Naman Shrestha
When a 24-year-old pregnant mother named Lourdes Gonzalez was found killed in New York City in 1989, the entire community was rocked to its core, only months after the infamous Central Park jogger case that involved the sexual assault of Patricia “Trisha” Meili. As the authorities dug deeper into the homicide, they found that it was connected to several other rapes in the Big Apple. The episode titled ‘Your Eyes or Your Life’ of Netflix’s ‘Homicide: New York’ explores the tragedy and how the detectives solved the case.
Lourdes Gonzalez Was Killed in Her Home While Her Kids Were in Another Room
Born around 1965, Lourdes Gonzalez Serrano grew up in New York City, New York. The independent woman was employed at Red Apple Groceries and had a son, Carlos Vega, from a previous relationship, when she first crossed paths with Antonio “Tony” Serrano Sr. on a Bronx-bound train in 1986. A few days later, the two bumped into each other once again, and sparks began to fly. They began dating and eventually moved in together. While she brought Carlos with her, he brought his son, Tony Jr. Their family grew in March 1989 when Lourdes welcomed their daughter, Amanda Serrano, into the world. At some point, they had tied the knot and made their relationship official. On June 13, 1989, Lourdes told Antonio, the building superintendent of the property they lived in, that she was pregnant with another baby of his, and the couple celebrated.
With their family growing, the two had talked about relocating to a house with more space and greenery in Philadelphia. She had a lot to look forward to, but fate unfortunately intervened on the afternoon of June 14, 1989, when Antonio was away from home, in the Bronx. Around the evening of the fateful day, 24-year-old Lourdes was raped and killed, while her children were left unharmed in another room. Not long after the perpetrator fled the scene, the authorities arrived at the scene and rushed Lourdes to St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center, where she was pronounced dead in the emergency ward. While inspecting the crime scene, the detectives found traces of blood on the walls and floor of the Serrano residence. The autopsy revealed that the pregnant woman had died of multiple stab wounds after she was raped.
Lourdes Gonzalez’s Killer Admitted to Raping Multiple Women in NYC
As part of the investigation, the detectives first looked into Lourdes Gonzalez’s boyfriend, Antonio “Tony” Serrano Sr., and eliminated him as a potential suspect. After speaking with Lourdes’ sons, the police drew a sketch of the suspect and circulated it, asking the community to be on the lookout. They connected the perpetrator’s modus operandi to another sexual assault case that took place on June 11, 1989, involving a Brooklyn resident. Fortunately, she managed to survive the attack and told the police about her experience. She claimed that a man rang her doorbell pretending to be the building superintendent’s son to make repairs. When she opened the door, she further alleged, he attacked and sexually assaulted her.
As per her account, the attacker asked her, “Your eyes or your life?” After she chose her eyes, he stabbed her around her face and took her money and jewelry before fleeing the scene. However, she miraculously survived the ordeal. What connected the attacker to Lourdes’ murder was that her killer also posed a similar question in front of her, “Your eyes or your children?” Moreover, Lourdes’ killer reportedly slashed her eyes too. A few days later, on July 19, the rape of a woman named Amanda was reported at 95th and Madison, near Central Park. On August 5, 1989, a man attacked Meg, a fashion student, at her apartment and raped her. However, while he was trying to take her bank card, she managed to escape the house and got help from the building superintendent, who caught the man and held him until police arrived.
After the police arrived, they identified the man as Matias Reyes, who admitted to his crime. During his interrogation, the suspect also admitted to raping other women in New York City. However, he denied having anything to do with the homicide of Lourdes Gonzalez. When he was confronted with a sketch of the suspect in the case that resembled him, he confessed to killing Lourdes. According to his version, she grabbed a knife to attack him, and he managed to take it from her and killed her with it. At least two other rape survivors identified him as their attacker from a lineup. Thus, he was formally charged with four counts of rape, first-degree sodomy, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of homicide. Later, Matias was also connected to the April 1989 sexual assault of Patricia “Trisha” Meili in Central Park.
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Matias Reyes is Currently Incarcerated at a New York State Prison Facility
In early October 1991, Matias Reyes pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of a 24-year-old pregnant mother, Lourdes Gonzalez, and three other counts of rape. He confessed to entering Lourdes’ apartment on June 14, 1989, and raping and stabbing her to death, while her other children were in another room. He had also told the authorities that his intention was to kill or blind his victims so that they could not identify him.
During his sentencing hearing in November 1991, Matias reportedly physically assaulted his court-appointed defense lawyer in open court. After he was removed from the court after the violent attack, he was sentenced to 33 years to life in prison. As of today, the 54-year-old killer is serving his sentence at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in the Town of Shawangunk, New York, with his parole hearing scheduled for August 2026.
