When Your Lover Wants Your Heart, Along with the Rest of Your Organs

By M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
What's that saying about if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Blanca Arellano found this out in the most horrendous way.

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Beach at Huacho, Peru (Source - Difusion)

Blanca Arellano, 51, met Juan Pablo Villafuerte, a med student 15 years her junior, online via a gaming app. Blanca who lived in Mexico was hooked, and on July 27, 2022, she completed a 3,000 mile trip to Huacho, north of Lima, Peru to meet the man of her dreams. 

November 7, was the last time Blanca's family heard from her. There was nothing in her conversation to indicate there was a problem in the relationship. The couple had been living together for over 3 months. 

The Arellano family became alarmed when they lost touch with Blanca, and her niece Karla Arellano took to social media for help. She tweeted on November 12, "My aunt Blanca Olivia Arellano Gutiérrez disappeared on Monday November 07 in Peru. We fear for her life." These messages galvanized Peruvian authorities to investigate the whereabouts of Karla's aunt.

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Villafuerte's mug shot (Source - Difusion)

When Karla communicated with Villafuerte he said that Blanca was returning to Mexico after they broke up, which was opposite to what her aunt had told her in their last conversation.

Blanca's family had no other person in Peru they could ask for help in verifying if their family member was okay, and were forced to accept Villafuerte's story that she had decided to return home after telling him that he "couldn't offer the life she wanted." This behavior was totally unlike Blanca Arellano who would not have decided to return to Mexico without communicating with her family.

On November 10, the mystery of Blanca's whereabouts came to a horrible resolution.  It came in the form of a severed finger with a silver ring on it that washed up on a Chorillos Beach in Huacho. This was soon followed by a faceless head, an arm, a disemboweled torso with several broken ribs, and all the organs missing. The finger was matched to Blanca. 

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Discovery of dismembered body on Huacho beach (Source - Facebook/PrensaChalacaTV)

On November 17, Villafuerte was arrested on charges of human organs trafficking.

Soon after Blanca disappeared, Villafuerte posted a video on TikTok where he dissected body parts that included a brain and pancreas. There is another video where he calmly narrates the dissection of a human stomach. Some of his videos had a warning about its contents being disturbing.

Authorities brought blood sniffing dogs to Villafuerte's home which was only a rented room. Using Luminol, blood splatters were found in the bathroom, also in the laundry room and on his mattress. 

Police found hair samples, luggage, clothing and a Mexican flag.

Villafuerte's landlady confirmed that Blanca had been staying in the room.

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Arrest of Juan Villafuerte (Source - Facebook/ETPHuacho)

Shortly after his arrest there was an investigation by authorities into whether Villafuerte had an accomplice. It was found that on November 7, which is believed to be when Blanca was killed, Edson Flores accompanied Villafuerte to a store in the zona de Manzanares, where he bought cigarettes and 8 large garbage bags. Earlier in the day Villafuerte had gone to a store where he purchased 2 gallons of lime and muriatic acid.

Flores' brother came to police to say his brother was in Lima and not Huacho on November 7, and that despite being a classmate of Villafuerte he had no part in the murder.

Authorities said that due to an ongoing strike at the university, the other rooms in the house were unoccupied by students, and there were no witnesses for them to interview.

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Carmen Marilyn Castillo Jimenez was Villafuerte's actual girlfriend c.2022 (Source - LaRepublica)

During the investigation police came across who they believe was Villafuerte's actual girlfriend named Carmen Marilyn Castillo Jimenez, 26, who was arrested under suspicion of having knowledge about the murder. She rented the room she shared with  Villafuerte in the San Juan de Lurigancho neighborhood about the time Arellano came to Peru.

On November 21, 2022, the prosecution requested a 9 month jail sentence for Villafuerte in order to prevent him fleeing while the case is being prepared. By then it had been confirmed that the other body parts that had washed up on the beach belonged to Blanca Arellana.

When questioned Villafuerte denied that Blanca was his girlfriend, and that she was an indigent that he would occasionally help by giving a little money to. Blanca's niece showed police the chats between her and Villafuerte, in which he claimed the relationship had ended because Blanca had grown bored with him.

On December 16, 2022, Villafuerte's appeal was denied, and he stayed in jail for 9 months, pending his trial.

In February 2023, Blanca's remains were cremated and shipped to her family in Mexico.

In September 2023, Juan Villafuerte Pinto was sentenced to 35 years in prison.

For Blanca Arellana it was a wrong turn on Lover's Lane.

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