Daniel Camargo Barbosa was born on January 22, 1930, in Anolaima, Cundinamarca, Colombia. He had a difficult early life. His mother died when he was just a baby, before he even turned one year old. This loss left a significant gap in his upbringing. His father was strict and emotionally distant, which made Daniel's childhood even harder.

After some time, his father remarried a woman named Dioselina Fernandez. She had trouble having children, which led her to take out her frustrations on Daniel. She was often abusive towards him. One of the cruel things she did was to dress him in girls' clothing and force him to go to school like that. This treatment made him a target for bullying among his classmates.

Despite these challenges, Daniel was a bright student. He attended León XIII school in Bogotá and reportedly had an IQ of 116, which is above average. However, his academic potential was cut short when he had to drop out of school to help his family with financial struggles.

Daniel Camargo Barbosa's murder story begins after he was released from prison in Colombia. In 1974, while working as a street vendor, he kidnapped a 9-year-old girl. After committing rape, he murdered her to prevent her from reporting him to the police. This marked his first known assault leading to murder. He was apprehended shortly after returning to the crime scene to collect his belongings.

Camargo's imprisonment in Colombia lasted until 1984, when he escaped from Gorgona Island prison. After fleeing to Ecuador, he began a new wave of crimes. Between 1984 and 1986, he kidnapped and murdered many young girls, with estimates of at least 54 victims during this period in Guayaquil. He lured girls by pretending to be a foreigner needing help, then took them into secluded areas.

His method involved rape followed by strangulation or stabbing when victims resisted. Camargo disposed of the bodies in the forest. Despite the rising cases of missing girls, police initially believed a gang was behind the murders, not realizing that one man was responsible for so many.

Camargo was arrested again in February 1986 after he was seen acting suspiciously. Authorities found him with evidence from his latest victim, including bloody clothing. He confessed to killing 72 girls in Ecuador, leading to the locations of some victims' remains. After his confession, he showed no signs of remorse.

In 1989, he was sentenced to 16 years in prison, the maximum available in Ecuador at the time. While in prison, he claimed to have converted to Christianity. Camargo died in prison in November 1994, stabbed by the nephew of one of his victims.