David Villarreal was born on October 12, 1955, in San Antonio, Texas.

David Villarreal's story begins with his earliest confirmed murder, which occurred around late 1978 or early 1979. He killed 71-year-old Robert Johnson Manley II in San Antonio by bludgeoning him with a claw hammer. Manley was found dead in his bedroom, and the bloody hammer was left next to him. At that time, no suspect was identified.

The next confirmed murder happened on March 17, 1979. Villarreal killed 26-year-old Ernesto Carbajal Garcia in an abandoned building in Dallas. His skull was crushed with a concrete block. An autopsy revealed that Garcia had likely been tortured, as Villarreal had also struck him with wood and stabbed him with an ice pick.

On April 18, 1979, Villarreal entered an apartment shared by 32-year-old Tony Natal Gutierrez and 30-year-old Charles Edward Moya. He attacked Gutierrez first, stabbing him in the chest and then slashing his throat. He then moved to Moya and slashed his throat as well. Villarreal further disfigured both victims’ faces in different ways.

After these murders, Villarreal was questioned in connection with the Garcia murder but was released due to insufficient evidence. He was later imprisoned for almost two years on a burglary charge in Austin.

After his release, Villarreal returned to San Antonio. On March 3, 1981, he met 18-year-old Joe Edward Duque at a park and bludgeoned him to death with a cedar post. He left the murder weapon at the scene.

David Villarreal was arrested on March 10, 1981, after authorities linked him to the known victims. While in custody, he admitted to killing seven men since 1974. Investigators confirmed his involvement in the murders of Garcia, Gutierrez, and Moya first. They later connected him to the murders of Manley and Duque.

In his trial proceedings, Villarreal expressed a desire for execution rather than life in prison. Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to the three murders in Dallas and received three life sentences. He later pleaded guilty again in San Antonio for the other two murders, resulting in two additional life sentences.

As of January 2023, David Villarreal remains incarcerated at the James V. Allred Unit in Wichita Falls, Texas. The identities of two other victims he mentioned are still unknown.