Mauricio Rodriguez Silva was born on October 25, 1959, in Los Angeles. He was the older of two sons. His father, David Silva, was a worker from Chihuahua, Mexico, and his mother, Myrne Rodríguez, was from Nicaragua. Myrne had a condition called gigantism and some mental health issues. Mauricio also had his mother's condition, and he was born with a cleft palate and other physical problems.

When Mauricio was young, his father, who often cheated on his wife, left the family and later died while working in Alaska. Not long after, Mauricio's mother left him and his brother with their grandmother in Mexico City. She started a new relationship with her boss and had a daughter named Martha Kitzler.

Living with their grandmother, Mauricio and his brother were not cared for properly. Court records show that their grandmother would lock them outside the house. They had to eat a pumpkin for days, which made them sick, and they had to go to the hospital. Mauricio eventually ran away and joined a group of homeless children. To survive, he inhaled glue and ate garbage. During this time, he saw some of his friends being abused by older men but was too scared to tell anyone.

In his teenage years, Mauricio was moved between different foster homes in the United States and Mexico. He couldn't read or write well and had a hard time getting along with others. He was sent to White Memorial Hospital to have surgery to fix his cleft palate.

In 1978, 18-year-old Silva got into a fight with Troy Allison Covella, also 18. During the argument, Silva pulled out a gun and shot Covella nine times, killing him. Silva was arrested and charged with murder but took a plea deal to reduce the charge to voluntary manslaughter. He was sentenced to 5 1/5 years in Soledad State Prison.

After serving his sentence, Silva was released on May 7, 1984, and moved in with his half-sister in Hollywood. On May 18, Silva shot and killed 16-year-old Walter P. Sanders, a runaway, in the Mojave Desert. Six days later, he picked up another 16-year-old runaway, Monique Michelle Hilton, and killed her near the Palmdale Regional Airport. Four days later, Silva murdered his half-sister in Hollywood by strangling, stabbing, and slitting her throat. After her body was found, Silva went on the run.

On May 28, Silva turned himself in to the sheriff's department in Templeton, admitting he was wanted for murder. Deputies found a shotgun and knife in his truck and took him to Los Angeles to face charges. Silva was charged with three murders but pleaded not guilty.

Silva's lawyer offered a plea deal for life imprisonment without parole, but the District Attorney, Lonnie Felker, wanted the death penalty. Silva was found guilty on all counts, but the case ended in a mistrial due to a hung jury. A retrial was scheduled.

In early 1986, Silva was retried. The prosecution suggested he might have raped his half-sister and claimed he wanted the death sentence. Silva was found guilty and sentenced to death.

In 2001, the Supreme Court of California nullified Silva's death sentence due to a wrongly excused Latino juror. The death sentence was later reinstated. As of August 2022, Silva remains on death row, arguing that a life sentence without parole would be a harsher punishment. He encourages young people to speak out about sexual abuse to prevent future violence.