When he was arrested in October, 1995, Abel, a Egyptian national, was suspected of being the dreaded "Depredador Psicópata" of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. He has been charged with killing five girls and abandoning their bodies in the desert of Chihuahua. Abel was arrested after authorities established links between him and five dead girls he met at nightclubs. A sexual criminal with an extensive rap sheet spanning from Miami to Texas, Sharif said that he is not the dreaded "Depredador." As the body count continues rising at a rapid pace, it's become obvious that Abel was not the only one slaughtering girls in Ciudad Juarez.
In custody Sharif allegedly confessed to five of the killings. In public he has maintained his innocence since he was first arrested and accused of being a serial killer in 1995. In a jailhouse interview Sharif said, "I am innocent, they are pinning this all on me because I am a foreigner... I'm just a drunk, I'm not a murderer." In 1996 a judge dismissed six murder charges against him. That same day, prosecutors filed new charges, accusing him of the murder of another woman, and was thrown back in jail.
On March 3, 1999, the former chemist was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted of raping and murdering 18-year-old Elizabeth Castro Garcia in 1994. "He will be charged with other cases because we have reason to believe he was author to those as well," said Nahum Najera, assistant state attorney general in Chihuahua state. Authorities still suspect him of 17 more murders.