Quick Facts
- OCCUPATION: Serial Killer
- BIRTH DATE:February 28,
1960
- DEATH DATE:June 07,
2013
- PLACE OF BIRTH: El Paso, Texas
- PLACE OF DEATH: Greenbrae, California
- Originally: Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez
- Nickname: "Night Stalker"
- AKA: Richard Ramirez
- AKA: Ricardo Ramírez
- Nickname: "Valley Intruder"
Best Known For
Dubbed the "Night
Stalker," Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer who broke into
Californian homes, raping and torturing more than 25 victims, and killing at
least 13, over a two-year rampage
The Baby of the Family:
Ricardo Leyva
a.k.a. Richard Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas, on February 28, 1960, to
Julian and Mercedes Ramirez. Richard was the youngest child of six, epileptic,
and described by his father as being "a good boy," until his
involvement with drugs. Richard admired his father, but at the age of 12, he
found a new hero, his cousin, Mike, a Vietnam veteran and ex-Green Beret.
Born in El
Paso, Texas, on February 28, 1960, Richard Ramirez was an American serial
killer who, over a two-year rampage, raped and tortured more than 25 victims,
and murdered more than a dozen—most of them in their own homes. Dubbed the
"Night Stalker," Ramirez was turned on to Satanic worship at an early
age by his cousin, a solider who had recently returned from the war in Vietnam.
Following a four-year trial, in 1989,
Richard
Ramirez was born Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez on February 28, 1960, in El Paso,
Texas, the youngest of seven children born to Mercedes and Julian Ramírez, a
Mexican-American railway worker. Known as Richard or Ricky, Ramirez had a
troubled childhood and was heavily influenced by an older cousin, a Green Beret
named Mike who had recently returned from fighting in the Vietnam War. Mike
told Ramirez fascinating stories about the torture and mutilation he had
inflicted on several Vietnamese women, corroborating these stories with
horrific Polaroid pictures.
The two also
discussed Satanic worship and smoked marijuana together, and Ramirez's teenage
rebellion led to petty crime to fuel his drug habit, which further alienated
him from his Catholic parents. As a result, he spent even more time with his
cousin. When Mike murdered his wife, Ramirez was present, sowing the final
developmental seeds for the future serial killer.
Ramirez's criminal record began in
1977, when he was placed in juvenile detention for a string of petty crimes. He
also received a probationary sentence in 1982 for marijuana possession. He soon
moved to San Francisco, California, and then to Los Angeles, progressing to
cocaine addiction and burglary, and cultivating an interest in weapons and
Satanism. A car theft charge in 1983 led to a jail sentence. The following
year, Ramirez was released from jail a conscienceless, Satanic criminal with
poor hygiene, rotten teeth and no prospects
Ramirez Finds a Hero:
Mike, home from
Vietnam, shared gruesome pictures of rape and human torture with Richard, who
became fascinated with the pictorial brutality. The two spent a lot of time
together, smoking pot and talking about war. On one such day, Mike's wife began
to complain about Mike's laziness. Mike's reaction was to kill her by shooting
her in the face, in front of Richard. Because of Mike's war record, he was
sentenced to seven years for the killing.
Drugs, Candy and Satanism:
By the age of
18, Richard was a habitual drug user and chronic candy eater, resulting in
tooth decay and extreme halitosis. He also became involved in Satan worshipping
and his general poor appearance enhanced his satanic persona. Already arrested
on numerous drug and theft charges, Ramirez decided to move to southern
California. There he advanced from simple theft to breaking and entering into
homes. He became very proficient at it and eventually began to linger in the
homes of his victims.
Theft
turned to violence in 1984. Ramirez's first known murder took place on June 28,
1984; his victim was 79-year-old Jennie Vincow, who was viciously sexually
assaulted, stabbed and murdered during a burglary in her own home. What
followed was a spree of brutal murders, rapes and robberies, leaving more than
25 victims in its wake.
Ramirez's
second known killing occurred nearly nine months after his first. On March 17,
1985, he attacked Angela Barrios, who managed to escape him, and then killed
her flatmate, Dayle Okazaki. Not satisfied with these assaults, he also shot
and killed Tsai Lian Yu the same evening, spurring a media frenzy that saw
Ramirez dubbed the "Valley Intruder" by the press.
Just 10
days later, on March 27, Ramirez murdered 64-year-old Vincent Zazzara and
Zazzara's 44-year-old wife, Maxine, using an attack style that would become a
pattern for the killer: The husband was shot first, then the wife was brutally
assaulted and stabbed to death.
In this
case, Ramirez also gouged out Maxine Zazzara's eyes.
A
full-scale police operation yielded no concrete results, and Ramirez repeated
his attack pattern on pensioners William and Lillie Doi in April 1985. Over the
next two months, his murder rate escalated rapidly, claiming another dozen
victims in a frenzy of burglary, assault and brutal violence—complete with
Satanic rituals—and driving Los Angeles into a panic. After the press demanded
that the police do more to catch the killer, a dedicated task force comprised
of hundreds of law-enforcement officers was established, and the FBI stepped in
to assist.
This
relentless media and police pressure, aided with photo-fit descriptions from
his surviving victims, forced Ramirez to leave the L.A. area that August. He
moved north to San Francisco, taking his first victims there, Peter and Barbara
Pan, on August 17. His unmistakable MO, complete with Satanic symbolism, meant
that his "Valley Intruder" moniker was no longer applicable, so the
press quickly coined a new moniker for the criminal: the "Night
Stalker," as most of his assaults took place at night in his victims'
homes. Thereafter, each new attack by Ramirez received exhaustive press
coverage.
Pure Evil:
On June 28,
1984, his burglaries turned into something far more evil. Ramirez entered
through an opened window of Glassel Park resident, Jennie Vincow, age 79.
According to Philip Carlo's book, 'The Night Stalker,' he became angry after
not finding anything of value to steal, and began stabbing the sleeping Vincow,
eventually slitting her throat. The act of killing aroused him sexually, and he
had sex with the corpse before leaving.
Savored Memories Fade:
Ramirez
remained quiet for eight months, but the memory he savored of his last killing
had run dry. He needed more. On March 17, 1985, Ramirez jumped 22-year-old
Angela Barrio outside her condo. He shot her, kicked her out of the way, and
headed into her condo. Inside, was roommate, Dayle Okazaki, age 34, who Ramirez
immediately shot and killed. Barrio remained alive out of pure luck. The bullet
had ricocheted off the keys she held in her hands, as she lifted them to
protect herself.
The Thirst for More:
Within an hour
of killing Okazaki, Ramirez struck again in Monterey Park. He jumped
30-year-old Tsai-Lian Yu and pulled her out of her car onto the road. He shot
several bullets into her and fled. A policeman found her still breathing, but
she died before the ambulance arrived. Ramirez's thirst was not quenched. He
then murdered an eight-year-old girl from Eagle Rock, just three days after
killing Tsai-Lian Yu.
Post-mortem Mutilations Become His Mark:
On March 27,
Ramirez shot Vincent Zazarra, age 64, and his wife Maxine, age 44. Mrs.
Zazzara's body was mutilated with several stab wounds, a T-carving on her left
breast, and her eyes were gouged out. The autopsy determined that the
mutilations were post-mortem. Ramirez left footprints in the flower beds, which
the police photographed and cast. Bullets found at the scene were matched to
those found at previous attacks, and the police realized a serial killer was on
the loose.
Ramirez's MO - Kill the Man Quickly:
Two months
after killing the Zazzara couple, Ramirez attacked again. Harold Wu, age 66,
was shot in the head, and his wife, Jean Wu, age 63, was punched, bound, and
then violently raped. For unknown reasons, Ramirez decided to let her live.
Ramirez's attacks were now in full throttle. He left behind more clues to his
identity, and was named, 'The Night Stalker,' by the media. Those who survived
his attacks, provided the police with a description - Hispanic, long dark hair,
and foul smelling.
Pentagrams Found at the Crime Scene :
On May 29,
1985, Ramirez attacked Malvial Keller, 83, and her invalid sister, Blanche
Wolfe, 80, beating each with a hammer. Ramirez attempted to rape Keller, but
failed. Using lipstick, he drew a pentagram on Keller's thigh and on the wall
in the bedroom. Blanche survived the attack. The next day, Ruth Wilson, 41, was
bound, raped, and sodomized by Ramirez, while her 12-year old son was locked in
a closet. Ramirez slashed Wilson once, and then bound her and her son together,
and left.
His Killing Spree Terrorized Los Angeles:
Ramirez's 1985
killing and rape spree continued:
- June 27 -
Ramirez raped a 6-year-old girl in Acadia.
- June 28 -
Patty Higgins, age 32, was beaten and her throat slit.
- July 2 -
Mary Cannon, age 75, was beaten and her throat slit.
- July 5 -
Deidre Palmer, age 16, survived being beaten with a tire iron.
- July 7 -
Joyce Lucille Nelson, 61, was bludgeoned to death.
- July 7 -
Linda Fortuna, 63, was attacked and Ramirez tried to rape her, but failed.
- July 20 -
Maxson Kneiling, 66, and his wife Lela, also 66, were shot and their
corpses, mutilated.
- July 20,
Chitat Assawahem, 31, was shot and his wife Sakima, 29, was beaten then
forced to perform oral sex. Ramirez then collected $30,000 in valuables,
but before leaving, he sodomized the couple's eight-year-old son.
- August 6 -
Ramirez shot both Christopher Petersen, 38, and his wife, Virginia, 27, in
the head. Both somehow survived.
- August 8 -
Ramirez shot Ahmed Zia, 35, and raped and sodomized his wife, Suu Kyi, 28,
and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
On Aug. 24,
1985, Ramirez traveled 50 miles south of Los Angeles, and broke into the home
of Bill Carns, 29, and his fiancée, Inez Erickson, 27. Ramirez shot Carns in
the head and raped Erickson. He demanded she swear her love for Satan and
afterwards, forced her to perform oral sex on him. He then tied her and left.
Erickson struggled to the window and saw the car Ramirez was driving.
A teenager
wrote down the license plate number of the same car, after noticing it cruising
suspiciously in the neighborhood.
The information
from Erickson and the young man enabled police to locate the abandoned car, and
get fingerprints from inside. A computer match was made of the prints, and
identification of the Night Stalker became known. On August 30, 1985, the
arrest warrant for Richard Ramirez was issued and his picture released to the
public.
.
Ramirez's
next—and final—attack, on August 24, 1985, led to the identification of his
stolen car by the victim four days later. After a televised appeal, the car was
found, complete with his fingerprints inside, and his criminal record enabled
the police to finally put a name to the "Night Stalker." National
television and print media coverage, featuring his prison photo, along with a
series of clues from witnesses and survivors, led to Ramirez's capture the very
next day, after he was badly beaten by East L.A. residents while attempting a
carjacking and police were called to the scene.
Ramirez
claimed that he has been mistakenly identified and did everything possible to
delay the onset of the trial, which saw him charged with 14 murders and 31
other felonies in connection to his killing spree. Because he changed his legal
counsel a number of times, and the geographical spread of his attacks also
complicated the scope of the trial with jurisdictional issues, some of the
charges against Ramirez were dropped in order to expedite what was becoming a
long journey to justice.
Almost
three years after his apprehension, on 22 July 1988, the jury selection process
began. The case took a full year to hear, given the number of witnesses and
sheer amount of evidence. During this time, Ramirez attracted a large,
cult-like following—many of whom were black-clad Satan worshippers—who appeared
daily at his trial. One of his supporters was Doreen Lioy, whom he married
while serving time in prison. Further unsettling the jury was Ramirez's own
nonchalant behavior.
Yet
another delay occurred when one juror was found murdered on August 14, 1989,
but rumors that Ramirez had orchestrated her death proved unfounded. On
September 20, 1989, the jury finally returned a unanimous guilty verdict on 43
charges, including 13 counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder, 11
sexual assault charges and 14 burglary charges.
On November 7, 1989, Ramirez received 19 death
sentences, to which he responded, "No big deal. Death always comes with
the territory. I'll see you in Disneyland." He was susbsequently
transferred to San Quentin Prison in California.
After 23 years on death row, Richard Ramirez died
on June 7, 2013, at the age of 53, reportedly of natural causes. According to
San Quentin corrections officers, Ramirez's death came shortly after he was
taken to Marin General Hospital in Greenbrae,
A Face Revealed:
On August 30,
1985, an arrest warrant for Richard Ramirez was issued and his face revealed to
the public. Ramirez, unaware that his picture was all over the newspapers, got
off of a Greyhound bus, and walked into a liquor store. The woman working
inside recognized him and began yelling that he was the Night Stalker. Shocked,
he quickly fled the store and headed toward the heavily populated Hispanic area
of east Los Angeles. A small mob had formed and were following close behind
him.
Captured by a Mob:
Ramirez tried
to steal a car, but the owner was underneath it doing repairs. When Ramirez
started the engine, the man pulled out from beneath the car and began chasing
Ramirez. The mob that was in pursuit of Ramirez, now armed with steal rods,
caught up with him. He was subdued, while some of the mob beat him, until the
police arrived. Reportedly, Ramirez raised his hands to the police, begging for
protection, and identified himself as the Night Stalker.
Endless Appeals:
Because of the
endless appeals on the part of the defense, the Ramirez trial did not end for
over four years. One such appeal was to overturn the decision by a judge, for
refusing to remove Judge Tynan from the case. In addition, defense attorney,
Daniel Hernandez, suffered from stress, which resulted in numerous medical
delays.
Haunts of the Charlie Manson Trial:
During the
trial, Ramirez attracted several groupies who wrote to him regularly. The trial
scene had haunts of the Charlie Manson trial, with women hanging around, clad
in black robes. When one of the juror's failed to show up one day, and was
discovered dead in her apartment from a gun shot wound, many wondered if some
of Ramirez's followers were responsible. But in actuality, it was the woman's
boyfriend who killed her, during an argument that erupted while discussing the
Ramirez case.
The Virgin Doreen:
In 1996,
Ramirez tied the knot with one of his groupies. She is 41-year-old Doreen Lioy,
who has described herself as a virgin, prior to her marriage to Ramirez. Since
death-row inmates are not permitted to have conjugal visits, then she may still
be a virgin, not that anyone would care, other then Ramirez, who said her
virginity is what attracted him to her.
Mixed Marriage:
Doreen Lioy
believes her husband is innocent of the charges against him. Lioy, who was
raised as a Catholic, respects Ramirez's Satanic worship. This was demonstrated
when she gave him a silver wedding band to wear, since Satanic worshipers do
not wear gold.
Sentenced to Die :
On September,
20, 1989, The Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez, was found guilty on 43 counts in
Los Angeles County, including 13 murders, and charges including burglary,
sodomy, and rape. He was sentenced to death on each count of murder. After
receiving his sentence, Ramirez responded, "Big deal," he said.
"Death always went with the territory." and told reporters,
"I'll see you in Disneyland." Currently Ramirez is in San Quentin
Prison, where he sits on death row, until he is out of appeals.
During the
sentencing stage, it was reported that Ramirez did not want his attorney's to
beg for his life. It will be interesting to see if this same bravado will be
demonstrated by him on the day he dies.
He has already
outlived some of the victims that survived his attack.
Ramirez
was convicted of 13 killings. He received the death penalty and was sent to San
Quentin Prison in California. He died on June 7, 2013, at age 53.
Richard Ramirez was 29 when he spoke
those words in a Southern California courtroom in 1989. He'd just been
sentenced to death following his conviction for 13 murders, five attempted
murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries.
A serial murderer, a serial rapist,
a Satan worshiper, a man who inflicted physical and emotional pain on his
victims in myriad ways. Richard Ramirez was all those things, but to
Californians terrorized during his violent spree in the spring and summer of
1985, he was simply the "Night Stalker."
The vengeance that Ramirez promised
apparently never came to fruition. Neither did the state's plan to execute him.
Instead, on Friday morning, Richard
Ramirez died of natural causes at Marin General Hospital north of San
Francisco, according to the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation. Ramirez became the 59th inmate in the state to die in this manner
while awaiting execution, not including 22 who committed suicide and six dead
of other causes.
He was 53.
Guns, knives, fists and fear
So how did the "Night
Stalker" come to be?
Ramirez was born to a large family
in El Paso, Texas. He was in his late teens when he landed in Southern
California in the 1970s. Media reports indicated that he had a history of drug
use, some arrests on relatively minor charges, and no evident purpose in life
over his first few decades. But some time in the mid-1980s, things turned
drastically.It was then that horrific tales began to surface of a man breaking
into homes, mostly in Southern California, in the wee hours of the morning. On
several occasions, a man who happened to be inside was killed quickly. A female
might be raped, sometimes more than once. Then the man who'd become known as
the "Night Stalker" would ransack the home looking for
valuables.There were gory exceptions to this scenario. Like 30-year-old student
Tsai-Lian Yu, found lying bloody on the ground near her running car in Monterey
Park, California, according to media reports. There was also the 41-year-old
woman bound and raped, as her 12-year-old son was handcuffed and locked in a
closet. While some victims were in their 60s and older, others were in their
20s and 30s. There were reports of pentagrams being scrawled at crime scenes,
as well as snippets from heavy metal songs.The killing weapons varied: guns,
knives, fists. All were used with evident malice, and all contributed to the
fear and frenzy that gripped the region. Some victims survived -- in some cases
without the assailant's apparent knowledge, in others seemingly spared for
whatever reason -- and then talked to police. Yet authorities were still
grasping for clues in August 1985, when a manager at a hotel in San Francisco's
Tenderloin district recognized descriptions of the suspect as a man who'd
stayed at his hotel periodically for a year and a half. Hotel has a notorious past
By then, Ramirez had already left
the Bay Area for Southern California. He attacked again on August 24 in Los
Angeles. After a bus trip to Tucson, Arizona -- where he'd been visiting his
brother -- he was finally recognized at a store near a downtown L.A. bus
station after his image had been splashed across newspapers. Ramirez fled.
Residents of an east Los Angeles neighborhood, though, spotted him trying to
steal two cars, caught and subdued him, then held him down until police
arrived.
'It's just pure evil'
After years of delays, Ramirez's
case went to trial in 1989. The whole prosecution cost Los Angeles County more
than $1.8 million, a record amount that stood until O.J. Simpson's murder trial
years later. As horrific and dramatic as the allegations against him, Ramirez's
antics during the proceedings added to the intrigue -- like when he'd draw a
pentagram on his hand and yell out, "Hail Satan." The jury convicted
him of 11 murders in Southern California and two others in the San Francisco
area. A death sentence followed. According to the Los Angeles Times, Superior
Court Judge Michael Tynan said Ramirez, during his bloody spree, had displayed
"cruelty, callousness and viciousness beyond any human
understanding."The rest of his life was spent at the home for many of
California's most dangerous felons -- San Quentin State Prison, which sits like
a fortress along the bay just north of San Francisco. Even on Death Row,
alongside the likes of Scott Peterson and the Menendez brothers, it hasn't been
an entirely lonely existence for Ramirez. One woman who sat through his trial,
thinking he was innocent, then wrote him dozens of letters and visited him in
prison. It was there, in 1996, that the two married.
"He's kind, he's funny, he's
charming," the convicted serial killer's wife, Doreen Ramirez, told CNN
one year later. "I think he's a really great person. He's my best friend;
he's my buddy."
That's not the impression of
millions in Los Angeles County who'd been terrified by him, and especially
those who survived his attacks or are related to those killed. They are people
like Peter Zazzara, whose parents were among those slain. He couldn't stomach
sitting through Ramirez's trial, and even talking to CNN years later in 2006,
he couldn't make sense of what happened.
"It's just evil. It's just pure
evil," said Zazzara. "I don't know why somebody would want to do
something like that. To take joy in the way it happened."
Update: Death row
inmate Richard Ramirez died June 7, 2013 of natural causes at age 53, at Marin
General Hospital north of San Francisco.
Quotes
"No
big deal. Death always comes with the territory. I'll see you in
Disneyland."
– Richard Ramirez
(CNN) -- "I am beyond good and evil. I will be avenged.
Lucifer dwells in us all."
"That's it."
Works Cited
""Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez." 2014.
The Biography Channel website. Feb 17 2014, 10:55 http://www.biography.com/people/richard-ramirez-12385163."
n.d.
http://www.biography.com/people/richard-ramirez-12385163?page=3, n.d.
Botelho, Greg. "Serial Killer, Rapist Richard
Ramirez." CNN, 2013:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/07/justice/california-night-stalker-ramirez-dead/.
Montaldo, Charles. "Richard Ramirez - The Night
Stalker." http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/nightstaker.htm, n.d.
