The Life And Death Of
Richard Ramirez
Richard Ramirez was responsible for
14 killings in just over 14 months. He terrorized the citizens of Los Angeles by breaking into homes, stealing from people, and ruthlessly killing anyone who
got in his way. He utilized guns, knives, and even telephone cords to murder
his victims. Once Ramirez learned about the media naming him the Night Stalker, he proudly introduced
himself as just that before killing later victims. After his capture and
sentence, Ramirez gained a host of female admirers who wrote him letters and
visited him in prison. One lucky woman even became Mrs. Richard Ramirez. Although
he was sentenced to death in a very expensive court proceeding, Ramirez died in
prison from leukemia before the state could execute him. Let’s take a look at
how the Night Stalker came to terrorize Los Angeles with his cold-hearted, savage killing spree.
Early Life
Richard Ramirez, born Ricardo
Leyva Munoz Ramirez, came into the world February 29, 1960, however, the
distinction of being born on Leap Day did not bring him much luck. Ramirez was
the youngest of five children. His father, a one time Juarez police officer,
worked as a laborer for the Santa Fe Railroad. Richard’s father was reportedly
an angry man who was prone to fits of rage and physical violence which he often
directed towards his family. As a child,
Ramirez suffered two major head injuries. At the age of 2, a dresser fell on
the young boy resulting in more than thirty stitches. When Ramirez was 6, he
was knocked unconscious by a swing at a playground. This injury resulted in
epileptic seizures that plagued him until he became a teenager. Whether it was
his head injuries or his angry abusive father that caused Ramirez’s penchant
for violence will never be known.
Making a Serial Killer
By the time Ramirez was twelve, he
had begun spending a lot of time with his cousin Miguel. Miguel was a violent
Vietnam vet who enjoyed sharing stories of his gruesome exploits during the war
with his young cousin. Miguel took sadistic pleasure in showing a young,
impressionable Ramirez how to kill with stealth and skill. Ramirez
had been an avid pot smoker since the age of 10. He suffered epileptic seizures since the
swing incident when he was 6. His impressional age, addiction, and medical
condition made him susceptible to his cousin's influence. It was about this
time Ramirez began sleeping in a local cemetery to escape his angry father’s
violence.
At the age of 13, Richard Ramirez
witnessed his cousin Miguel shooting his wife in the middle of an argument.
This act left Ramirez sullen and depressed, according to family members. Later
in 1973, Ramirez moved in with his sister, Ruth. Ruth’s husband was a notorious
peeping tom who taught a young and impressionable Ramirez the fine art of
watching people through their windows. It
was while under the influence of Ruth’s husband, Roberto, that Ramirez
began experimenting with Satanism and
the use of LSD. The Molotov cocktail of early drug use, violent and creepy male
role models, an angry father, and experimentation with Satanism proved to be
the right combination of experiences required to grow a serial killer.
The Night Stalker Kills
Richard Ramirez committed his first
murder in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco. A nine-year-old, Mei Leung,
was discovered in the basement of the hotel Ramirez was living in during 1984.
She had been raped, beaten and
stabbed. Her body was found hanging from a pipe in the basement
area of the hotel. While this is Richard Ramirez’s first crime, he did not
receive any credit for his first kill until 2009 when DNA from the crime scene
was matched to Ramirez. The crimes
Richard Ramirez committed during what is known as the era of the Night Stalker
began June 28, 1984. Jennie Vincow, a 79-year old resident of Glassell Park,
was found brutally stabbed to death. The attack happened while the woman slept.
Her neck was cut so deep, she was
almost decapitated. Ramirez was linked to the crime thanks to
fingerprints found on the window screen he cut to gain access to Jennie
Vincow’s apartment. The next Night Stalker crime occurred on March 17, 1985.
Richard Ramirez shot 22-year old Maria Hernandez in the face as she pulled into
the garage of her Rosemead home. She survived the shooting thanks to the keys
she had in the hand she held up to defend herself from Ramirez’s attack. Her
roommate did not fare so well.
Dayle Okazaki hid behind the kitchen counter
when she heard the gunshot that wounded Maria Hernandez. Ramirez shot her in the face as she
peeked out from her hiding place. She did not survive the attack. Something
about the attack on Hernandez and the murder of Okazaki set Ramirez off. He
attacked another woman within hours of the Rosemead attacks. Tsai-Lian
“Veronica” Yu was forcefully removed from her vehicle at the hands of a crazed
Ramirez. She was shot twice with a 22 caliber handgun. Although she was rushed
to the hospital, she did not survive the attack. Three attacks that led to two
murders in one day gained Richard Ramirez media attention. At this point, he
was known for rotting teeth and bulging eyes. He gained his first nicknames
from the press: The Valley Killer
and The Walk-in Killer.
Ramirez Kills Again
Within days, Richard Ramirez’s
insatiable appetite for violence drove him to commit more murders. On March 27,
Ramirez broke into the home of Vincent Zazzarra. It was in the Zazzara home
where Ramirez perfected his killing style. The 64-year-old husband was murdered
first, killed by a gunshot wound. His wife, Maxine, was then brutally assaulted
and stabbed to death. Ramirez then gouged
out her eyes and placed them in a jewelry box he found while
robbing the couple’s home. The autopsy of Maxine revealed many of her stab
wounds occurred after she had died. The killing of the husband and then
assaulting the wife before brutally murdering her became Ramirez’s standard
killing pattern. This attack also left the first real clue to assist police at
the beginning of the hunt. In the flowerbed outside the Zazzarra home, a shoe
print from a pair of Avia sneakers was found, photographed and a cast was taken
off the print. This wasn’t much evidence, but it was a place to start. After
killing the Zazzarra couple, Ramirez was at it again, this time in Monterrey Park. On May 14, 1985,
Ramirez entered the Doi home.
Bill Doi and his disabled wife were tortured and
assaulted by Ramirez. Bill Doi died of his injuries while in the hospital.
Lillian was bound while Ramirez ransacked their home. Ramirez then assaulted
and raped the poor woman. A short 15 days later, Ramirez continued his
reign of terror. In Monrovia, Ramirez entered the home of sisters, 83-year-old
Mabel “Ma” Bell and 81-year-old Florence “Nettie” Long. Ramirez attacked both
women with a hammer he found in the home. He used an electrical cord to shock and torture Bell. He bound and
raped Nettie Long and then used Bell’s lipstick to draw a pentagram on her leg
and the walls of her bedroom. Age was not a consideration for Ramirez. Both
women were comatose at the time they were finally discovered. Mabel “Ma” Bell
died as a result of the attack.
The Night Stalker Kills In Burbank
The Night Stalker’s reign of horror
continued unchecked. Ramirez's next victim was 42-year old Carole King of
Burbank. Carole’s 11-year-old son was home at the time of the break-in and
assault. Both mother and son were handcuffed while Ramirez searched the house
for valuables. After his search proved fruitless, he released Carole Kyle and forced
her to show him where the valuables were hidden. He then repeatedly raped
Carole, telling her not to look at him or he will cut her eyes out. Both mother and son survived the attack. Ramirez
fled the home after binding them together. Richard Ramirez’s terror knew no
bounds, geographically or otherwise. He killed in Arcadia, Sierra Madre and
again in Monterrey Park.
In Sierra Madre, Ramirez entered the home of
16-year-old Whitney Bennett. After beating the girl with a tire iron, he
searched in vain for a knife. When the search proved fruitless, he strangled
the girl with a telephone cord. The telephone cord started to emit sparks while
Whitney Bennett began breathing. This scared the satanist so much as he thought it was a sign from God. He
fled the home. Bennett was lucky enough
to survive the attack although she required more than 400 stitches to close her wounds.
Not long after the Sierra Madre attack, Ramirez broke into the home of 61-year
old Joyce Lucille Nelson. He beat her to death with his fists and then kicked
her in the head, leaving behind another Avia sneaker print on the poor woman’s
face.
Evidently, Ramirez didn’t spend a lot of time thinking about evidence
left behind during his killings. At the beginning of August of 1986, Ramirez
committed two more attacks in rapid succession. In Northridge, he entered the
home of Chris and Virginia Peterson. He shot Virginia. Chris ended up shot
multiple times as he fought off Ramirez. Both Petersons were lucky enough to
survive the attack. A mere two days later, Ramirez broke into the Aboweth home
in Diamond Bar, California. He almost
immediately shot the husband in his sleep. He brutally attacked Sakina Aboweth,
raping her and demanding she
“swear on Satan” that she would not scream. The couples' three-year-old
child woke up during the attack. Ramirez tied the boy up and continued raping
his mother. After Ramirez finished his brutal attack and fled the home, Sakina
untied her son and sent him to a neighbors house for help. Both mother and son
survived the attack.
More Las Angeles Killings
The Night Stalker’s reign of terror
continued throughout the Los Angeles area. By the middle of August of 1985,
Ramirez had seen news coverage of his crimes and knew he was being hunted. In a
poor attempt to evade the investigation, Ramirez left the Los Angeles area and
fled to San Francisco. At the home of Barbara and Peter Pan, Ramirez continued
exacting horror on his unsuspecting victims. As per his usual style, he shot Peter in the head before
attacking, raping, and murdering Barbara. Before leaving the Pan home, Richard Ramirez
used Barbara’s lipstick to scrawl
a pentagram on the wall as well as the phrase “Jack the Knife”.
After watching a press conference detailing the evidence, Ramirez dropped his
Avia sneakers over the side of the Golden Gate Bridge, destroying an important
piece of evidence. Detectives were furious about the press conference and the
discussion of the evidence for this very reason. Perhaps the news coverage
rattled Ramirez’s nerves and caused him to get sloppy or maybe he was exhausted
from the pace at which he was committing his atrocious crimes.
Either way,
Richard Ramirez began to take bigger risks which left behind more evidence and allowed more opportunity for
capture. On August 24, 1985, Ramirez attempted to enter the Ramero home in
Mission Viejo. The Ramero family had just returned from vacation. The family’s
13-year-old son happened to be awake when Ramirez began attempting to gain
entry to the house. He was able to scare the brave Night Stalker off while
gathering valuable evidence. Thanks to young Ramero’s quick thinking, police
had the color, model and make of the vehicle Ramirez was driving as well as a
partial license plate number.
The boy was under the impression he had chased
away a regular, not-at-all sadistic thief. In reality, his actions probably
saved his family’s lives. After the near miss in Mission Viejo, Ramirez
committed his final break-in and attack. At the home of Bill Cams and Inez
Erickson, Richard Ramirez once again followed his usual routine of shooting the
male resident first, then attacking the female resident. Ramirez announced to
Inez that he was the Night Stalker, further terrifying the poor woman. He made
her swear on Satan before
beating her and raping her. He stole
what valuables he could find, told Inez to “tell them the night stalker was
here” and fled the home. Inez was able to get free and find help for Bill Cams.
Both victims survived their encounter with the Night Stalker. By allowing both
victims to survive, Ramirez unknowingly aided in the investigation surrounding
him. Inez was able to describe her assailant, helping detectives to form a
better picture of the identity of the Night Stalker.
Capturing the Night Stalker
Along with the description of
Ramirez provided by Inez Erickson, a single fingerprint was found on the
vehicle stolen by Ramirez in Wilshire Center. These two critical pieces of
evidence were added to a cast of Ramirez’s Avia sneaker prints. The fingerprint
was enough to give police the rap sheet for a 25-year-old, drug addicted
drifter known as Richard Munoz Ramirez. Detectives held a press conference
where a mug shot of Ramirez was released to the public.
Detectives made it
clear they were on to Ramirez by saying during the press conference, “We know
who you are now, and soon everyone else will. There will be no place
you can hide.” Time was running out for Ramirez. He was getting sloppy and
the police now had a clear target.
Detectives had enough insight to
stake out local bus stations in hopes of catching Richard Ramirez Night Stalker
attempting to flee the area. Ramirez had returned from a quick trip to see his
brother in Texas. Realizing he had been spotted by police, the courageous Night
Stalker hid behind an elderly Hispanic woman, declaring himself “the matador”
or the killer in Spanish. He then fled, attempting to carjack two different
people in the process. Eventually, a crowd
of bystanders surrounded him, beat him, and held him until police
arrived to arrest him. The Night Stalker’s reign of terror had finally,
mercifully ended.
The Richard Ramirez Trial
Richard Ramirez went out of his way
to bring chaos to the court proceedings for his trial. When jury selection
began on July 22, 1988, Ramirez showed up to court with a pentagram drawn on
his hand and yelled “Hail Satan” into the crowded courtroom.
Not long after, Ramirez had been reportedly planning to smuggle a gun into the
courtroom with intentions of killing the prosecutor, as reported by the Los
Angelas Times. Consequently, a metal detector was installed at the entrance of
the courtroom. In another strange turn of events, juror Phyllis Singletary was
found dead in her apartment, a victim of an apparent gunshot wound as part of a
murder-suicide at the hands of her boyfriend. While Ramirez had nothing to do
with the murder, the jury was nonetheless terrified as a result.
In the most expensive trial in
California’s history at the time, Richard Ramirez Night Stalker was convicted
of 13 counts of murder, 5 counts of attempted murder, 14 counts of burglary,
and 11 counts of sexual assault. He was sentenced to die in the gas chamber on November 7, 1989. In
one of the more famous Richard Ramirez quotes, he stated on his way out of the
courtroom after receiving his death sentence, “Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland”.
The Night Stalker trial cost California taxpayers more than $1.8 million
dollars. This record-setting cost was only surpassed by the OJ Simpson trial
years later.
The Night Stalker Finds Love
After his arrest and sentencing,
Ramirez did not spend his time in prison lonely. Women who suffered from the
affliction known as hybristophillia bombarded the big-eyed,
skeletal-looking man with attention. Women who found themselves attracted to
serial killers lined up for the chance to love the Night Stalker. One woman,
Doreen Loy, began writing Ramirez as early as 1985, right after his arrest. She
wrote him more than 75 letters.
In 1988, the couple was engaged.
They didn’t marry until October 3, 1996. Doreen Loy became Richard Ramirez wife. Loy had
repeatedly stated she would commit suicide when Richard Ramirez was finally put
to death, in a serial killer type Romeo and Juliet style pact. The couple
eventually separated and Loy never got the chance to live up to her promises.
Perhaps she had cold-blooded feet.
Richard Ramirez Teeth
Richard Ramirez benefited from his
lengthy prison stay in other ways as well. Ramirez’s years of drug use and
dangerous living took a toll on his dental health. Richard Ramirez teeth were just as gruesome as the crimes he
committed. Not long after his arrest, the taxpayers of the state of
California paid to have his rotting, decayed teeth replaced. While his dental
health improved, the new teeth did little to change the skeletal appearance of
Ramirez.
Richard Ramirez Quotes
Like all serial killers, Ramirez had
a lot to say. Most of it doesn’t make a lot of sense. But, serial killer quotes
offer an insight into the mind of these twisted individuals. Here are some of
the more remarkable Ramirez quotes.
·
“You don't understand me. You are
not expected to. You are not capable. I am beyond your experience. I am beyond
good and evil. I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells in all of us...I don't believe
in the hypocritical, moralistic dogma of this so-called civilized society...You
maggots make me sick! Hypocrites one and all...I don't need to hear all of
society's rationalizations. I've heard them all before...legions of the night,
night breed, repeat not the errors of the night prowler and show no mercy.”
·
“You don't understand me. You are
not expected to. You are not capable of it. I am beyond your experience.”
·
“I love to kill people. I love to
watch them die. I would shoot them in the head and they would wiggle and squirm
all over the place, and then just stop. Or I would cut them with a knife and
watch their faces turn real white. I love all that blood.”
·
“We are all evil in some form or
another, are we not?”
·
“Even psychopaths have emotions.
Then again, maybe not.”
Richard Ramirez Death
Richard Ramirez never faced the
death chamber as his sentence dictated. At the age of 53, after 23 years on death
row, Ramirez passed away from
complications due to B-cell lymphoma. Even his organs hated his guts. He
also suffered complications from a lifetime of drug use and alcoholism. Because
California’s appeal process is so lengthy, Ramirez could have spent another 20
years on death row before facing the death chamber.
Richard Ramirez Movies
Serial killer stories make good
movies. There were a few decent ones made telling the story of the Night
Stalker. 2002’s Night Stalker stars Bret Roberts as Ramirez himself.
Most recently, 2016’s The Night Stalker stars Lou Diamond Phillips as
Ramirez. Both offer an interesting insight into the mind of the Night Stalker.
Conclusion
Richard Ramirez’s reign of terror
over southern California lasted from June 1984 until August 1985. In 14 short
months, Ramirez killed 13 people, attempted to kill 5 more, sexually assaulted
11 women, and burglarized 14 homes. The citizens of southern California lived
in a constant state of fear from the atrocities committed at the hands of the
Night Stalker. Once arrested, Ramirez held the distinction of costing taxpayers
more money for his trial than anyone ever before. He enjoyed multiple female
admirers, even marrying one lucky woman. Ramirez even enjoyed new teeth paid
for by the taxpayers of the state of California. His satanism and sheer lack of
concern for human life cemented his place in history as one of the most
violent, prolific serial killers of our time.
Society needs either to take caution
and respect the past no matter how horrific that past me be, or be forced to
relive those acts again.
As always, stay safe !
- bird
