Night Stalker case

The Event Crimes, investigation, and sentencing of serial killer Richard Ramirez

Date First murder occurred on June 28, 1984; sentencing took place on November 7, 1989

Place Los Angeles and San Francisco, California

Ramirez’s method, frequency, and manner of crimes made him one of the most shocking serial killers of the decade.

Richard Ramirez’s crime spree began on June 28, 1984, with the murder of a seventy-nine-year-old woman in a suburb of Los Angeles. He stabbed her repeatedly and slashed her throat, almost decapitating her. Afterward, he sexually assaulted her body. The police found fingerprints, but computerized system for matching fingerprints had not been developed yet. On separate occasions in February, 1985, Ramirez abducted two young girls, ages six and nine, sexually assaulted them, and freed them. On March 17, he shot a young woman. She survived, but he killed her roommate. Later that day, he pulled another woman from her car and fatally shot her. The police matched the bullet casings from the two scenes. These attacks provided authorities with their first description of Ramirez as a man with long, curly hair, rotting teeth, and bulging eyes. Media coverage fueled panic in the community.

A few days later, Ramirez abducted an eight-year-old girl and raped and killed her. He shot a sixty-four-year-old man and his wife on March 27, 1985. He stabbed the wife multiple times postmortem and carved out her eyes. The police matched the bullet casings again and suspected the work of a serial killer. Ramirez also left a footprint at the scene of the March 27 murders. He had been wearing a brand of shoe that was new to the United States, and only one pair had been sold in the area. The police created a composite sketch based on the store owner’s description. Ramirez had developed a signature in his crimes: He quickly dispatched male victims so he could spend more time brutalizing women.

Ramirez took a six-week break before fatally shooting a sixty-six-year-old man, who managed to phone the police before he died, thereby saving his wife. Two weeks later, Ramirez sodomized a woman while her twelve-year-old son was locked in a closet. At the end of May, 1985, Ramirez beat two elderly sisters so severely with a hammer that he cracked its handle; one survived. He drew a pentagram on one sister’s inner thigh and one on the wall. He raped a six-year-old girl at the end of June and slit the throat of a woman the following night. July brought five murders, one attempted rape, one severe beating in which the victim survived, and two rapes, one of which was of an eight-year-old boy, who Ramirez raped in front of his mother.

Ramirez Is Dubbed the “Night Stalker”

Ramirez started August, 1985, with a double shooting; both victims survived. Two nights later, he killed a thirty-five-year-old man and raped the man’s wife. The media named him the “Night Stalker.” Los Angeles County lived in fear of the Night Stalker, and the police were frantic. Ramirez’s “cooling off” periods were shortening. There was little doubt he would strike again, but he eluded Los Angeles authorities by moving north to San Francisco.

On August 18, Ramirez struck in the Bay Area, shooting two victims in the head; the wife survived. He drew another pentagram at the scene and wrote lyrics from a heavy metal song. A bullet from the scene was matched to others in Los Angeles County. Fear spread through the San Francisco Bay Area. The mayor of San Francisco attempted to alleviate the panic by releasing confidential facts to the media. After seeing the resulting reports, Ramirez threw his sneakers and gun off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Ramirez changed his hunting grounds on August 24 and broke into a couple’s home. He shot the man, raped the woman, and bound her. She worked free, however, and saw him leaving in a station wagon. A teenager had earlier seen the station wagon cruising suspiciously and had taken down its license plate number. When the police found the car, a forensics team discovered a fingerprint and matched it to Ramirez with the help of a newly functioning computerized fingerprint system. The police released Ramirez’s pictures to the media. He was foiled trying to steal a car when a citizen identified him. He tried to run, but a mob caught him. The police arrived in time to save his life.

Ramirez never showed any remorse for his crimes and often turned and jeered at the victims in court. He flashed a pentagram that he had drawn on his palm and declared “Hail Satan” in the courtroom. Ramirez was convicted of sixty-seven felonies, including fourteen murders, and he received nineteen death sentences.

Impact

Richard Ramirez’s random and brutal crimes of rape, murder, and pedophilia made him stand out even in a state that produces 10 percent of the world’s serial killers. He killed with more frequency than a normal serial killer and spread fear over much of California.

Bibliography

Carlo, Philip. The Night Stalker. New York: Pinnacle, 1996. Story following the serial killer convicted of fourteen murders in the Los Angeles area.

Linedecker, Clifford L. Night Stalker. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1991. Account of Ramirez’s two-year rampage as a sadistic serial killer, his arrest, and the subsequent sensational trial.

Newton, Michael, ed. The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. 2d ed. New York: Facts On File, 2006. General reference to serial killers.