Infamous American Serial Killers: Richard Ramirez
Getty ImagesA mug shot of the “Night Stalker” serial killer, who perpetrated a series of brutal murders in the Los Angeles area in 1984 and 1985.
For 14 months Richard Ramirez, nicknamed the “Night Stalker,” terrorized California. Between June 1984 and August 1985, Ramirez killed 13 people and attempted to kill five more before he was caught.
Ramirez was born in 1960 in El Paso, Texas, to Mexican immigrants Mercedes and Julian Ramirez. Like many American serial killers before him, Ramirez had a troubled childhood. He often faced abuse at the hands of his father, and he sustained two head injuries that were so severe he experienced frequent epileptic seizures afterward.
Hoping to escape his father’s abuse, Ramirez moved in with his older cousin Miguel, a decorated Vietnam veteran. While the move allowed Ramirez to escape his father’s beatings, his time with Miguel had an even worse effect on him.
Miguel frequently tortured women and would show the young Ramirez photos of his crimes. Miguel ended up killing his own wife right in front of the 13-year-old Ramirez.
Ramirez followed in his cousin’s footsteps and was eventually arrested for attempted rape. The charges against him were dropped, however, when the woman declined to testify.
On June 28, 1984, Ramirez began his rampage. He broke into the house of 79-year-old Jennie Vincow, raped her, and cut her throat, leaving her nearly decapitated.
After murdering Vincow, Ramirez traveled up and down California, raping, murdering, and robbing a slew of male and female victims, ranging in age from 22 to 80. The one thing all of his crime scenes had in common was evidence of a Satanic ritual; he had developed an interest in Satanism during his time with Miguel.
Word about the “Night Stalker” had spread, but no concrete information about him was found until one of his surviving victims gave a detailed description of him that resulted in an accurate sketch. Ramirez’s face was plastered in every newspaper in Southern California.
In August 1985, Ramirez was in a convenience store in Los Angeles when he saw a group of elderly women point him out to a police officer; he then realized that his face was on the newspapers displayed in the store.
Ramirez fled and a chase ensued. A group of bystanders ended up getting to Ramirez first. They beat him with a metal pipe until the cops arrived.
The “Night Stalker” was then convicted of 13 murders, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14 burglaries. He was sentenced to death by gas chamber.
Ramirez appealed, but because of the complex nature of his case, he wasn’t able to appear in court until 2006. The original sentence was upheld, but Ramirez would never be executed. In 2013, he died in prison from cancer.
