Richard Chase: The ‘Vampire Killer’ Who Drank His Victims’ Blood
Public DomainRichard Chase struggled with severe mental health problems before he went on his murder spree in the 1970s.
Of all the California serial killers on this list, perhaps none committed crimes as gruesome as Richard Chase. In the 1970s, Chase saw unlocked doors as “invitations” and brutally murdered and mutilated six people in Sacramento.
A California native, Chase struggled with mental health issues all his life. He was even institutionalized at Beverly Manor where, according to the Sacramento News and Review, Chase openly told doctors and nurses about his desire to kill rabbits and drink their blood.
The depth of Chase’s bloodlust, however, was not fully understood until this terrifying California serial killer started to murder people in 1977.
Public DomainChase was sentenced to death but took his own life before his execution.
Over the span of about a month between December 1977 and January 1978, Chase took six lives. He started his murder spree by fatally shooting 51-year-old Ambrose Griffin as he helped his wife carry groceries. Then, he started breaking into homes.
On Jan. 23, 1978, Chase broke into the home of Teresa Wallin, a pregnant 22-year-old who’d left her door unlocked. Not only did Chase shoot, stab, and disembowel Wallins, but he also used a yogurt cup to drink her blood.
Just four days later, he broke into the home of 38-year-old Evelyn Miroth, who Chase shot and killed alongside her friend Dan Meredith and her six-year-old son. He also mutilated and cannibalized Miroth’s body and kidnapped her 22-month-old nephew, whose decapitated body was later found behind a church.
Fortunately, Richard Chase’s murder spree came to a quick conclusion. Investigators found his prints at the Miroth residence and were able to tie him to the bloody crime scene. This California serial killer was then sentenced to death in 1979 — but he took his own life while awaiting execution the following year.
