The Night Stalker: Richard Ramirez

Ramirez was born on February 29, 1960, the youngest child of 5 or 7 children, depending on what account you read. His father was a police officer and then a laborer, and allegedly abusive. Young Ramirez’s psychological state was comprimised when he suffered two severe head injuries, and frequent epileptic episodes. When an older cousin, Mike, a discharged Green Beret and Vietnam Veteran, came home from the war he spent a lot of time with adolescent Ramirez. They smoked copious amounts of marijuana together and talked of satanic worship. Mike would also entertain Ramirez with poloriods he took in Vietnam. They depicted everything from Mike raping a Vietnmaese villiager, and proudly holding he decapitated head of a woman.

A defining moment in his life was when the troubled Mike shot and killed his wife in front of Ramirez, spraying him with her blood. After witnessing this his behavior changed dramatically, he dropped out of school, abused drugs, and developed bizarre sleeping habits. In 1977, he was placed in juvenile detention for theft and after his release he moved to San Fransisco and eventually on the Los Angeles where he graduated from marijuana and petty theft to cocaine and full – on burglary. In Los Angeles he delved deeper into satanic worship and rituals, which would play a major role in his future crimes. He would kill two in 1984 before being arrested for car theft, and upon his release he was a homeless, dirty, and uneducated and would almost immediately start on a six month killing spree living dozens of victims in his wake.

List of The Night Stalker’s Victims:

            April 10 1984:

9 year old Mei Leung was found dead in a hotel basement where Ramirez was living at the time.

June 28 1984:

79 year - old Jennie Vincow was found stabbed and nearly decapitated in her apartment.

February 21 1985:

Christina, 58 and Mary Caldwell, 71 were stabbed dozens of time each in their home.

March 17 1985:

            Ramirez attacked 22 year – old Angela Barrios outside of her home. He shot her before entering her home, but she thankfully survived. Dayle Okazaki, 34 was inside and Ramirez immediately shot and killed him.

            Within an hour he struck again in the same area of Montgomery Park. He attacked 30 year – old Tsai Lian Yu and pulled her out of her car and shot her repeatedly, then fled the scene. She died a time later when police came onto the scene.

            The event of 2 attacks and murders in the same area sparked media attention that would not subside with the coming weeks. The media dubbed Ramirez ‘The Walk- in Killer’ and ‘The Valley Intruder’.  Bullets found at both scenes were tested and found to be shot from the same gun.

March 27 1985:

            Ramirez shot Vincent Zazzara, 64 and his 44 year –old wife Maxine. Maxine’s body was mutilated with several post –mortem stab wounds and a T – carving in her left breast. He also gouged out her eyes.

            Ramirez left footprints in the flowerbed outside the couple’s window, which police believed was his point of entry. The prints were photographed and casted and added to the ever - growing list of evidence being built against him. When the bullets found to be used in the murder were found to be the same as in the previous attacks the police and media knew for sure they had a serial killer on their hands.

            At this point a multi – county police investigation was underway, and presumably because of the massive media and law enforcement presence, Ramirez took no more lives for 2 months. When the report of the attacks on  of 66 year – old Henry Wu and his wife Jean were made, Ramirez was officially dubbed the ‘Night Stalker’. Wu was shot in the head, whereas Jean was beaten, bound, and raped. It is unknown why Ramirez kept these victims alive, but because of it they were able to give and accurate description of Ramirez; a tall Hispanic male with long black hair.

           

May 30 1985:

            The newly named Night Stalker attacked Marival Keller , 83, and her disabled sister Blanche Wolfe, 80, beating them with a hammer. Using lipstick Ramirez drew pentagrams on Keller’s lifeless leg and also on the wall of her bedroom. Wolfe survived the attack and was again able to give a description of her sister’s killer to police.

May 31 1985:

            Ruth Wilson, 41, was bound, raped, and sodomized by Ramirez while her 12 year – old son was locked in a closet. Before he left the scene he grabbed the boy from his hiding place and tied him to his dead mother’s body.

June 2 1985:

            Edward Willgans, 29 was shot and killed before his girlfriend was raped repeatedly. She survived her attack.

Early June – July 1985:

            3 more women are killed, 2 had their throats cut and one was beaten to death. All were victims of home invasions, which led them to be tied to Ramirez.

July 5 1985:

            16 year –old Whitney Bennett survived being beaten with a tire iron. IN the same day another woman, Linda Fortuna, 63, was also attacked. Both victims survived.

July 20 1985:

            Ramirez again struck 2 different homes in one day, first, Chet Assawahem, 32, and his wife Sakima who was beaten and forced to perform oral sex on Ramirez before he stole items from their home and left. Later a Glendale couple, both 66 years –old were shot and mutilated.

August 6 1985:

            Ramirez shot Christopher and Virginia Paterson in the head, killing them both instantly.

August 8 1985:

            Ramirez attacked a couple in Diamond Bar, first shooting the husband and then raping and sodomizing his wife, not before forcing her to preform oral sex on him.

           

August 17 1985:

            The attack on a 66 year –old man and his wife would prove damming for Ramirez, as the wife survived and was able to identify him as the Night Stalker.

August 24 1985:

            Feeling the pressure of the growing police activity, Ramirez attempted to elude them by traveling 50 miles south of Los Angeles to Mission Viejo and broke into the apartment of 24 year – old Bill Carr’s apartment that he shared with he fiancé. He shot Bill and raped the girl, then asked her to profess her love for Satan. He also, forced her to preform oral sex on him before tying her up and leaving her for dead. She was able to free herself enough to go the window and see the car he was fleeing in and immediately contacted police and described Ramirez and the getaway car.  A teenager some days later recognized the vehicle off of a news report and was able to jot down the license plate number. Police found the vehicle abandoned and were able to obtain a single fingerprint from the mirror and the fingerprint was linked to Richard Ramirez.

            That same day his mug shots and description as a drifter from Texas were broadcasted all over the county and were front page news in California and neighboring states. Ramirez had since traveled back to Los Angeles and was recognized and attacked by a mob of citizens in East LA. When police were called to the scene force was necessary to break up the mob before they killed Ramirez.

July 22 1988 & September 20 1989:

Ramirez was found guilty of 13 counts of murder, 5 attempted murders, 14 burglaries, and 11 sexual assaults. He was sentenced to death.

During his time on death row he corresponded to a number of ‘fans’, but one in particular made a huge impact on him and they started a long courtship, and were married in the California San Quentin State Prison in 1996. Doreen was quoted in saying that she would commit suicide on the day that that Ramirez was executed. She and the state of California never got their chance however because Richard Ramirez died in a California hospital on June 7 2013, from natural causes. He was 53 years old, and served 23 years on death row for his heinous crimes.