Richard Ramirez: The Night Stalker

Generally, serial killers have a specific pattern in which they operate, a modus operandi. A majority of them favor a certain (type of) weapon and target a specific type of victim. In many cases, the victims of a particular killer are similar in age, appearance, race or occupation. Richard Ramirez was a criminal anomaly. He attacked people of all ages, children included. He killed men and women, their ages ranging from early twenties to early eighties. He used a diverse array of weapons to subdue his victims, including a hammer, a gun and a knife. His unprecedented nature and habits perplexed authorities for months. The 25-year-old drifter managed to baffle some of the most experienced law enforcement officers, including Frank Salerno, the man who apprehended the Hillside Stranglers. Ramirez killed in the most horrific of ways. He broke into the homes of innocent unsuspecting people as they slept peacefully in their beds, gaining entry through open windows and rickety doors. One of the only consistencies in his crimes was that they all occurred in the late night and early morning hours. This is the story of the man who spread terror throughout Los Angeles during the sweltering summer of 1987, the man known to many as the "Night Stalker."

Los Angeles, California is the serial murder capital of the world. In 1984, five people were committed horrific murders simultaneously; Richard Ramirez was one of them. Born Ricardo Leyva Ramirez on February 28, 1960, he was the youngest of seven siblings. He was raised in El Paso, Texas. Ironically, the future Satanist was raised by a strict Catholic family. At the age of thirteen, Ramirez was spending much of his time getting high and visiting with an older cousin and role model, Mike. Mike's personality was severely altered by his service as a Green Beret in the Vietnam War. He returned home with graphic photographs of dead and mutilated persons, which he excitedly shared with his young cousin. One day, Mike shot his wife to death right in front of Richard. Many experts feel that this was a turning point for Ramirez, the beginning of his downward spiral that would culminate years later with a death sentence for multiple murders. He began cutting classes and using drugs. By the age of 17, he dropped out of school for good. He had a couple of run-ins with the law for possession of illegal drugs and traffic violations between 1977 and 1983, the year he moved to Los Angeles, California.

Heavily influenced by the teachings of Anton LaVey (former carnival performer and founder of the Church of Satan), Ramirez grew to worship Satan. On June 28, 1984, Ramirez claimed his first victim, Jennie Vincow, 79. Late that night, he broke into Jennie's home via an open window and savagely cut her throat and raped her as she lay in her bed. Approximately one year later, this murder was connected with the abductions and sexual abuse of two young girls.

The next murder would not occur until March 17, 1985. A young woman named Maria Hernandez pulled her car into her garage just before midnight that day. She stepped out of her vehicle to find a man in dark clothing, aiming a gun at her. She pleaded for him not to harm her, but he shot her anyway. Fortunately, the bullet was deflected by a cluster of keys that she was holding. The assailant savagely kicked her and headed into the apartment. Maria remained on the floor and heard a second gunshot. She kept still until the man in black was gone and then rushed into her apartment. In the kitchen, she found her roommate, Dayle Okazaki lying dead on the floor. Dayle was 34-years-old at the time of her death. Maria Hernandez was able to work with a composite artist to create a sketch of the man who had viciously attacked her and killed her roommate. She made note of his curly hair, bad teeth and foul odor.

Later that same night, the assailant dragged Tsai Yu out of her vehicle and shot her multiple times. Tsai "Veronica" Lian Yu was pronounced dead at the hospital the next day at the age of 30. Ballistics experts determined that the same 22-caliber gun had been used in all three of the attacks that night. On March 20, three days later, another young girl was abducted and sexually abused.

Ramirez had a particular way of killing couples; he would kill the man immediately and rape and torture the female. Ramirez viewed women as being vulnerable and easy to overcome, so he eliminated the threatening force of the male victims first. On March 27, 1985, he beat and stabbed Vincent Zazzara, 64, and his wife Maxine, 44, killing them both in their home. He carved out Maxine's eyes and took them with him as he left. It is not uncommon for a serial killer to take a "souvenir" from his victim. This allows the killer to recall and relive the excitement of the murder at a later time. It also sustains the murderer in between killings.

On May 14, 1985, Ramirez broke into the home of William and Lillie Doi. He shot William in the head and ferociously beat Lillie, demanding that she disclose the whereabouts of her valuables. Lille survived and contributed to the description of the killer. A 22-caliber gun was used in the attack.

On May 29, 1985, he invaded the home of 84-year-old Mabel Bell. She shared the home with her invalid sister, 81-year-old Florence "Nettie" Lang. Ramirez bludgeoned Mabel with a hammer and electrocuted her with a wire from her alarm clock. Nettie watched in abject horror as Ramirez murdered her older sister. He drew a pentagram on Mabel's leg and another on the wall and then moved on to Nettie. He raped and sodomized her. He then helped himself to a snack in the kitchen, filled a pillowcase with any valuables he was able to find and finally left. Nettie survived the brutal attack, but Mabel passed away on July 15, 1985.

After the attack of the elderly widows, the killings occurred in rapid succession. The next day, Carol Kyle awoke from her sleep to find a man standing over her with a gun, ordering her into the next room. There she saw her 12-year-old son bound and locked in the closet. Ramirez stole her diamond necklace and raped her before leaving. She and her son survived. On June 27, Ramirez broke into the home of Patty Elaine Higgins, 32, and cut her throat. Seventy-seven year old Mary Cannon was similarly killed on July 2^nd. Three days later, Ramirez viciously assaulted Whitney Bennett, 16, with a crowbar. Luckily, she lived. Joyce Nelson, 61, was bludgeoned to death two days later on July 7^th. Later that night, Sophie Dickman, 63, was raped and burglarized. On July 20^th, Ramirez shot and killed an elderly couple, Max and Lela Zielding. He then traveled to Sun Valley, where he shot and killed Chainarong Khovanath, 32. He beat and raped the man's wife, Somkid and assaulted their eight-year-old son. He left with $30,000 worth of valuables. In all of the aforementioned incidents, the killer gained entry through open windows and faulty doors. He was a very skilled cat burglar and moved with speed and ease in the dark. Ramirez's violence level was escalating; he believed that he would not get caught because he was protected by the devil.

On August 6^th, Christopher and Virginia Peterson suffered from severe gun shot wounds. They were 38 and 27 years of age respectively. A task force was compiled, led by Frank Salerno and Gil Carillo (the first detective to establish a link between the killings). On August 8^th, Elyas Abowath, 35, was shot dead in his home; his wife was savagely beaten.

The killer headed north to San Francisco, where he shot Peter and Barbara Pan on August 17^th. Barbara lived through the ordeal and was able to contribute details for the composite drawing of the perpetrator. Bullets found at the scene were determined to have emanated from the same weapon used in the other attacks/killings.

Ramirez returned to Los Angeles on August 25^th and shot William Carns in the head multiple times. He then raped Carns' fiancé, Inex Erickson, while commanding her to say "I love Satan." They both survived, however Carns experienced permanent brain damage. Inex saw the vehicle that the assailant fled in, a damaged orange Toyota. Two days earlier, James Romero spotted a suspicious man in a similar vehicle and recalled three digits of the license plate number. On August 28^th, an all points bulletin led to the location of the car. It was abandoned and wiped clean. Experts were able to lift a clean fingerprint off of it.

Pre-1985, officers had to search manually through fingerprints in an attempt to match them. It was a long and arduous process that could take up to days and absence of errors was not guaranteed. Ironically, it was in 1985 that the LAPD installed a computerized fingerprint database that could match prints in a matter of minutes. Ramirez's print was one of the new database's first trials. It almost instantly matched the print taken off of the car with that of petty thief, Richard Ramirez. Even more surprising was the fact that the database only stored fingerprints of criminals that were born after January 1, 1960; Ramirez was born in February of 1960.

Photographs and descriptions of Ramirez were televised and published in nearly every newspaper. At the time, Ramirez was purchasing cocaine in Arizona and did not know that his identity had been revealed. He was in for quite a surprise when he returned to Los Angeles.

He returned on August 31^st and was almost instantly recognized by customers in a liquor store. He ran for nearly 2 miles and was attacked by an angry mob when he attempted to hi-jack a vehicle. Police arrived just in time to save him from the infuriated lynch mob. He was wearing a pair of Avias shoes, model 440; the exact same shoe that left prints at two of the murder sites.

During his trial, Ramirez exhibited a pentagram on his hand and recited pro-Satanic phrases, such as "Hail Satan." He expressed nothing that resembled remorse for his horrible deeds. Contrariwise, he admitted that he enjoyed committing murder. He managed to delay his trial (which lasted over a year), making it a very lengthy process. He was finally convicted on 13 counts of murder and 30 related felonies on September 20, 1989. On November 7^th of the same year, he was sentenced to death. He reacted to the media by saying, "Big deal. Death always went with the territory. I'll see you at Disneyland."

Ramirez defied many of the laws of criminal behavior. There were few consistencies in his killings. His MO changed almost constantly, keeping law enforcement officers on their toes. His actions and behavior were unprecedented, which made it very difficult for authorities to apprehend him. Ironically, he attracted more female groupies than any other killer in history, including Charles Manson. He received a plethora of fan mail and pornographic photographs. On October 3, 1996, Ramirez married Doreen Lioy in prison. She was one of his admirers and they had corresponded for some time. Ramirez currently resides in San Quentin Prison. He is on death row, awaiting his execution. Considering that the state of California has not executed anyone since 1967, it is probable that he will be there for quite some time.

Read an AC interview with a friend and supporter of Richard Ramirez here.