This week’s story focuses on a man who witnessed horrible things at a young age, leaving him to manifest evil thoughts and eventually, evil doings into his life.
Richard Ramirez / Picture Credit: Real Crime on YouTube
Who was Richard Ramirez?
Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer who murdered at least 14 people, and raped and tortured at least a dozen more, mainly during the spring and summer of 1985.
His interest in Satanism seemed to be a calling card for police/investigators at his crime scenes, as the killer developed a pattern for killing couples.
He died of cancer after being in death row for over two decades.
Early life
Ramirez was born Ricardo Leyva Munos Ramirez on February 9th 1960, in El Paso, Texas.
He was the fifth child of Mercedes and Julian Ramirez.
Known as Ricky or Richard, he reportedly sustained multiple head injuries at a young age. After he was knocked unconscious by a swing at age five, he began having epileptic fits.
As an adolescent, Ramirez was heavily influenced by his older cousin, Miguel, who had returned from fighting in the Vietnam War.
Ramirez and his cousin smoked marijuana together as Miguel told his young cousin about the torture and mutilation he’d inflicted on several Vietnamese women – showing photos to back up his acts.
At just 13 years old, Ramirez witnessed his cousin kill his wife.
Ramirez dropped out of school in ninth grade, and was arrested for the first time in 1997 for marijuana possession.
Soon after, he moved to California (CA), but developed an addiction to cocaine and began to burgle people.
He also cultivated an interest in Satanism.
Ramirez was arrested twice in the Los Angeles (LA) area for auto theft in 1981, and again in 1984; he also began to noticeably neglect his personal hygiene.
The murders
Theft unfortunately turned to violence, with Ramirez’s (then) first known murder in June 1984.
The victim was 79-year-old Jennie Vincow, who was sexually assaulted, stabbed and killed during a burglary in her own home.
Nine months later, Ramirez struck again.
In March 1985, he attacked Maria Hernandez (who actually managed to escape) and killed her roommate, Dayle Okazaki.
He also shot and killed Tsai-Lian Yu the same evening, spurring a media frenzy that dubbed Ramirez as the ‘Valley Intruder’ by the press.
Only 10 days later (still in March), Ramirez murdered Vincent Zazzara and his wife Maxine, using a specific attack that would become the killer’s pattern; the husband was shot first, then the wife was brutally stabbed to death.
In this case, Ramirez also gauged out Maxine’s eyes.
A full-scale operation obtained no solid results, so the ‘Valley Intruder’ continued his gruesome rampage.
Pensioners William and Lillie Doi became yet another pair of victims of Ramirez’s pattern in 1985.
Over the following months, Ramirez’s murder rate increased, claiming another two dozen victims in a rage of burglary, assault and brutal violence; complete with Satanic rituals.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) responded to their mystery killer’s horrific crimes by putting together a dedicated task force, with the FBI stepping in to assist.
The pressure from authorities, plus description of him from surviving victims, caused Ramirez to flee LA in August, 1985.
He fled to San Francisco, where he killed yet another poor couple, Peter and Barbara Pan in mid-August.
His unmistakable M.O, with Satanic symbolism, meant the ‘Valley Intruder’ was no longer applicable to Ramirez, so the press quickly gave him a new name – the ‘Night Stalker’; this was a more fitting name as most of his assaults took place at night in the homes of the victims.
Arrest, sentencing and death
Ramirez actions on his final night of inflicting horror at the end of August, 1985, is what led to his capture.
First, he was seen outside a Mission Viejo home, where he unwittingly left a footprint before the witness took note of his car and licence plate.
Unfortunately, then Ramirez raped another woman at her home (and shot her fiancée). The surviving victim gave a detailed description of her and her late partner’s attacker, who she claimed forced her to swear her love for Satan.
The killer’s abandoned car was found a few days later, with enough of a fingerprint to make a match; his criminal record also allowed police to finally put a name to the ‘Night Stalker’.
National TV and print media coverages featuring Ramirez’s prison photo from previous arrests, along with a series of clues from survivors, led to his capture in August of 1985.
After years of complications surrounding Ramirez’s trial, in September 1989 the jury found Ramirez guilty of 43 charges, including: 13 counts of murder, five counts of attempted murder, 11 sexual assault charges, and 14 burglary charges.
Two weeks later the same jury recommended the death sentence on 19 counts.
The convicted murderer was formally sentenced to death in the gas chamber in November 1989, and was sent to San Quentin prison to spend the remainder of his life.
As if his known crimes weren’t enough, in 2009 Ramirez was linked to the rape and murder of a 9-year-old girl in San Francisco.
After nearly 24 years on death row, in June 2013 at 53 years of age, Ramirez died of cancer while at Marin General Hospital in CA.
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
RELATED: Sinister Saturday: The Story of Aileen Wuornos
All serial killings are horrendous, and a waste of human life. But when victims are simply thrown away or discarded and were killed for seemingly no reason at all, the story becomes more saddening.
Who was Aileen Wuornos?
Wuornos was a serial killer who killed at least six men, but stated that it was due to ‘self-defence’.
She made her living as a sex worker on Florida highways.
She killed her first victim in 1989, and went on to kill at least five more men.
Despite having her sanity questioned, Wuornos was killed by lethal injection after being on death row for 10 years. She died in October, 2002...
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