Richard Ramirez

Background

Richard Ramirez—also known as Ricardo “Richard” Muñoz Ramírez and Richard Muñoz Ramírez—was born February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas. He was a Mexican American serial killer. Before his capture, news media dubbed Ramirez the “Night Stalker” as he terrorized California and left satanic signs at murder scenes.

Ramirez’s early life was described as being influenced by his cousin Mike, a Special Forces Vietnam War veteran who boasted of killing and torturing Vietnamese enemies and showed Ramirez Polaroid pictures of his victims. Ramirez was present the night Mike shot and killed his wife, and her blood splattered on Ramirez’s face.

In the account of his later life, Ramirez was described as having a following of young women admirers who visited him and wrote him love notes. Freelance magazine editor Doreen Lioy wrote him nearly 75 letters during his incarceration. In 1988, he proposed to Lioy, and on October 3, 1996, they married in California’s San Quentin State Prison. Lioy stated she would commit suicide when Ramirez was executed.

The offence

March 17, 1985: attacks including shooting and killings; Maria Hernández, Dayle Okazaki, and Tsai-Lian Yu

On March 17, 1985, Ramirez attacked 22-year-old María Hernández outside her home and shot her before entering her house. Inside was Dayle Okazaki, age 34, whom Ramirez immediately shot and killed. Hernández survived. The bullet had ricocheted off the keys she held in her hands as she lifted them to protect herself.

Within an hour of killing Okazaki, Ramirez struck again in Monterey Park. He jumped 30-year-old Tsai-Lian Yu and pulled her out of her car onto the road. He shot her several times and fled. A policeman found her still breathing, but she died before the ambulance arrived.

March 27, 1985: Vincent and Maxine Zazzara; stabbing and mutilation

On March 27, Ramirez shot Vincent Zazarra, age 64, and his wife Maxine, age 44. Mrs. Zazarra’s body was mutilated with several stab wounds and a T-carving on her left breast, and her eyes were gouged out. The autopsy determined that the mutilations were post-mortem. Ramirez left footprints in the flower beds, which the police photographed and cast. Bullets found at the scene were matched to those found at previous attacks. The bodies were discovered in their Whittier home by their son, Peter. By this time, a multi-county police investigation was in operation.

Two months after the Zazzara killings: Harold Wu and Jean Wu; rape and binding

Two months after killing the Zazzara couple, Ramirez attacked a Chinese couple, Harold Wu, age 66, and his wife Jean Wu, age 63. Harold Wu was shot in the head. Jean Wu was punched, bound, and then violently raped. Ramirez decided, for unknown reasons, to let her live.

May 29, 1985: Malvial Keller (83) and Blanche Wolfe (80); hammer beating; attempted rape

On May 29, 1985, Ramirez attacked Malvial Keller, 83, and her disabled sister, Blanche Wolfe, 80, beating each with a hammer. Ramirez attempted to rape Keller, but failed. Using lipstick, he drew pentagrams on Keller’s thigh and on the wall in the bedroom. Blanche survived.

The next day, Ruth Wilson, 41, was bound, raped, and sodomized by Ramirez, while her 12-year-old son was locked in a closet. Ramirez slashed Wilson once, then bound her and her son together, and left.

June and July: multiple killings and home invasions; slashed throats and beatings; attempted rapes and survivals

In June and July, three more women were killed. Two had their throats slit, and one was beaten to death, while all three had their homes invaded in the process.

On July 5, Whitney Bennett, age 16, survived being beaten with a tire iron.

On July 7, Linda Fortuna, 63, was attacked and Ramirez tried to rape her, but failed.

On July 20, Ramirez struck twice. In Sun Valley, he shot and killed a 32-year-old man, Chitat Assawahem, and Sakima, 29, was beaten and forced to perform oral intercourse. Ramirez then collected valuables and proceeded to leave. Later in the same day, a Glendale couple, Maxson Kneiding, 66, and his wife Lela, also 66, were shot and their corpses mutilated.

August: shootings, attempted killings, and rape/sodomy; escape and leaving valuables

On August 6, Ramirez shot both Christopher Petersen, 38, and his wife Virginia, 27, in the head. Both survived.

On August 8, Ramirez attacked a Diamond Bar couple, fatally shooting Ahmed Zia, 35, before raping, sodomizing, and forcing Zia’s wife, Suu Kyi, 28, to perform fellatio on him.

Ramirez then left the Los Angeles area, and on August 17, he shot to death a 66-year-old man in San Francisco while also shooting and beating his wife. The wife survived her wounds and identified the attacker as “The Walk-in Killer” from police sketches. Since “The Walk-in Killer” no longer fit the modus operandi, news media redubbed him the “Night Stalker.”

August 24, 1985: Bill Carns and Inez Erickson; rape; forced oral intercourse; demand to swear love for Satan

On August 24, 1985, Ramirez traveled 50 miles south of Los Angeles to Mission Viejo and broke into the Mediterranean Village apartment of Bill Carns, 29, and his fiancée, Inez Erickson, 27. Ramirez shot Carns in the head and raped Erickson. He demanded she swear her love for Satan and afterwards forced her to perform oral intercourse on him. He then tied her and left. Erickson struggled to the window and saw the car Ramirez was driving. She gave a description of both Ramirez and his orange Toyota station wagon.

After identification: mob beating; attempt to steal a car

The stolen car was found on August 28. Police obtained one fingerprint on the mirror of the vehicle. The prints belonged to one Richard Muñoz Ramírez, described as a 25-year-old drifter from Texas with a long rap sheet including many arrests for traffic and illegal drug violations. His mugshots were broadcast on national television and printed on the cover of every major newspaper in California.

The next day, Ramirez was identified, surrounded, and severely beaten by an angry mob in East Los Angeles as he was trying to steal a car. Police had to break up the mob to prevent them from killing Ramirez.

Investigation

A multi-county police investigation operated after the discovery of the Zazzara bodies in Whittier. The law enforcement agencies worked through the month of April without additional attacks by Ramirez.

After the Zazzara attack, bullets found at the scene were matched to bullets from previous attacks, and the police realized a serial killer was on the loose.

Survivors of Ramirez’s attacks provided police with descriptions of the attacker as a tall Hispanic and long dark haired man. The description supported naming by the news media as “The Walk-in Killer” and “The Valley Intruder,” and later “Night Stalker” after media redubbing.

On June and July killings, investigators tied crimes to physical evidence including footprints and shoe prints. Footprints were found in flower beds after the Zazzara attack, and police photographed and cast them.

Ramirez left behind more clues to his identity, including pentagrams drawn with lipstick and other distinctive marks.

Fingerprint and vehicle evidence

The identification break involved a stolen orange Toyota station wagon. Erickson described the vehicle. A stolen car was found on August 28, and police obtained one fingerprint on the mirror of the vehicle belonging to Richard Muñoz Ramírez. His mugshots were broadcast on national television, and the next day Ramirez was beaten by an angry mob.

Arrest

Ramirez was identified by his mugshots after a nationwide broadcast. He was surrounded and severely beaten by an angry mob in East Los Angeles as he was trying to steal a car, and police intervened to prevent the mob from killing him.

Trial

Jury selection for the case started on July 22, 1988. On September 20, 1989, Ramirez was found guilty of 13 counts of murder, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries.

During the penalty phase of the trial on November 7, 1989, he was sentenced to die in California’s gas chamber.

The trial was described as one of the most difficult and longest criminal trials in American history. Nearly 1,600 prospective jurors were interviewed, and more than one hundred witnesses testified. A number of witnesses had difficulty recalling certain facts four years after the crimes, while others were certain of Ramirez’s identity.

Court security incident during trial

The Los Angeles Times reported that some jail employees overheard Ramirez planning to shoot the prosecutor with a gun that he intended to have smuggled into the courtroom. A metal detector was installed outside the courtroom, and intensive searches were conducted on people entering.

Juror murder during deliberations

On August 14, the trial was interrupted because one of the jurors, Phyllis Singletary, did not arrive to the courtroom. Later that day she was found shot to death in her apartment. The alternative juror who replaced Singletary was too frightened to return to her home. Ramirez was not responsible for Singletary’s death; she was shot and killed by her boyfriend, who later killed himself with the same weapon in a hotel.

Penalty phase statements and recommendations

During the sentencing phase, Ramirez was asked about what he had to say on his own behalf. He cursed the court, cursed the jurors, and cursed the world.

No later repetition of the legal outcome appears in the record beyond the penalty phase sentencing to die in the gas chamber.

Sentencing

On November 7, 1989, Ramirez was sentenced to die in California’s gas chamber.

Appeals

On August 7, 2006, the first round of state appeals ended unsuccessfully when the California Supreme Court upheld Ramirez’s convictions and death sentence. On September 7, 2006, the California Supreme Court denied his request for a rehearing.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused in 2007 to review the convictions and sentence.

Ramirez still had appeals pending when he died.

Outcome

Ramirez died in prison on June 7, 2013.

In the reported circumstances of his death, Ramirez had been taken from San Quentin’s death row to a hospital, where authorities said he died of liver failure. The report also said prison officials could not release further details on the cause of death, citing federal patient privacy laws. Ramirez had been housed on death row for decades and was awaiting execution.

His status remained sentenced to death and awaiting execution prior to death in prison.

Aftermath

The circumstances around his death included that he had been awaiting execution even though it had been years since anyone had been put to death in California.

Relatives called Doreen Lioy a recluse who lived in a fantasy world; her whereabouts could not be determined at the time of Ramirez’s death. She was not listed as Ramirez’s next of kin, and prison spokesman Samuel Robinson stated that his blood relatives were listed as next of kin.

Other details

Victims listed by date in the provided list

June 28, 1984 — Jennie Vincow, 79, Glassell Park. Her throat was slashed.

March 17, 1985 — Dayle Okazaki, 34, and Maria Hernandez, 20, Rosemead. Dayle was shot to death. Hernandez survived.

March 17, 1985 — Veronica Yu, 30, Monterey Park. She was shot after being dragged from her car.

March 27, 1985 — Vincent Zazzara, 64 and his wife Maxine, 44, Whittier. They were stabbed and mutilated.

May 14, 1985 — Bill Doi, 66, Monterey Park. Shot to death.

May 30, 1985 — Carol Kyle, 41, Burbank. Rape, sodomy, oral copulation, burglary.

June 1, 1985 — Mable “Ma Bell” Bell, 83, and sister, Florence “Nettie” Lang, 80, Monrovia. Keller was bludgeoned to death and satanic symbols were scrawled.

July 2, 1985 — Mary Louise Cannon, 75, Arcadia. Beaten and throat slashed.

July 5, 1985 — Whitney Bennett, 16, Sierra Madre. Attempted murder, burglary.

July 7, 1985 — Joyce Lucille Nelson, 61, Monterey Park. Beaten to death.

July 7, 1985 — Sophie Dickman, 63, Monterey Park. Raped and sodomized.

July 20, 1985 — Max, 68, and Lela Kneiding, 66, Glendale. Both shot to death.

July 20, 1985 — Chainarong Khovananth, 32, Sun Valley. Shot to death.

August 8, 1985 — Elyas Abowath, 35, Diamond Bar. Shot while sleeping.

Additional quoted statements

Ramirez raised a hand with a pentagram drawn on it and yelled, "Hail, Satan."

Judge Tynan said: "We must get on with the task life has given us"

Judge Tynan also said: "The Richard Ramirez case was the most difficult trial I ever handled. It was an experience I will never forget, and I'm glad the ordeal is over."

After the conviction, Ramirez flashed a two-fingered "devil sign" to photographers and muttered a single word: "Evil."

In reaction to the verdict, Ramirez sneered: "Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland."

Outside the courtroom, Ramirez told reporters: "Big deal. I'Il see you at Disneyland."

Ramirez also said: "You maggots make me sick, I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells within us all."

Ramirez muttered: "Evil."

Ramirez told the court: "We must get on with the task life has given us"

Ramirez said to the court: "The Richard Ramirez case was the most difficult trial I ever handled.

Ramirez’s reaction after sentencing and during speeches included these statements in quotation marks within the provided material: "You don't understand me. You are not expected to. You are not capable. I am beyond your experience. I am beyond good and evil. I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells in all of us..." "Legions of the night, night breed, repeat not the errors of night prowler and show no mercy." "You maggots make me sick! Hypocrites one and all..." "I don't need to hear all of society's rationalizations. I've heard them all before...legions of the night, night breed, repeat not the errors of the night prowler and show no mercy."