Night Stalker

I Background:  Detail the following:

1. Where was he from?

Richard Ramirez, a.k.a the “Night Stalker” was from El Paso Texas

1. Who was his family?

Until his teens Ramirez was raised by his parents Julian and Mercedes Ramirez. He had four older siblings. Abuse from his father strongly impacted Richard forcing him to sleep in the local cemetery at night. Miguel Ramirez known as Mike was present in Richards life until he was thirteen, where he was withdrawn the opportunity to visit him.

 

1. Who influenced him greatly in a negative way?

Richard bonded closely with cousin Miguel. They grew close from smoking marijuana together. During these afternoons spent high on drugs, Miguel would share his veteran war stories with Richie. While Mike served in Vietnam he proceeded to rape women and take polaroids of his victims. Mike would share his gory photos, experiences, and military skills with Richie. This is what spurred his interest in crime.

1. What was his education?

Ramirez dropped out of Jefferson High School his freshman year and began to relocate to California permanently. Before the dropout Richard worked for a Holiday Inn where his criminal record started to accumulate, before the case was dropped. The case was considered of robbery and attempted rape. His fascination with crime paralyzed his education.

II The Crimes

1. Briefly describe the crimes.

The crimes took place at night or in the early mornings.  The weapon used consisted of guns, machetes, hammers, and tire irons. His victims were often murdered, raped, and robbed of their valuable possessions. Satanism because prominent in the crimes he committed, at the end of the crime he would continue to say “Swear or Satan”

1. How many people did he kill?

The Night Stalker became the murderer of at least thirteen victims. Twenty-five victims are known to have been raped and tortured by Ramirez.

1. What were the dates of his crime spree?

The Night Stalker crimes were committed from June 1984 until August 1985

1. Where did these crimes take place?

The crimes took place in the California area. Specifically the Los Angeles and San Francisco area.

1. What was his motive?

Doing the work of Satan was his main motive. Ramirez would say the devil pointed him to the direction of the victims homes. He would commit the crimes for Satan as Satan would guide him.

III Evidence

1.       What type of forensic evidence did Ramirez leave behind at the scene of his       crimes?

Ramirez left little evidence at the crime scenes. Evidence such as the victims, bullets, an occasional footprint, and the most important piece of evidence linking him to the victims was one fingerprint found on the tail light of the stolen Toyota getaway car.

1.       After reading about his crimes, did you expect to find more or less evidence left behind by Ramirez?

Ramirezs murders seemed impulsive and unplanned and it;s shocking how little evidence he left behind for not meticulously planning his murders. He surprisingly left little evidence at all of his victims scenes of investigation.

1.      How did the suspect become a suspect (what finally led to Ramirez)?

Ramirez’s final crime occurred in August of 1985. A teenage boy noticed suspicious behavior from a man dressed in all black the previous night of the crime. When gunshots were fired he noticed the orange Toyota and rushed to write down the license plate numbers to identify the man. The description and license plate tracked down Ramirez and solved the mystery of who the Night Stalker was.

IV Results and Discussion

1.      Describe the legal outcome, including appeals if any were made

Ramirez was found guilty by the Supreme Court of all thirteen counts of murder, five attempted murder, elevensexual asssaults, and fourteen burglaries. He was sentenced to execution by the California gas chamber. The Night Stalker filed for his first repeal in 2006, unsuccessfully.

1. How did Ramirez die?  How long after his conviction was this?

Ramirex died of B-cell lymphoma, June 7, 2013. Substance abuse and hepatitis B also contributed to his death. The Night Stalker died at the age of 53 on death row for 23 years since his conviction.

X Reflection

What elements of the crime do you think make it famous?

I believe the main things that made the Night Stalker famous were the whole mystery that surrounded the subject, and also the brutality of the crimes he committed. The fact that man was on the loose and killing multiple people is sadistic fashions and police did not have the slightest clue who it was must have caused a lot of fear, and the media played on that fear, which is probably why it became so famous.