Richard Ramirez, also known as Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez, was a serial rapist and killer who operated in the Los Angeles and San Francisco areas from 1984 until his capture in August 1985.
School grades began to slip and by the age of ten, he began spending nights at cemeteries, curious of dark-sided thoughts, and smoked marijuana. When he was twelve years old, his cousin Miguel returned from his second tour in Vietnam and they began spending time together. He would show Ramirez photos of Vietnamese women he had raped, tortured, and killed, and also taught him how to keep hidden and kill with stealth.
When Ramirez was thirteen, he witnessed Miguel shoot and kill his wife and was affected by this for the rest of his life. Ramirez begun burglarizing people's homes, committing petty theft, skipping school, and becoming addicted to cannabis. During burglaries, he enjoyed walking around in the homes and going through the residents' personal belongings. During a trip to Los Angeles to see his brother Ruben, a petty criminal, Ramirez was taught more about burglaries and different ways to break in homes. At the age of sixteen, he was already a skilled burglar.
While he was still in high school, he briefly held down a job at a Holiday Inn, but was fired after a few months for entering a woman's room and attempting to rape her, but was stopped by her husband.
On June 28, 1984, after using a significant amount of cocaine, Ramirez burglarized the home of 79-year-old woman, raped her, and stabbed her to death. Over the course of a little more than a year, Ramirez proceeded to kill twelve additional people, as well as rape and/or attempt to kill multiple others in several different Californian cities. The media eventually nicknamed him "The Night Stalker". Ramirez was a versatile criminal who would kill his victims in a bizarre range of ways, including bludgeoning, stabbing, torture, mutilation, and shooting.
On October 3, 1989, the jury found Ramirez guilty and he was sentenced to death. Ramirez died of liver failure
School grades began to slip and by the age of ten, he began spending nights at cemeteries, curious of dark-sided thoughts, and smoked marijuana. When he was twelve years old, his cousin Miguel returned from his second tour in Vietnam and they began spending time together. He would show Ramirez photos of Vietnamese women he had raped, tortured, and killed, and also taught him how to keep hidden and kill with stealth.
When Ramirez was thirteen, he witnessed Miguel shoot and kill his wife and was affected by this for the rest of his life. Ramirez begun burglarizing people's homes, committing petty theft, skipping school, and becoming addicted to cannabis. During burglaries, he enjoyed walking around in the homes and going through the residents' personal belongings. During a trip to Los Angeles to see his brother Ruben, a petty criminal, Ramirez was taught more about burglaries and different ways to break in homes. At the age of sixteen, he was already a skilled burglar.
While he was still in high school, he briefly held down a job at a Holiday Inn, but was fired after a few months for entering a woman's room and attempting to rape her, but was stopped by her husband.
On June 28, 1984, after using a significant amount of cocaine, Ramirez burglarized the home of 79-year-old woman, raped her, and stabbed her to death. Over the course of a little more than a year, Ramirez proceeded to kill twelve additional people, as well as rape and/or attempt to kill multiple others in several different Californian cities. The media eventually nicknamed him "The Night Stalker". Ramirez was a versatile criminal who would kill his victims in a bizarre range of ways, including bludgeoning, stabbing, torture, mutilation, and shooting.
On October 3, 1989, the jury found Ramirez guilty and he was sentenced to death. Ramirez died of liver failure