November 5, 2003
Night Stalker
by
David Lohr
Richard Ramirez’s random
and inexplicable murder spree began on June 28, 1984, in Glassel Park, Calif.,
a small suburban community in Los Angeles. He parked his car down the street
and quietly made his way up to a two-story apartment building. His eyes began
scanning the area looking for an easy target. A heat wave was moving through
the area, so he had little trouble finding an apartment with an open window.
The open window he chose belonged to 79-year-old Jennie Vincow.
Murder was the farthest thing from his mind at the
moment. He was more interested in stealing the woman’s valuables to support
his growing drug addiction. With gloved hands, he quietly removed the screen
from the window and crawled inside. According to Philip Carlo’s 1996 book,
The Night Stalker, Ramirez immediately made his way to the bedroom and
began looking through the drawers, careful not to make a sound. Nothing. There
was not one thing of value for him there. He became enraged at the elderly
woman sleeping on the bed and decided to take his anger out on her. He quietly
removed his hunting knife from its sheath and made his way toward her bed. He
stood over her momentarily and contemplated his next move. Killing was
something new to him and he did not want to make any mistakes. He held the
knife up high and quickly brought it down on her chest. She immediately awoke
and began screaming for her life, but he ignored her cries and continued to
stab her again and again. After he tired of stabbing her, he placed his hand
over her mouth and with one quick flick of the knife slit her throat. It was
suddenly over just as quickly as it began. The elderly woman was dead and her
killer stood over her panting. The act had excited him beyond his expectations
and the thrill of the kill aroused him sexually. He quickly disrobed and
performed necrophilia on the corpse
Later that day, Mrs. Vincow’s son discovered the grisly
scene and reported it to police. Investigators were stumped. There was no
apparent motive for the murder and the suspect had left few clues behind.
Less than a year later, on the night of March 17, 1985,
Ramirez struck again. Hiding in the shadows of a Rosemead condominium complex
he waited and watched for a victim to appear. He did not have to wait long
before spotting 20-year-old Maria Hernandez pulling into one of the driveways.
As she stepped out of her car, Ramirez jumped out from the darkness and raised
his gun. Maria pled for her life as she instinctively raised her hand to
protect herself. Ramirez pulled the trigger. Maria fell to the ground and
Ramirez stepped over her body and walked into her condo. But Maria was not
dead. Amazingly, the bullet had deflected off the car keys she had been
holding and she was only pretending to be dead. Upon entering the condo,
Ramirez was taken off guard by the sight of Maria’s roommate, 34-year-old
Dayle Okazaki. Ramirez quickly raised his gun and fired a shot directly at her
head. A single bullet entered her brain, killing the young woman instantly.
Ramirez quickly fled, but in his hurry he dropped his baseball cap, with an
AC/DC insignia. Maria, still badly shaken, described her assailant as tall,
gaunt man with bulging eyes and widely spaced, rotten teeth. She also said she
thought he might be Hispanic.
According to Clifford L. Linedecker’s 1991 book,
Night Stalker, Ramirez was angered by his foul up and waited less then an
hour to strike again. He drove to the Monterey Park area and ambushed
30-year-old Tsai-Lian Yu. Ramirez drug the young woman out of her car and
fired several shots in rapid succession. Afterward, he got into his own car
and drove away just as quickly as he had appeared.
Less than two weeks later, on March 27, 1985, Ramirez
broke into the home of 64-year-old Vincent Zazarra and his 44-year-old wife
Maxine. Vincent was sleeping on the sofa when Ramirez snuck up on him and shot
him point blank in the head. Vincent died almost immediately, however his wife
was not so lucky. Ramirez shot her three times and then began to continuously
stab her all over her body. When he tired of the motions, he slowed down and
began carving designs into her flesh. Afterward, he ransacked the house, and
then, before leaving, he carved out both of Maxine’s eyes.
Carlo wrote that when investigators were summoned to the
scene a few days later they discovered footprints in the flowerbed, which they
photographed and casted. The bullets were later determined to have come from
the same gun as the ones in previous attacks and investigators were now
certain that they had a crazed serial killer on their hands.
The killer waited a little longer before striking again,
but by April 14, 1985, he broke into the Monterey home of 65-year-old Harold
Wu and his 56-year-old wife Jean. As Ramirez made his way towards the bedroom,
he cocked his gun in anticipation. Chambering the bullet made a loud clicking
noise, which immediately alerted Harold. As Ramirez entered the bedroom he
noticed Harold reaching for his 9-millimeter pistol. Ramirez quickly raised
his own gun and fired one shot, striking the man just above the upper lip.
Ramirez went to fire a second round, but his gun jammed. He then used his
gloved fists to beat Harold unconscious. Afterwards, he picked up the
9-millimeter pistol and set his sites on Jean, who was now awake and
trembling. The elderly woman was unable to run away and Ramirez began to
pummel the woman with his fists. After a few minutes he decided to have a look
around and bound the elderly woman’s hands together with thumb cuffs. Ramirez
ransacked the home looking for valuables, but found nothing of great
significance. The thrill of the crime had excited him, so he returned to the
bedroom and violently raped Jean Wu. Afterwards, he kissed her and left the
home with whatever belongings he could carry. Moments later, Harold came to
and crawled to the telephone. He dialed 911 and when the operator answered he
muttered, "Help, please help me," before passing out again.
Emergency personnel quickly arrived at the scene and
began treating the elderly couple. Harold was in a dire state and Jean was in
catatonic shock. At first they thought Harold was going to make it, but their
best efforts were not enough to save him and he died during the trip to the
hospital. Jean survived the attack, but was unable to tell investigators what
had happened. Dark skinned man, bad teeth, and a black gun were about the only
things they could get out of her. Once again footprints were discovered at the
scene. The prints, along with the bullet, were later matched to those left
behind at the other scenes. The Los Angeles Times dubbed the unknown
killer "The Night Stalker."
On May 29, 1985, 83-year-old Malvia Keller and her
invalid sister, 80-year-old Blanche Wolfe, were attacked in Keller's
Monrovia home. Ramirez beat both women with a hammer and ransacked the home.
Afterward, he took lipstick and drew a pentagram on Keller's inner thigh.
He then drew a second one on the bedroom wall. Four days later a horrified
gardener discovered the sisters and contacted the police. Keller survived, but
Wolfe died soon thereafter. It was later revealed that Ramirez had tried to
rape Keller during the attack.
On May 30, 1985, in Burbank, Ramirez attacked
41-year-old Ruth Wilson in her home. Linedecker wrote that after tying up the
victim’s 12-year-old son, Ramirez raped and sodomized her. "Don't look at me,"
he snarled. "If you look at me again, I'll shoot you." Afterward, he slashed
her once with his knife and told her she was lucky. "I don’t know why I’m
letting you live," he whispered. He then let her son out of the closet and
handcuffed them together. Ramirez left them there and later the young
boy was able to get to a phone and call 911. When police later
questioned Ruth she described her attacker as a tall Hispanic with long dark
hair.
Just 10 years earlier Los Angeles had dealt with The
Hillside Stranglers and now it was sheer panic all over again. The police
department placed extra manpower in every area of the city. Sketched pictures
of The Night Stalker were distributed throughout the region and police stopped
and investigated numerous men who fit the bill. Residents began buying guns
and hardware stores began selling out of locks and deadbolts. Nonetheless,
Ramirez was not scared of being caught and felt that Satan himself was
protecting him from danger.
On June 27, 1985, Ramirez raped a 6-year-old girl in
Arcadia and the following day the body of 32-year-old Patty Elaine Higgins was
found in her Arcadia home. Ramirez had beaten the woman within an inch of her
life and then slit her throat. Afterwards he ransacked her home. Just five
days later, on July 2, Ramirez struck again and murdered 75-year-old Mary
Louise Cannon. Like Patty Higgins, she had been beaten, her throat slit,
and the house ransacked.
Three days later, On July 5, Ramirez attacked
16-year-old Deidre Palmer in Arcadia. He savagely beat the young girl with a
tire iron and left her for dead. Amazingly, she survived her injuries. Just
two days later, the body of 61-year-old Joyce Lucille Nelson was found in her
home in Monterey Park. Ramirez had bludgeoned her to death. Later that same
night, in Monterey Park, Ramirez attacked 63-year-old Linda Fortuna. He
attempted to rape her, but was unable to maintain an erection. Frustrated, he
quickly ransacked her house and left without killing her.
On July 20, 1985, Ramirez broke into the Glendale home
of 66-year old Maxson Kneiling and his wife Lela, also 66. Ramirez shot both
of them in the head and mutilated their corpses. Just hours later Ramirez
struck again. This time in Sun Valley, where he broke into the home of
32-year-old Chitat Assawahem and his wife Sakima, 29. Ramirez shot Chitat as
he slept and then raped and beat his wife. Ramirez then tied up Sakima and
gathered up $30,000 in cash and jewelry. He was not yet ready to leave though
and turned his anger on the couple's eight-year-old son, whom he brutally
sodomized before leaving.
Less than a month later, on Aug. 6, 1985, Ramirez broke
into the Northridge home of 38-year-old Christopher Petersen and his wife,
27-year-old Virginia. Ramirez shot both of them in the head, but amazingly
both survived. Mr. Petersen was a large man, and despite his injuries,
he was able to chase the intruder away.
Ramirez waited just two days to strike again, this time
in Diamond Bar, Calif. He broke into the home of 35-year-old Ahmed Zia and his
wife, 28-year-old Suu Kyi. Ramirez quickly disposed of Ahmed with a bullet to
the head and then raped and sodomized Suu Kyi.
The police were now facing a barrage of criticism from
the public. The crimes were becoming more frequent and the cooling-off periods
were becoming even shorter. With all the added publicity about his crimes, and
the manhunt to find the killer, Ramirez began to panic and fled north to
continue his murder spree.
On Aug. 24, 1985, Ramirez traveled to Mission Viejo,
some 50 miles south of Los Angeles. According to Michael Newton, author of the
Encyclopedia of Serial Killers, he then broke into the home of
29-year-old Bill Carns and his fiancée, 27-year-old Inez Erickson. Ramirez
shot Carns in the head and then proceeded to rape Erickson. Afterwards, he
demanded she swear her love for Satan and then he tied her up and left.
Erickson quickly worked herself free of her constraints and ran to the window
just in time to see the assailant get into an orange colored car. She then
called 911. Earlier that same night, a young man had noticed an orange
Toyota circling the neighborhood. It struck him as suspicious and he
wrote down the license plate number. The following day he contacted the police
about the car.
When investigators ran the license plate, they learned
that the car had recently been stolen. An APB was immediately put out and two
days later the car was found abandoned in a seedy Los Angeles neighborhood.
Police spent the next several days watching the car, but their suspect never
came back for it. Later, as crime scene specialists and finger print
technicians went over the car they came up with a single print on the rearview
mirror. It took several hours for the computer to match the print, but it
eventually identified the suspect as Ricardo "Richard" Leyva Ramirez. Finally
the police knew the Night Stalker’s identity. Now they had to find him.
On Aug. 30, 1985, an all-points bulletin was issued for
Ramirez’s arrest. By mid-afternoon, his face was plastered on newspapers and
was shown throughout the day on television news reports. Ramirez stepped from
a Greyhound bus, not knowing that everyone in the city was looking for him.
When he walked into a liquor store a woman yelled, "It’s him. It’s the
Stalker!" He quickly looked up as other customers rose from their seats,
forcing Ramirez to flee. He was heading towards the Hispanic area of East Los
Angeles. He ran for three miles and then tried to steal a getaway car.
Nonetheless, the angry mob caught up with him and he was quickly surrounded.
Four citizens grabbed and subdued him, while another began hitting him with a
steel pipe. The police quickly raced to the scene. According to reports in the
Los Angeles Times, as one of the officers went to handcuff him, Ramirez
raised his hands and begged for his life. "Save me. Please. Thank God you’re
here. It’s me," he cried out. "I’m the one you want. Save me before they kill
me." In retrospect it seems odd that he would thank God for help, rather then
Satan.
Following his capture, Ramirez, 26, was charged with 14
murders and 31 other felonies. A fifteenth murder in San Francisco also
hung over his head, with the possibility of a trial in Orange County for rape
and attempted murder. He had several medical examinations performed, but his
records are currently unavailable. One anonymous source claimed that Ramirez
suffered from a testosterone imbalance, which caused his brain to malfunction.
Richard Ramirez was born on Feb. 28, 1960, in El Paso,
Tex., where he lived with his parents, Julian and Mercedes, along with three
brothers and two sisters. His family was poor by most standards and throughout
his childhood he looked up to his hardworking father and wanted to be just
like him. Around the age of 12 Ramirez found a new mentor, his cousin Mike. A
Vietnam veteran and ex-Green Beret, Mike had returned home with four medals
pinned to his chest. He also brought with him a Polaroid odyssey of rape,
torture, and mutilation, which undoubtedly had an immense impact on Ramirez’s
views of the world.
Mike enjoyed telling Ramirez about his time in Nam and
began teaching him how to fight and kill. Mike's wife disapproved of his
behavior and they frequently argued. The arguments gradually intensified and
finally one day, in front of Ramirez, Mike shot his wife in the face. Mike
went to trial for her murder, but pled temporary insanity. With his impressive
war record, he was committed to a mental hospital.
Mike's influence on Ramirez was indelible and his
interest in school vanished. In junior high school he failed ninth grade
twice, and soon thereafter began his first criminal activities. He was
arrested several times for burglary, each time being shipped off to a work
program.
Throughout high school, Ramirez spent most of his time
smoking pot and studying Satanism. He felt that Satan was protecting him and
guiding him. His first formal arrest as an adult was for possession of
marijuana, for which he was fined. He was arrested again several months later
for the same offense. On his third arrest, for reckless driving, he avoided
prison by agreeing to work with troubled youths and was ordered to be on
probation for a period of three years. After his probation ended, Ramirez left
El Paso and moved to California. Once there, he encountered minor run-ins with
the law. He was often strung out on cocaine, LSD and PCP. In 1984, he was
taken into custody and photographed while suspected of driving a stolen car.
Little did he know at the time that this mug shot would be the one plastered
all over Los Angeles that would lead to his arrest.
The process of trying Ramirez took four years, during
which time he married a 41-year-old serial-killer groupie named Doreen Lioy.
Three years later, on Sept. 20, 1989, Ramirez was found guilty on 43 counts:
13 murders and an assortment of charges including burglary, sodomy, and rape.
"Ramirez Guilty on All Night Stalker Murder
Charges," boasted the headline of the Los Angeles Times. Less then two
months later, on Nov. 7, Judge Michael A Tynan sentenced Ramirez to death.
Currently Ramirez waits on death row in California’s San
Quentin Prison, where he is scheduled to remain until he has exhausted all of
his appeals.
