Richard Leyva Ramirez

Sypnosis

• Born in El Paso, Texas, on February 29, 1960, Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer who over a two-year rampage raped and tortured more than 25 victims and murdered more than a dozen—most of them in their own homes. Dubbed the "Night Stalker," Ramirez was turned on to Satanic worship at an early age by his cousin, a solider who had recently returned from the war in Vietnam. Following a four-year trial, in 1989, Ramirez was convicted of 13 killings. He received the death penalty and was sent to San Quentin Prison in California. He died on June 7, 2013, at age 53.

Criminal Beginnings

• Richard Ramirez was born Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez on February 29, 1960, in El Paso, Texas, the youngest of seven children born to Mercedes and Julian Ramírez, a Mexican American railway worker. Known as Richard or Ricky, Ramirez had a troubled childhood and was heavily influenced by his older cousin, a Green Beret named Mike who had recently returned from fighting in the Vietnam War. Mike told Ramirez fascinating stories about the torture and mutilation he had inflicted on several Vietnamese women, corroborating these stories with horrific Polaroid pictures. The two also discussed Satanic worship and smoked marijuana together, and Ramirez's teenage rebellion led him to commit petty crimes to fuel his drug habit, which further alienated him from his Catholic parents. As a result, he spent even more time with his cousin. When Mike murdered his wife, Ramirez was present, sowing the final developmental seeds for the future serial killer. Ramirez's criminal record began in 1977, when he was placed in juvenile detention for a string of petty crimes. He also received a probationary sentence in 1982 for marijuana possession. He soon moved to San Francisco, California, and then to Los Angeles, progressing to cocaine addiction and burglary, and cultivating an interest in weapons and Satanism. A car theft charge in 1983 led to a jail sentence. The following year, Ramirez was released from jail a conscienceless, Satanic criminal with poor hygiene, rotten teeth and no prospects.

Killing Spree

• Theft turned to violence in 1984. Ramirez's first known murder took place on June 28, 1984; his victim was 79-year-old Jennie Vincow, who was viciously sexually assaulted, stabbed and murdered during a burglary in her own home. What followed was a spree of brutal murders, rapes and robberies, leaving more than 25 victims in its wake. Ramirez's second known killing occurred nearly nine months after his first. On March 17, 1985, he attacked Maria Hernandez, who managed to escape him, and then killed her roommate, Dayle Okazaki. Not satisfied with these assaults, he also shot and killed Tsai Lian Yu the same evening, spurring a media frenzy that saw Ramirez dubbed the "Valley Intruder" by the press. Just 10 days later, on March 27, Ramirez murdered 64-year-old Vincent Zazzara and Zazzara's 44-year-old wife, Maxine, using an attack style that would become a pattern for the killer: The husband was shot first, then the wife was brutally assaulted and stabbed to death. In this case, Ramirez also gouged out Maxine Zazzara's eyes. A full-scale police operation yielded no concrete results, and Ramirez repeated his attack pattern on pensioners William and Lillie Doi in April 1985. Over the next two months, his murder rate escalated rapidly, claiming another dozen victims in a frenzy of burglary, assault and brutal violence—complete with Satanic rituals—and driving Los Angeles into a panic. After the press demanded that the police do more to catch the killer, a dedicated task force comprised of hundreds of law-enforcement officers was established, and the FBI stepped in to assist. This relentless media and police pressure, aided with photo-fit descriptions from his surviving victims, forced Ramirez to leave the L.A. area that August. He moved north to San Francisco, taking his first victims there, Peter and Barbara Pan, on August 17. His unmistakable MO, complete with Satanic symbolism, meant that his "Valley Intruder" moniker was no longer applicable, so the press quickly coined a new name for the criminal: the "Night Stalker," as most of his assaults took place at night in his victims' homes.

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