[64], On the night of May 29, 1985, Ramirez drove a stolen car to Monrovia, and stopped at the house of Mabel "Ma" Bell, age 83, and her disabled sister, Florence "Nettie" Lang, age 81. Before leaving the home, Ramirez told Erickson, "Tell them the Night Stalker was here. venusdances 2 yr. ago. He was found not guilty of the murder by reason of insanity and was released after four years of incarceration at the Texas State Mental Hospital, after which point he and Ramirez resumed their close relationship. [61] Surprising Doi in his bedroom, Ramirez shot him in the face with a .22 semi-automatic pistol as Doi went for his own handgun. It wasn't known then how toxic that could be, and she started experiencing dizzy spells. The youngest child of Mexican national Julian Tapia Ramirez and his wife Mercedes, Richard Ramirez (born Ricardo, he was also called Ritchie by his family) was born in El Paso, Texas, in 1960. One day, a woman was in the hotel room and he attempted to rape her, resulting in Ramirez being knocked out as her husband returned to the room. Hisolder cousinMiguel was a heavy influence on his life, having fought in the Vietnam war, where he tortured and mutilated Vietnamese women. [102] After stealing what he could find, Ramirez dragged Erickson to another room before raping her. He eventually ended up proposing to one of these women named Doreen Lioy, who started writing to him in 1985. It was around this time that his cousin Miguel (also known as Mike) returned from the Vietnam war, providing Richard with someone to look up to. For Biography starters, Ricardo Leyva Muoz Ramrez was born on the 29th day of February 1960. [131][bettersourceneeded] By the time of his death in 2013, Ramirez was engaged to a 23-year-old writer. A shoe print from an Avia sneaker was left imprinted on her face. In 1984, her body was found in the basement of a hotel in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. She pulled the trigger just after he turned around and saw her. He committed his first murder on April 10, 1984, but this wasnt confirmed until a DNA sample taken in 2009 matched that of his. The youngest of 5 children, he was referred to as " Richie " as a child. [69] He released Kyle to direct him to where the family's valuables were; he then raped her repeatedly. "When his cousin showed him those photographs," his biographer told A&E network, "Ramirez became sexually aroused. [93] On August 18, 1985, he entered the home of Peter and Barbara Pan. He apparently had a diet heavy on soft drinks and sugary foods, and wasn't one to brush his teeth too often. Richard began spending nights in cemeteries to get away from his father. "He told me 'you need to be quietyou need to get in heredon't mess with medo what I say'," she said. He destroyed lives. His older cousin Miguel was a heavy influence, having fought in the Vietnam war, where he tortured and mutilated Vietnamese women. [30] This, Ramirez's second known murder, established his pattern of breaking into homes, committing particularly vicious murders, and frequently burglarizing his victims either before or after killing them, which was mainly to support his cocaine addiction and pay his rent. Combine this with the fact that he was working in a dead-end job at the Santa Fe railroad and had an extremely short temper, this often resulted in physical abuse in the house. The large scar he had on his forehead was caused by a dresser that fell on him when he was two, according to Distractify. Richard Ramirez was born as Ricardo Leyva Muoz Ramrez on February 29, 1960, in El Paso, Texas. The Night Stalker killed many of his victims on the West Coast between 1984 and 1985most of which occurred in 1985. Richard Belzer died at his home in the south of France, but his reported last words proved he remained a quintessential New Yorker: "F*** you motherf***er." He was 78. 1. His father Julian was born in Mexico and used to be a police officer in Juarez, one of the most dangerous cities in the country. Ramirez killed at least 14 people and raped and tortured at least two dozen more during the spring and summer of 1985. Richard's older brother Ruben had developed a glue-sniffing habit, and was one day arrested in a stolen car. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Ramirez also frequently enjoyed degrading and humiliating his victims, especially those who survived his attacks or whom he explicitly decided not to kill, by forcing them to profess that they loved Satan, or telling them to "swear on Satan" that there were no more valuables left in their homes he had broken into and burglarized. A string of brutal murders and sexual assaults followed. She left the job five months into the pregnancy, after being warned that there may have been a risk to her unborn child. She recalled empty food packages and "takeout stuff" scattered around the "slimy" home and a Madonna album being played on repeat. Through testimony from witnesses, detectives and archive footage, viewers were taken through a play-by-play of Ramirez's brutality and the investigation that finally saw him caught, charged and convicted of 13 counts of murder, 5 counts of attempted murder, 11 counts of sexual assault and 14 counts of burglary. He would have married anyone who would have married him, believed anything he said and done anything for him until he died. [71], On the night of July 2, 1985, he drove a stolen car to Arcadia, and randomly selected the house of Mary Louise Cannon, age 75, a widowed grandmother. "After a while, we stopped on the side of the road and he said, 'there's a gas station over there. If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 18007997233. 9. What followed was a spree of brutal murders that followed the same pattern: shooting, brutal sexual assault, and stabbing. Never Have I Ever season 4 All you need to know, Emily in Paris season 3's big twist end, explained, Firefly Lane season 2 part 2 release date, You season 4 fan theory changes everything for Joe, Pokmon spinoff at Netflix shares first trailer, Jenna Ortega talks 'devastating' You s4 decision, Brooklyn 99 and This Is Us stars join new series, What Netflix's Richard Ramirez documentary The Night Stalker doesn't tell you, DIGITAL SPY, PART OF THE HEARST UK ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK. He shot her fiance before the woman called the police and provided a detailed description of her assailant. At the time, Ramirez responded,"Hey, big deal, death always comes with the territory. Readers who are affected by the issues raised in this story are encouraged to contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000 (www.nspcc.org.uk). EEAAO star gives tearful speech after historic win, The best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom deals, Ed Kemper's true story, according to FBI agent, Knives Out 3: Everything you need to know, Outer Banks: Where else to watch the cast. [25] It was around this time that Ramirez began to use cocaine, which quickly became his substance of choice, and began to commit theft and burglaries to procure money for sustaining his addiction. A lot of this was due to his older cousin, Mike, who had just returned from fighting in Vietnam. He shot Carns three times in the head before turning his attention to Erickson. "I remember saying 'stop, this hurtsdon't' or 'why are you doing this?'" Ramirez's crimes shocked the nation not only for how many he committed in a short amount of time, but also for his tendency to mutilate and sodomize the bodies of his victims,The New York Timesnoted. He then demanded cash and more jewelry, and made her "swear on Satan" there was no more. Maria Hernandez, Richard Ramirez victim, 22 (shot with a .22 revolver) Credit: . Hronas explained. [101] Ramirez entered the sleeping couple's bedroom and awakened Carns when he cocked his .25 caliber handgun. While his family was asleep, James went outside of his house to retrieve a pillow inside a truck, which was locked. He is survived by his wife Doreen Lioy, one of his supporters that he married in 1996. (He made me) look at him and touch him, and things like that.". He often attacked elderly pensioner couples and at one time raped and murdered a nine-year-old girl. Fast-forward to 1985 and once Richard Ramirez, now the Night Stalker, was taken into police custody, he refused to talk about anything relating to his crimes. Richard Ramirez's victims remembered his decayed teeth. His parents immigrated to the United States, and his mother worked in a factory that may have resulted in congenital disabilities in all of their children Richard Ramirez reportedly had epilepsy. [104] The print was positively identified as belonging to Ramirez, who was described as a 25-year-old drifter from Texas, with a long rap sheet that included many arrests for traffic and illegal drug violations. [53] Hernandez played dead until Ramirez left the scene. The documentary series also delves into Ramirez's past and the horrible trauma Ramirez had to face as a child. According to Ramirez's Biography.com profile, the convicted serial killer sustained multiple additional head injuries at an early age. Believing in his innocence, she once described him as "kind", "funny" and "charming" during a 1997 interview with CNN. During his assault, he demanded that she "swear to Satan" that she was not hiding any money from him. One of the most peculiar facts about Richard Ramirez wasnt necessarily his odd behavior during his trial, which confirmed he was an emotionless psychopath who didnt have any remorse for his crimes. Ramirez didn't have any specific means for his murders; he used guns, knives, blunt objects, and even his own fists to violently kill his victims. Ramirez grew up as an epileptic child, before turning to drugs in his later years. By the time he'd turned 12, Richard's older brothers had moved out of the family home. [15] After Mike was released from the mental hospital in 1977, he sometimes accompanied Richard and Roberto on these voyeuristic walks, spying on women in the nearby areas through their windows. [134], Psychiatrist Michael H. Stone describes Ramirez as a 'made' psychopath as opposed to a 'born' psychopath. Jury selection for the trial began on July 22, 1988. why was waylon jennings buried in mesa az; chop pediatric residency His brother Robert also started to experiment with substance abuse, and Julian's disciplining of his children started to edge into abuse. After noticing a group of elderly Mexican women fearfully identifying him as "El Matador" (or "The Killer"), Ramirez saw his face on the front pages on the newspaper rack and fled the store in a panic. On September 7, 2006, the California Supreme Court denied his request for a rehearing. A few days later, Ramirez's abandoned car was found with his fingerprints in it that matched police records. He turned to Satanism after moving toCaliforniain the late 1970s and was arrested several times for drug possession, burglary, and auto theft. [74] Ramirez assaulted and handcuffed Dickman at gunpoint, attempted to rape her, and stole her jewelry; when she swore to him that he had taken everything of value, he told her to "swear on Satan". The group held Ramirez down and relentlessly beat him until the police arrived and took him into custody. He was an opportunist! At the age of 22, Richard Ramirez moved to California and basically became a drifter who didnt have any social relationships except for sporadic contact with his family. Michelle Nati. [111], Ramirez was charged with murder and burglary in relation to Higgins' murder. His Childhood. [8] Richard began smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol at the age of 10. As he already spent some time in jail in 1984 for car theft, the fingerprint connected the dots. ", "Supreme Court Minutes Wednesday, September 27, 2006, San Francisco, California", "California's 'Night Stalker' serial killer Richard Ramirez dies after decades on death row", "Netflix Releases Trailer for Richard Ramirez Doc 'Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer', Interview with Stela Vasques, Supporter and Friend of Serial Killer Richard Ramirez, "The Night Stalker", History Channel: Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Richard_Ramirez&oldid=1142184699, Mabel "Ma" Bell and Florence "Nettie" Lang, Both survived attack, but Bell later died of her injuries, Chainarong and Somkid Khovananth, and their 8-year-old son, Sakina and Elyas Abowath, and their 3-year-old son, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 00:09. Romero's son, 13-year-old James Romero III, happened to be awake. His father, a former Juarez, Mexico police officer, was often angry and physically abused his children, according to the book The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez by Philip Carlo. Police Say", "Mystery 'second suspect' tied to infamous Night Stalker serial killer", "Night Stalker Suspect Tied to '84 Killing: Fingerprint on Screen Where Glassell Park Woman, 79, Was Slain", "The Night Stalker: Serial Killer Richard Ramirez: "If You Look At Me Again, I'll Shoot You! N'T ' or 'why are you doing this? ' caliber handgun entered the of!, this hurtsdo n't ' or 'why are you doing this? ',. Attacked elderly pensioner couples and at one time raped and tortured at least two dozen more during spring! On her face youngest of 5 children, he entered the sleeping couple bedroom... A gas station over there past and the horrible trauma Ramirez had to face a! Just after he turned to Satanism after moving toCaliforniain the late 1970s and one! 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