Who is Richard Ramirez?
Ricardo Leyva Munoz Ramirez was a criminal. He was a serial killer, serial rapist, kidnapper, pedophile, Satanist as well as a burglar. This man was known as the “Night Stalker“. Over the two periods of his life, he raped and tortured more than 25 innocent people and killed over a dozen people. He committed most of these crimes in the very homes of the victims in California. He never regretted any of the crimes he committed.
| Quick Info | |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez |
| Date of Birth | February 29, 1960 |
| Birth Place | El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Parent(s) | Julian Ramirez and Mercedes Ramirez |
| Other Name | "The Night Stalker" |
| Conviction(s) | 13 counts of murder 5 counts of attempted murder 11 counts of sexual assault 14 counts of burglary |
| Criminal penalty | 19 death sentences |
| Death Date | June 7, 2013 (aged 53) |
| Cause of Death | B-cell lymphoma |
| Spouse(s)/Partner(s) | Doreen Lioy (m. 1996) |
Bio
Richard Ramirez was born on the 29th of February, 1960 in El Paso, Texas. His father’s name was Julian Ramirez and his mother’s name was Mercedes Ramirez. He grew up with four siblings and was the youngest of them. Their names are Robert, Joseph, Ruth, and Ruben. His family called him Richie. His father was a Mexican policeman. But, due to his anger issues, he later worked as a laborer on the Santa Fe railroad.
Education
Richard Ramirez is not an educated man as he dropped out of his high school, Jefferson High School when he was in the ninth grade.
How did Richard turn into a criminal psychopath?
Richard Ramirez’s father had anger issues and was very abusive, so he slowly got distant from his father by sleeping in a local cemetery. Slowly, he got close with his sadistic cousin, Miguel Ramirez, who was older than him. Miguel “Mike” boasted about how he killed many people in the war of Vietnam and also used to show a photo of it to Richard.
His cousin was the worst company he could keep at the time because Mike also boasted about raping and killing lots of women which used to fascinate Richard. Richard was also present at the time when his cousin killed his wife mercilessly by shooting her in the face with a .38 caliber revolver when they were arguing.
After Mike was released from jail in 1977 after being found not guilty on the charge of his wife’s murder, he continued to spread his claws around Ramirez. Richard used to smoke marijuana and take LSD because of Mike.
Fascinated by his cousin’s deeds, he too embarked on a sadistic and brutal spree of burglaries, rapes as well as murders. This was how he became “The Night Walker”. He was still in high school when he started his rampage.
Crimes
As Richard Ramirez started being indulged in crimes, he was placed in juvenile detention for doing petty robberies. As time passed, he slowly started doing more serious crimes starting from car theft in 1983. All hopes for him to lead a normal life had been lost.
In June 1984, he committed his first murder of an elderly woman named Jennie Vince. He also sexually assaulted, robbed, and stabbed the poor woman to death. Such a heinous act even shocked the police.
Similarly, in March 1985, he attacked Maria Hernandez and her roommate. Maria was able to escape but her poor roommate couldn’t and was killed by the “The Night Stalker”.
Likewise, after some days, Vincent Zazzara and his wife, Maxine Zazzara were found dead in their own home. Maxine was found to be tortured and her eyes gouged out.
Looking at the pattern, the police started to suspect that a serial killer is on the loose but they didn’t know the identity of the killer while Richard Ramirez was out there continuing his killing spree.
On the 18th of August, 1985, he left some satanic symbols after killing an elderly couple named Peter and Barbara Pan. It was at this time the police realized the seriosity of the matter and named the killer “The Night Stalker”.
On the 24th of August, 1985, his victims Bill Carns and Inez Erickson, who were lucky enough to survive, helped the police to identify the victims.
The police were finally able to arrest Richard on 30 August 1985.
Trial and Conviction
Richard Ramirez was convicted of 13 counts of murder, 5 counts of attempted murder, 11 counts of sexual assault, and 14 counts of burglary. He first pleaded not guilty despite having a huge pile fi evidence against him.
However, after the trial dragged on for four long years, the court finally pleaded him guilty on 43 charges of crime.
Looking at all his heinous acts of crimes, he received 19 death sentences in November 1989.
Wife
As a worshipper of Satan, Richard Ramirez was very well-known among the cult groups who worshipped Satan and had many fans. He used to get a lot of letters from his fans while he was in prison.
Just like the fans, a freelance magazine editor Doreen Lioy used to send him letters eventually both falling in love with each other and marrying in October 1996 in California’s San Quentin State Prison.
However, Doreen left Richard in 2009 after she found out that he raped and murdered a 9-year-old child, Mei Leung.
Nationality, Physical features, and Zodiac
Richard Ramirez’s nationality was American and his ethnicity was Mexican.
He was a fairly tall man of height 6 feet 1 inch or 1.85m and weight 155 lbs or 70 kg with black hair and brown eyes.
His most notable physical characteristics were the “extreme decay” of his upper and lower teeth, which was also mentioned by the survivors of his victims. He had yellow, gapped teeth.
Similarly, his zodiac sign is Pisces.
Death
Richard Ramirez died inside the prison after he became terminally ill with B-cell lymphoma. He died on the 7th of June, 2013 after being on death row for over 23 years. He was 53 years old at the time of his death.
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