Anyone with a little conscience can’t even imagine it, but unfortunately, in this world we live in, there is a concept called a serial killer. Even if we see examples in many different parts of the world, the most blood-curdling ones generally come from the USA. One of them is Richard Ramirez. Richard Ramirez has done so many disturbing things that many movies and documentaries have been made about him and this story has been told.
Richard Ramirez started his murders at a very young age and was caught at a young age. He said he was a satanist, and it’s unbelievable, but he even gained fans at the time, even marrying one of them while in prison. Let’s take a closer look at who is Richard Ramirez, whose story is full of blood-curdling details, and perhaps seek the answer to a question that will never be answered; Is man a naturally evil creature?
A childhood full of traumas; Who is Richard Ramirez?
Richard Ramirez was born on February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas. She had a miserable life and a father who sexually abused her. It is known that he suffered many head traumas and epileptic seizures until he was 5 years old. He would often chat with his older cousin, who would tell him how they tortured and raped the women there during the Vietnam War. Moreover, he would show photos of them.
In 1973, 13-year-old Richard Ramirez witnessed this incident when his cousin killed his wife. He even had blood splattered on his face. His cousin was imprisoned for only 4 years and was released on the grounds that he was mentally ill. Richard Ramirez increased his cannabis use at this time, and also became interested in LSD use and satanism.
Richard Ramirez was caught trying to rape a female customer at the hotel where he works. However, the charges were dropped when the couple did not show up to testify. By this time, sexuality and violence had already become an inseparable whole in his perverted world. When he moved to California at the age of 22, these thoughts did not stay in his own world.
His initial arrest would lead to his capture in the following years:
Richard Ramirez was first caught in 1977 for possession of marijuana. He was later arrested for auto theft in 1981 and 1984. These recordings would allow him to be caught later. It was at this time that he committed his first known murder. In 1984, he broke into the home of a 79-year-old woman and brutally murdered her.
In March 1985, he shot a 22-year-old woman with a gun, and killed his 34-year-old friend with the same gun when he heard the gunshot. On the same day, about an hour later, he killed another woman with the same gun. A few days later, he killed a 64-year-old man while he was sleeping in the house he had entered for theft. When his wife woke up to the sound of gunfire, she tied him up and asked where the valuables were. When the woman resisted, he shot her too. The only good thing about this murder was that Richard Ramirez left shoe prints.
In the same year, in May, he broke into another house for theft, and when the owner noticed him and moved his gun, he shot him. He later killed his wife as well. A few days later, he killed two brothers, aged 83 and 81, in their home. The next day, he killed a 42-year-old woman and her 11-year-old son. All these events and what we will talk about are full of rape and torture details that we do not want to tell.
For Night Stalker, July became Bloody July:
Of course, all these events did not go unnoticed by the police and the media. It was clear that he was a serial killer. This murderer has come to be called the Night Stalker in the media, as he constantly enters the homes of his victims at night. By July 1985, Richard Ramirez was committing a murder almost every day.
On the night of July 2, he stabbed a 75-year-old woman to death in a house she randomly entered. On the night of July 5, he entered his house and beat the 16-year-old girl to death, but according to what he told later, Jesus Christ did not allow him to kill her and left the house. On July 7, after beating a 61-year-old woman to death, he entered another house and began torturing a 63-year-old woman, asking her to swear to the devil.
On the night of July 20, she broke into the house of a 68-year-old man and killed his 66-year-old wife and dismembered their bodies. That same night, he entered another house in the morning and tortured the couple he had tied. He told his 8-year-old sons to bring him all the valuables and swear to the devil that they never hid any money.
Richard Ramirez was caught after it was too late:
As the August days passed like this, some of the surviving victims began to speak and describe him. His shoes were already in the hands of the police. His fingerprints gave him away when an abandoned car was found that matched the witness statements. Since he already has a criminal record, a big hunt was started by sharing all his photos and information.
On August 31, he entered a convenience store in eastern Los Angeles. He didn’t realize it, but his face was in all the papers. A Mexican woman saw him and said in Spanish, ‘Killer!’ Everyone around saw him and started to run away. Before she could get away, she was caught by the people there. This group beat Richard Ramirez well until the police arrived.
In one of the largest trials in US history, Richard Ramirez was sentenced to death:
In July 1988, the case began to be heard. Richard Ramirez, a satanist, entered the courtroom showing the pentegram star he had drawn inside his hand and said, ‘Hail Satan!’ namely ‘Long live the Devil!’ yell. During the months-long trial, many people came to the courtroom in dark clothes supporting Richard Ramirez.
Finally, on September 20, 1989, the jury gave its verdict; Richard Ramirez was sentenced to death 19 times for 13 murders, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assault, 14 theft. The following words of Richard Ramirez while speaking to the press are truly blood-curdling; ‘Big deal, death comes with the land. See you at Disneyland.’
Richard Ramirez, who married while in prison, died of natural causes:
Richard Ramirez has been receiving countless fan letters since the day he was arrested. He married Doreen Lioy, one of the people who wrote to him, in prison. Everyone has their downsides, Lioy was saying, she was saying. In 2009, Lioy finally dumped him after it was proven that Richard Ramirez had also killed a 9-year-old boy who was murdered in 1984. Is he crazy, Richard Ramirez later got engaged to a 23-year-old writer woman.
Richard Ramirez delayed the process for a long time, repeatedly appealing the death penalty. So much so that he died of natural causes on June 7, 2013 at the age of 53. According to experts, Richard Ramirez was not a born psychopath, but a later psychopath. Due to his schizoid personality disorder, he could not empathize with the victims and could easily commit murder.
Documentaries and films about Richard Ramirez:
- 1989’s Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker
- 2002 movie Nightstalker
- 2009 movie Nightstalker
- 2016 movie The Night Stalker
- Devil’s Night episode of American Horror Story
- 2021 Netflix documentary Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer
We talked about some of the events he carried out by answering the question of who is Richard Ramirez, nicknamed Night Stalker, one of the most brutal serial killers in recent history. Since what happened was blood-chilling, we deliberately did not include too many details.
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