Ricardo Munoz Ramirez“The Night Stalker”

By: Anna Bowers

Physical Description• Height: 6 ft 1inch• Thin• Dark, long hair• Dark skin• Bad teeth• Hispanic• Brown Eyes

BackgroundChildhood:

1. Born February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas2. He was the fifth and last child

- Three boys and two girls- Two brothers, Joseph and Ruben, born with severe birth defects

3. Diagnosed with epilepsy- could not participate in football

4. Joseph’s teacher molested both Joseph and Richard

5. Described by his mother as outgoing and very loving, did well in school

6. Had two severe head injuries at ages 2 and 5 both left him unconscious (wasn’t treated properly)

7. Catholic, went to church regularly with mother and sister

8. Julian Ramirez: Abusive father- Beat Richard and brothers - Took out his anger on himself, beat his own head with a hammer until he bled

Background cont.Adolescence:

1. Began using Marijuana and sniffing glue during early teenage years2. Hanging out with cousin Miguel Ramirez

- Soldier in Vietnam, Green Beret- Psychopath: Would tie Vietnamese women to trees, rape and torture them, then kill them by stabbing, decapitation, or shooting - Took pictures of women, showed them to Richard- Sex and violence fused together

3. People noticed changes in him- Slept in local cemetery- Developed thoughts about killing and raping, and decided to worship Satan

4. Dropped out of high school, got a job at the Holiday Inn- Had master key to rooms, would sneak in and watch women- Had first attempt at rape, but husband came in and beat the crap out of him- Drug addict

– In 1978 at age 18 he left El Paso for Los Angeles, CA - In Los Angeles his killing and raping spree began

Motives• Satan

– Believed that Satan set aside a special place for him.

– He was better than any other devil worshipper, more important

– Believed that Satan asked him to murder and rape

• Blood Lust– Obsessed with the adrenaline

rush killing gave him; he could never get enough

– He had a lust for the excitement murdering gave him

Victims and Patterns• Killed fifteen men and women• He injured and/or raped nine women• He was sporadic in his methods of

killing– Used guns, machetes, knives, hammers,

a tire iron, blunt objects– Strangled, slit throats, stabbed, shot, or

beat his victims to death• He was not able to wait long periods of

time between killing, addicted• He would generally kill the men quick

and rape the women and then kill them, or rape them and leave them alive

• He picked houses randomly, drove through quiet suburban neighborhoods in the middle of the night looking for a house

Evidence• .22 Caliber pistol was used in two murders which occurred 4 days after one another, each was in LA

• The same shoe print was found at almost all of the crime scenes

• Teenager recognized him and wrote down license plate number, police found the car and located one fingerprint which told them it was Ramirez.

• A matching fingerprint was also found on the windowsill of one his victim’s homes

• Police located another car he had been driving and found in it, ammunition for a .22 caliber pistol

• Ramirez drew the pentagram or the sign of the devil at 2 crime scenes, one on the leg of a woman, and the other on a bedroom wall. During his trial he opened his palm to reveal the same pentagram.

• Multiple women, including two victims were able to give a physical description of Ramirez

Bibliography• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiEzER31gtw- A&E

Biography

• http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/nightstaker.htm

• http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial_killers/notorious/ramirez/terror_1.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ramirez

Trial• Began on January 30, 1989• Ramirez family hired two lawyers

that had never before done a death penalty case

• During trial he would turn around and laugh or wave at the victim’s families

• Went through 55 days of testimony and 165 witness accounts

• Found guilty, convicted of 67 felonies, 14 murders, and given 19 life sentences

• He was put in San Quentin State Prison on death row where he remains today

• In 1996 he married Doreen Lioy, a magazine editor, she has vowed to commit suicide when he is executed.