Night Stalker A City's Fear

The Night Stalker case centers on Richard Ramirez, an American serial killer, rapist, and burglar who terrorized California—mainly the Los Angeles area—with a series of home-invasion attacks between 1984 and 1985. Crimes and Victims Ramirez targeted victims of all ages and backgrounds, breaking into homes at night to shoot, stab, beat, and sexually assault them, often also robbing the homes and demanding valuables. He sometimes left Satanic symbols, such as pentagrams, at crime scenes and professed allegiance to Satan, which added to public fear and media frenzy. At least 13 murders, numerous attempted murders, rapes, and child abductions were ultimately linked to him. Investigation and Capture Detectives connected the attacks through ballistic evidence, shoe prints from distinctive Avia sneakers, and the modus operandi of nighttime home invasions near freeways. In August 1985, a fingerprint from a stolen car led police to identify Ramirez publicly, and his photo was released; days later, residents in East Los Angeles recognized and chased him down in the street, restraining him until police arrived. Trial and Sentence In 1989, Ramirez was convicted of 13 counts of murder and dozens of other felonies, including attempted murder, sexual assault, and burglary, with multiple “special circumstances” qualifying him for capital punishment. He was sentenced to death in California’s gas chamber and remained on death row at San Quentin until his death from complications of lymphoma in 2013.