OT: Night Stalker Dead

[Daveroo]

Richard Ramirez, a mass murderer and serial rapist known as the "Night Stalker" for his 1984-1985 crime spree in California, died today of natural causes, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said.
The death row inmate, 53, died at Marin General Hospital north of San Francisco, the department said.Ramirez was convicted in 1985 of 13 murders -- 11 in Southern California and two others in the San Francisco area -- along with five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries.
Ramirez, a professed "satanist," was dubbed the "Night Stalker" for his preference of breaking into houses in the wee hours of the morning.

this may mean nothing to most of you..or maybe all of you...but this guy was a real PITA...im happy to see this..no longer a waist of tax payer dollars..

[IanHenry]

Well, I've never heard of him, but I don't suppose he'll be missed by many!

Ian.

[arfyhun]

You would have saved a lot more wonga by hanging him. To let him live rent and board free I feel was against his 'oooman rights'.

Thanks again daveroo,

Graham.

[mgchrist5]

This case might be lesser known overseas, but is somewhat infamous here in the US. Good riddance to bad rubbish. It's ashame it didn't happen much much sooner.

[fsafranek]

I remember it well. I was living and working in LA back in those days. Despite the hot weather, NO ONE slept with the windows open at night.

[Rudyjo]

I was also living in the Los Angeles area while all these murders were happening. Most of the victims were women.
The strange thing is that everyday of his trial there were young women who showed up each day to admire him.
Even after he was sent to prison, he continued to get hundred's of love letters. He ended up getting married to one of the young women he had a long "through the security glass romance with".

[Crusader]

I have watched a few shows on TV about him . He was pure evil in every sense of the word . I'm glad the State of California is saving some tax dollars as already been stated . I remember it well back in the 80's during his reign of terror .

Rich

[mgchrist5]

I'm glad the State of California is saving some tax dollars as already been stated...

Unfortunately Ramirez met his end naturally, and on his own time. Justice was ultimately denied, due to the lack of capital punishment in California. Far more tax dollars would've been saved had he been dispatched to Hades 28 years ago after his conviction, rather than being allowed to live out his days.

[Crusader]

Unfortunately Ramirez met his end naturally, and on his own time. Justice was ultimately denied, due to the lack of capital punishment in California. Far more tax dollars would've been saved had he been dispatched to Hades 28 years ago after his conviction, rather than being allowed to live out his days.

I agree with you 110% . Even states that have capital punishment , the DA's will accept pleas of life without parole to recover as many bodies as they can(serial killers) for families for them to have some form of closer which I can certainly understand . Ohio just had an execution a few months ago and I believe he had been on death row between 10 and 15 years , can't remember how long exactly . The appeal process and legal system has been this way for years and years and I don't see it changing (getting faster) anytime soon unfortunately .

Rich

[rhumbaflappy]

From Wikipedia:

Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas, on February 29, 1960, the youngest of Julian and Mercedes Ramirez's five children His father, a policeman who later became a laborer on the Santa Fe railroad, was reportedly abusive. As a child, Ramirez sustained two serious head injuries: one which occurred when a dresser fell on top of him and the second when he was knocked out by a swing. He also suffered from frequent epileptic seizures, which he eventually outgrew.

As a child, Ramirez was influenced by his cousin, Mike, a Special Forces veteran who boasted of his gruesome exploits during the Vietnam War and showed him Polaroid pictures of his victims. These included pictures of Mike raping a Vietnamese woman. The last picture of that series showed Mike posing with the woman's severed head. Ramirez was present the night Mike shot and killed his wife, and her blood spattered on Ramirez's face. Ramirez was 13 years old at the time. After the murder, his behavior changed dramatically; he dropped out of school, began using drugs, and adopted odd sleeping habits.
He eventually drifted to California at the age of twenty-two.

Classic sociopath... head injury, abuse, exposure to violence from an admired person, and the trigger event of his cousin murdering his own wife. Snap.

With a different set of events he could have been a politician or the CEO of a corporation. He died on death row of liver failure... probably hepatitis.

Dick

[Jagdflieger]

I wonder how much money the State of California spent on prosecuting, feeding, clothing, lodging, guarding and keeping him alive since his incarceration?