February 29, 1960 - Richard Ramirez
His crimes across California in 1984 and 1985 were marked by their randomness and brutality — nighttime break-ins targeting victims across a wide demographic range, leaving survivors and communities across two major metropolitan areas in prolonged fear. The case drew sustained national attention not only for its body count but for the profile that emerged during trial and in its aftermath, which traced a path from a severely damaged childhood to sustained predatory violence. What made Ramirez particularly difficult to apprehend was the absence of a consistent victim type, complicating investigative patterns that law enforcement typically relied upon.
From Wikipedia
Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramirez (; February 29, 1960 – June 7, 2013), better known as Richard Ramirez, was an American serial killer, sex offender and burglar whose killing spree occurred in Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in the state of California. From April 1984 to August 1985, Ramirez murdered at least fifteen people during various break-ins. With his crimes usually taking place after dark, Ramirez was dubbed the Night Stalker, the Walk-In Killer, and the Valley Intruder. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989 and died while awaiting execution in 2013.
Ramirez's crimes were heavily influenced by a troubled childhood. Frequently abused by his father, he developed brain damage and started abusing drugs at the age of 10. He began developing interests in the macabre in his early and mid-teens from his older cousin, a Vietnam War veteran with schizophrenia and PTSD, who extensively bragged about the war crimes he had committed, and who killed his wife in front of Ramirez when Ramirez was 15. Ramirez learned military skills from him that he later employed during his killing spree.
- Last updated on .