Richard Ramirez, known as the "Night Stalker", was a serial killer and rapist who committed his crimes between June 1984 and August 1985 in California. He was abused as a child and influenced by his cousin to engage in violent and obscene acts. As a teenager, he experimented with drugs and Satanism. Ramirez went on to brutally murder 13 people, rape and assault many more victims during home invasions. He was eventually captured after his fingerprint was found in a stolen vehicle. Ramirez was convicted in 1989 of 13 counts of murder and sentenced to death.

1. Richard Ramirez
“The Night Stalker”
Sara Pendley
CRIM 206

2. Early Childhood
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Richard Ramirez was born
February 29, 1960 in El
Paso, Texas as the youngest
of five children.
Abusive father
Sustained two serious head
injuries
Epileptic until his early
teens
Became influenced by his
cousin Miguel at the age of
12
– Obscene and violent
photographs
– Murdered his wife in
front of Richard

3. Adolescence
• Moved in with his
sister Ruth and her
husband Roberto who
was a “Peeping Tom”
• Began experimenting
with LSD and Satanism
• Dropped out of
school in the ninth
grade
• Developed sexual
fantasies with
violence, forced
bondage, and rape

4. Murders & Crimes
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June 28, 1984 79 year
old Jennie Vincow was
found to be brutally
murdered in her
apartment
March 17, 1985 22 year
old Maria Hernandez was
shot in the face with a .
22 caliber handgun
An hour after the
second murder, 30 year
old Veronica Yu was
shot twice and killed
March 27, 1985 64 year
old Vincent Zazzara was
shot and killed and his
wife Maxine Zazzara shot
three times and killed

5. Murders & Crimes
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May 14, 1985 66 year old
Bill Doi was shot in the
in the face with a .22
caliber handgun and
beaten till mortally
wounded and later died
in the hospital, his wife
Lillian was bound with
thumb cuffs and raped
after he ransacked the
house
May 29,1985 83 year old
Mabel bell and her 81
year old sister Florence
Lang were bludgeoned
and bound, Bell later
died from her injuries

6. Murders & Crimes
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May 30,1985 42 year old
Carol Kyle and her 11
year old son were bound
while Ramirez ransacked
their house, Kyle was
unbound to show him
where the valuables
were when he sodomized
her
– Repeatedly yelled at her
not to look at him or he
would “cut her eyes out”
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July 2, 1985 72 year old
Whitney Bennet was
found to be bludgeoned
and then stabbed to
death with a 10 inch
butcher knife

7. Murders & Crimes
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July 20, 1985 68 year
old Maxon and 66 year
old Lela Knieling were
hacked with a machete
then shot in the head,
afterwards he
ransacked the house
A few hours later he
broke into the
Khovanath family home,
he shot and killed
chainarong by shooting
him in the head while he
slept. He beat, raped, and
sodomized the wife and
bound her 8 year old
son, then proceeded to
ransack their home
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August 6, 1985 he entered
the home of Chris and
Virginia Peterson, 31 & 27,
shooting both and fleeing
August 8, 1985 shot and
killed 31 year Old elyas
Abowath, and brutally
raped his wife Sakina after
stealing valuables.
August 18, 1985 shot and
killed 66 year old Peter
Pan then Raped his 62 year
wife and killed her
afterwards.
August 24, 1985 shot 29
year old Bill Carns 3 times
in the head then bound,
raped, and sodomized
Carns’ fiancée Carole
while demanding valuables.

8. Capture
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Fingerprint found on the
car he had stolen to
commit the crimes
against Bill Carns and
his fiancée
Police matched it to
Ramirez and put his
mugshot, from a
previous crime, all over
the media
Saw his face on a
newspaper and began
flee when he was
pursued by residents in a
neighborhood, who
eventually captured him

9. Conviction
• Found guilty of 13
counts of murder,
5 attempted
murders, 11 sexual
assaults, and 14
burglaries on
September 20,
1989
• On November 7,
1989 he was
sentenced to die in
California’s gas
chamber

10. Notable Facts
• Psychopath
• Biastophilia – rape
of an
unconsenting
person
• Disorganized
serial killer
• Thrill/profit
killer
• Had “groupies”
• Married one while
in prison
• A short interview with
• Died June 7, 2013
on death row at
age 53 of Cancer