The Night Stalker Essay -- Case Review

The Night Stalker Richard Ramirez is an infamous serial murderer who terrorized Los Angeles, California in 1985. The media gave him the name the â€Å"Night Stalker† when he was on his vicious rampage of forcing himself into the homes of his victims late at night and committing his heinous crimes. Though he was only convicted of thirteen murders, he had many more victims. His crimes were so random, disorganized, and impulsive that the law enforcement officials of Los Angeles had no luck finding Ramirez for months as he grew increasingly more violent. (Tripod.com, 2012) Finally, in August of 1985, the police had enough information from many of his victims to release a sketch of him to the media. The sketch had only been on the news for one day before he was recognized while trying to steal a car, and he attempted to flee when the civilians began to shout that he was the â€Å"Night Stalker.† Before long, a mob formed and attacked him. One of the men finally subdued him by hitting hi m on the head with a pipe. The police arrived to arrest Ramirez just in time to keep the mob of angry civilians from killing him. (Bruno, 2012) He was convicted of forty-three counts which included rape, burglary, murder, and sodomy on September 20, 1989. The â€Å"Night Stalker† was sentenced to death on October 3, 1989. He is currently on death row in San Quentin. (Bruno, 2012) Richard Ramirez was born Ricardo Leyva on February 28, 1960 in El Paso, Texas. He was raised by his parents Julian and Mercedes Ramirez along with five siblings. When Mercedes was pregnant with Richard, she was exposed to toxic chemicals while working in a factory. The effects of the chemicals on pregnant women were not known at the time, but researchers believe that could have... ...r his killing rampage began. He was held accountable for his crimes and will never again see the outside of a maximum security prison. Works Cited biography.com. (2012, January 1). Richard Ramirez biography. Retrieved March 28, 2012, from biography.com: http://www.biography.com/people/richard-ramirez-12385163 Bruno, A. (2012, January 1). The Night Stalker: Serial Killer Richard Ramirez. Retrieved March 28, 2012, from trutv.com: http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/ramirez/terror_1.html Grise, J. (2000, December 1). Richard Ramirez. Retrieved March 29, 2012, from New York University: http://www.nyu.edu/classes/keefer/ww1/grise.html Tripod.com. (2012, January 1). "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez: From the Bowels of Hell. Retrieved March 30, 2012, from tripod.com: http://members.tripod.com/ol_dirty_paul69/theabyssofthemind/id8.html