California serial killer Richard Ramirez dies

[Berlin Expat]

Source: ABC News

California corrections officials say convicted serial killer Richard Ramirez, known as the Night Stalker, has died.

San Quentin State Prison spokesman Lt. Sam Robinson says Ramirez died Friday morning. He had recently been taken from death row to a hospital.

Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders that terrorized Southern California in 1984 and '85, and sentenced to death.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/calif-serial-killer-richard-ramirez-dies-19349065#.UbIP7BWLe1F

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And so the infamous Night Stalker meets his end. I remember quite vividly how freaked out he had Southern California; a season of fear. One of the serial killers I remember from my youth, along with the Hillside Strangler(s). It made growing up in Los Angeles a unique, if morbid, experience.

[kestrel91316]

1. That was just a year or two after I moved to Los Angeles. Scary times. I remember when

the crowd caught him during the attempted carjacking and beat him within an inch of his life when they realized he was the Night Stalker.

[Berlin Expat]

3. Yeah....if the

crowd had had their way, they would've either beat him to death or strung him up right there on the spot.

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

29. His quote when the police got to him before the crowd did....

"Save me, God...."

[LaydeeBug]

34. I didn't know about the crowd that caught him, that's kinda awesome, but he wasn't

beaten within an inch of his life. He was treated by a fireman and released at the scene to the police. They did, however, RELENTLESSLY chase him...it went on for more than an hour, with more people joining as he cut through their yards, etc...

[stevil]

2. I remember as well....

We stopped leaving windows open overnight during his spree.

[SunSeeker]

4. A miserable life wimpers to an end. nt

[zonkers]

5. I lived two blocks from where he abandoned a car. He certainly had

the town gripped in fear. it was weird. What a state of fear we were all in. Reminded me of NY and Son of Sam which i lived through. My gf never wanted to spend a moment alone. No one did. I bet there was a spike in babies conceived during his reign of terror.

[closeupready]

6. Good, glad to hear it. Humanity has now improved, as a result

of his departure from the building.

[CountAllVotes]

7. Good riddance

I remember this guy only too well. He was spotted up near Lake Tahoe, CA and had killed some people in SF at that time. As for myself, I was on my honeymoon (if that is what you care to call it -- some "honeymoon" with a killer on the loose!).

It was really scarey and no one knew where he was.

A fellow citizen spotted him in LA and he was arrested and convicted.

The article says he was 53 years old at death.

What a horrible evil criminal this man was.

I have no regrets that he is gone now; saving the taxpayers a lot of money supporting this POS.

[KansDem]

8. From Wikipedia...

Early life[edit]

Ramirez was born in El Paso, Texas, the youngest of Julian and Mercedes Ramirez's five children.[8] His father, a policeman who later became a laborer on the Santa Fe railroad,[9] was abusive and believed in corporal punishment.[10]

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 grew out of.[11]

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.[12] These included pictures of Mike raping a Vietnamese woman. The last picture of that series showed Mike posing with the woman's severed head.[13] Ramirez was present the night Mike shot and killed his wife, and her blood spattered on Ramirez's face.[citation needed] 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.[14]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Ramirez

Bizarre upbringing...

[treestar]

9. Says he would have been in his 70s before the execution could be carried out

Age 53, so I wonder what happened.

[KansDem]

10. There's this news item...

The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Ramirez died of "natural causes."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/07/richard-ramirez-dead_n_3403785.html

I imagine we'll learn more as the story unfolds...

[Eleanors38]

12. Long-term prisoners often die young, even if trauma or

poor med care are not factors. It may have worked in this case, and for the better.

[AgingAmerican]

11. Good riddance to this piece of shit

He would kill the husband then rape the wive on top of the husbands body. THEN he would write on the walls with their blood. Good fucking riddance scumbag.

[KansDem]

15. Definitely the psychopath's psychopath...nt

[freshwest]

19. Oh, I hadn't heard about that. Just knew he was a serial killer, after he was caught. So cruel.

[Sunlei]

16. that is an evil,evil influence and must have had plenty to do with why ramirez was so evil.

[frylock]

24. i wouldn't wish that kind of upbringing on anybody..

I can see how that would influence his behavior later in life. but I suppose it's just a lot easier to hope that he rots in hell rather than attempt to understand what makes these people tick.

[alphafemale]

27. So, he wasn't the first violent psychopath in his family.

Just the most "efficient."

[Beacool]

30. Wow, no wonder he became a serial killer.

His cousin was a psychopath.

[mokawanis]

38. He got married in 1996

By the time of the trial, Ramirez had fans who were writing him letters and paying him visits.[28] Beginning in 1985, freelance magazine editor Doreen Lioy[29] wrote him nearly 75 letters during his incarceration.[30] In 1988 he proposed to her, and on October 3, 1996, they were married in California's San Quentin State Prison.[31] Before Ramirez's death, Lioy stated that she would commit suicide when Ramirez was executed.

What makes someone want to marry a monster like Ramirez?

[nomorenomore08]

41. I honestly have no freaking clue. Some form of Stockholm Syndrome maybe?

[geek tragedy]

44. Some kind of mental illness, obviously. nt

[nomorenomore08]

40. Seems like oftentimes, traumatic early experiences + brain damage = serial killer.

A perfect storm of "ingredients" if you will...

[XemaSab]

13. Rot in hell, fucker

[zappaman]

14. Good fucking riddance indeed!

An animal who was lucky he wasn't killed by the crowd who caught his nasty ass!
The world is improved slightly by his passing.
I hope it was painful.

[Zoeisright]

17. Excellent.

[truebrit71]

18. Bummer....

...shame he didn't suffer longer....

I lived through his reign of terror...you could almost hear the entire region breathe a collective sigh of relief when he was arrested...I remember sleeping with my window open that night for the first time in months..

[kimbutgar]

20. This is great news

A friend of mine was one of those victims who was murdered in San Francisco and the case remains unsolved. But his girlfriend who was with him was certain he was the one who murdered her. It was in Richard Ramierez style. RIP Eddie your killer is dead I hope you're kicking his ass down to hell.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. Liver failure???

What the hell was his diet like since the 80s?

Oh wait,...institutional,...including wax beans....

That stuff is worse than hospital food or airline food.

Probably better than school lunches though.

[Live and Learn]

22. That was my thought as well.

Liver failure at 53 is not exactly natural. Especially for someone who has been imprisoned and thereby supposedly not allowed alcohol or drugs for most of his adult life.

[Yo_Mama]

26. probably hepatitis

He had used drugs in his early life; he probably got it then.

[Tess49]

25. Hep C or something similar? n/t

[REP]

28. Or hepatitis

[Union Scribe]

23. Great. nt

[Adsos Letter]

31. I remember when it was rumored (not sure if it was true)

that living in a yellow house was one of the common denominators of his victims.

Our friends had a yellow house at the time, and were nervous about it.

For the record: I'd have been nervous about living in a yellow house too, but only because I hate the color.

[Marrah_G]

32. I'm glad he is dead

[Prophet 451]

33. He inspired me

When I started to recover enough from my mental illness to have lucid periods, it was reading accounts of Ramirez's crimes that inspired me to study Forensic Psychology.

[Berlin Expat]

35. Interesting; I've never

formally studied Forensic Psychology, but over the years, I've read several case studies of serial killers, both American and international. Andrei Chikatilo, the "Rostov Ripper" is a fascinating and disturbing case, as is the "Moors Murderers", Ian Brady and Myra Hindley.

Some of the most fascinating cases are the ones where the killer(s) were never apprehended; the Zodiac Killer, the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, the Original Night Stalker, (a.k.a. the East Area Rapist), the West Mesa Bone Collector, the Long Island Serial Killer (potentially), and yes, the Boston Strangler; there is DNA evidence that DeSalvo may not have been the perp - despite his confession - and he was never indicted. Of course, last but not least, Jack the Ripper; a case that will provoke discussion whenever it's brought up.

[Prophet 451]

43. The Ripper case will never be solved

Like anyone who has an interest in crime, I have an opinion but so much time has passed and so many of the original documents have been lost or destroyed over the years that it will never be solved now.

I'm familiar with the DeSalvo controversy. I tend to think that he wasn't the Strangler on the grounds that he was also committing a string of rapes at the time and while both are crimes, the specific details are very different. The rapes used minimal force against the victim and DeSalvo talked to the victims throughout, almost trying to create a relationship with them in his head, what we call a control-reassurance rapist. The Strangler murders, on the other hand, were straightforward rage killings of immediate personal brutality. While it's not unheard of for a control-reassurance rapist to escalate to murder, it is unheard of for one man to present two such different profiles at the same time.

[MillennialDem]

36. I was 4-5 when he was out rampaging, one of my first memories is hearing

about him during or possibly after the fact.

That and Challenger and Chernobyl are my first memories of world/local events.

[mikeysnot]

37. One less asshole in the world.

CA taxpayers are saved 50,000....

[RebelOne]

39. May he rest in hell (if there is such a place). n/t

[msanthrope]

42. Good. nt