April 1984 marked the start of his murderous spree. Nine-year-old Mei Leung was found beaten, strangled, and hanged in her San Francisco apartment basement. Two months later, seventy-nine-year-old Jennie Vincow was stabbed to death in her sleep, nearly decapitated. The attacks escalated, spreading terror across California between March and August 1985.
His crimes were gruesome and unpredictable. Victims included men, women, and children, often attacked in their homes. He forced some to swear allegiance to Satan, drew pentagrams on walls, carved symbols into flesh, and even kept trophies from victims. His obsession with the occult amplified the horror, leaving communities on edge.
The breakthrough came when thirteen-year-old James Romero III spotted a suspicious man outside his home in Mission Viejo and recorded details of his car. That tip, paired with a fingerprint match, led authorities to 25-year-old drifter Richard Ramirez. On August 29, 1985, his photo hit the front page of La Opinión, sparking widespread panic. Residents recognized him, chased him down, and held him until police arrived. Ramirez, the Night Stalker, was finally captured by the very people he had terrorized.
His 1988 trial was as chilling as his crimes. Ramirez smirked, shouted “Hail Satan!” and flaunted pentagrams drawn on his hands. In 1989, he was sentenced to death, responding coldly: “Big deal. Death always went with the territory. See you in Disneyland.”
Ramirez spent 24 years on death row at San Quentin, where he married a fan who had sent him letters. He died of lymphoma in 2013, unrepentant until the end.
Looking back at childhood photos, it’s hard to reconcile the innocent boy with the man who became one of America’s most feared criminals. His life is a haunting reminder of how trauma, neglect, and exposure to violence can shape a path toward unspeakable acts—but also of how evil can appear where it is least expected.