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Richard Ramirez “Night Stalker”. By: Miles Asafo-Adjei. What is a Serial Killer?.
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Richard Ramirez“Night Stalker” By: Miles Asafo-Adjei
What is a Serial Killer? A serial killer is a person who murders usually three or more, with a "cooling off" period between each murder and whose motivation for killing is largely based on psychological gratification. One hypothesis is that all serial killers suffer from some form of Antisocial Personality Disorder. They are usually not psychotic, and thus may appear to be quite normal and often even charming, a state of adaptation that psychiatrist HerveyCleckley named the "mask of sanity”.
Rameriz’s Background Richard Munoz Ramirez was born on Feb. 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas. He was the youngest of five children. The biggest influence on Ramirez was his cousin Mike, who was a Special Forces Vietnam War Veteran. Mike showed Ramirez pictures of Vietnamese women whom he boasted of torturing and killing.The two spent time driving around smoking pot. According to Ramirez, during that time Mike taught him how to shoot and cut people for “Maximum Effect”.
Background cont… When Mike murdered his wife, while Ramirez was present, the final seeds were sown for the development of the modus operandi of the young killer. He started skipping school, and began using marijuana and sniffing glue by the eighth grade. He soon took to stealing, in part to support his drug use. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School in El Paso, Texas though dropped out in the 9th grade; he was arrested twice during that period for drug possession.
Background cont… His habitual drug-use, which had by this time progressed to cocaine, led to several arrests for possession as well as a misdemeanor theft charge. In California he was twice arrested for auto theft--in Pasadena in 1981 and Los Angeles in 1984. Richard often drew the five-point pentagram, a symbol sometimes associated with Satanism, on his own body, and at his trial he would shout "Hail Satan!" in open court.
Victims Ramirez killed 13 people men and women. A lot of the time the people were couples living in their homes. He would shoot the men in the head and kill and rape the women. In some cases he mutilated the women with a knife. He committed his first murder on June 28, 1984 and he last on August 24, 1985.
Capture The police were alerted to a stolen car that belonged to Ramirez. They searched the car for evidence and found a fingerprint that matched one found at one of the murder scenes. Having now been identified as the “Night Stalker”, Ramirez tried to steal a car and was caught by some people who recognized him.
Trial On September 20, 1989, Ramirez was found guilty of 13 counts of murder, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults, and 14 burglaries. During the penalty phase of the trial on November 7, 1989, he was sentenced to death in California's gas chamber. He is now serving time in San Quentin State Prison in California.
