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Richard Ramirez

Also known as: The Night Stalker, Night Stalker

Active
1984–1985
Region
Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, USA
State
CA
Kind
Serial
Status
Convicted
Victims
14

Richard Ramirez broke into homes at night across Los Angeles County in 1984 and 1985, killing at least 13 people and assaulting many more; the press called him "the Night Stalker". After police released his photo, residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood recognized him, caught him as he tried to steal a car, and held him until police arrived on August 31, 1985. In 1989 a Los Angeles jury convicted him of 13 murders and 30 other felonies, and he was sentenced to death. He died of natural causes in 2013 while on San Quentin's death row.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

Timeline of locations

  1. June 28, 1984
    Vincow home, Glassell Park (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Jennie Vincow was killed in her apartment in the Glassell Park neighborhood of Los Angeles.

  2. March 17, 1985
    Rosemead (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Dayle Okazaki was shot in a Rosemead home; her roommate was wounded and survived.

  3. March 17, 1985
    Monterey Park (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Three people were killed in Monterey Park: Tsai-Lian Yu, pulled from her car and shot on the street the same night as the Okazaki attack; William Doi, shot in his home in May; and Joyce Nelson, killed in her home in July.

  4. March 28, 1985
    Zazzara home, near Whittier (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Vincent and Maxine Zazzara were killed in their home outside Whittier.

  5. May 31, 1985
    Monrovia (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Mabel Bell and her sister were attacked in their Monrovia home. Bell died in July 1985.

  6. July 2, 1985
    Arcadia (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Mary Louise Cannon was killed in her Arcadia home.

  7. July 19, 1985
    Glendale (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Maxon and Lela Kneiding were killed in their Glendale home.

  8. July 20, 1985
    Sun Valley, Los Angeles (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Chainarong Khovananth was killed in his home in Sun Valley; his wife was assaulted and survived.

  9. August 8, 1985
    Diamond Bar (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Elyas Abowath was killed in his Diamond Bar home; his wife survived.

  10. August 18, 1985
    Pan home, San Francisco (Crime scene, approximate area)

    Peter Pan was killed and his wife wounded in their San Francisco home. Ballistic and shoe-print evidence tied the attack to the Los Angeles crimes; Ramirez was charged in San Francisco but never tried there.

  11. August 31, 1985
    Capture in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles (Arrest, approximate area)

    The day his photo was published, Ramirez was recognized, fled on foot into East Los Angeles and tried to steal a car. Residents chased him down and held him on Hubbard Street until police arrived.

  12. July 21, 1988
    Los Angeles Superior Court, downtown Los Angeles (Court / trial, approximate area)

    Jury selection began in July 1988. On September 20, 1989, the jury convicted Ramirez on all 43 counts, including 13 murders; Judge Michael Tynan sentenced him to death on November 7, 1989.

  13. November 1989
    San Quentin State Prison (Prison)

    Ramirez spent more than 23 years on death row at San Quentin. He died of natural causes at Marin General Hospital in nearby Greenbrae on June 7, 2013, aged 53.

Watch, listen, read

Watch

  • Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (series, 2021, Netflix (dir. Tiller Russell))

Read

  • The Night Stalker: The Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez (1996, Philip Carlo)

Active at the same time, nearby

A coincidence of time and place, not a connection. All overlaps

Sources

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.