Richard Ramirez, also known as The Night Stalker was an American serial killer, rapist, kidnapper, child molester, and burglar whose crime spree took place in California between 1984 and 1985. He was caught and sentenced to death in 1989. But while he was in prison, Ramirez got married to one of his fans. 

Doreen Lioy married Ramirez after 11 years of exchanging love letters with him. Despite her excitement, the world was stunned by her wedding announcement. It was held in San Quentin State Prison in 1996.

Who is The Night Stalker?

Ricardo Richard Leyva Muñoz Ramirez was an American serial killer, serial rapist, kidnapper, child molester, and burglar with a variety of nicknames like the Valley Intruder, the Walk-in Killer, but was most popularly known as The Night Stalker.

Ramirez’s childhood has been widely influential in his criminal behavior. Ramirez, who his father abused, developed nasty, macabre hobbies from his older cousin, Miguel Ramirez. The same cousin also taught him some military abilities which he would later utilize in his year-long killing spree.

He has a keen interest in Satanism and the occult as well. He had started using cocaine frequently by the time he left his family in Texas. Ramirez then traveled to California at 22 and would routinely commit petty theft and burglaries to sustain his drug addiction. Later on, these break-ins were followed by murders, attempted murders, rapes, and assaults. (Source: Britannica)

How Was The Night Stalker Caught?

Ramirez took a bus to Tucson, Arizona, to see his brother on August 30, 1985. He was unaware that he had become the front page of nearly every major newspaper and television news program in California at the time. After failing to meet his brother because he was not at home, Ramirez returned to Los Angeles early on August 31. He walked past police officers who were staking out the bus terminal in the hopes of catching the killer should he attempt to flee.

Ramirez saw his face on the front page of the newspaper La Opinion with a headline naming him Invasor Nocturno or Night Invader. He fled the store in a panic after observing a group of elderly Hispanic women scared identifying him as El Matador meaning the killer in Spanish. Following a sprint across the Santa Ana Freeway. He attempted to carjack an unlocked Ford Mustang. He was stopped by Faustino Pinon, an enraged local. Ramirez dashed across the street and tried to rob Angelina De La Torre of her car keys.

Manuel De La Torre, the woman’s husband, saw the attempt and hit Ramirez in the head with a fence post. Ramirez was then chased down Hubbard Street in Boyle Heights by a group of over ten residents

He was beaten mercilessly by a group of residents who forced him and held him down. Police were summoned to the scene by 8 in the morning for a disturbance with scant details and hints of a fight. Ramirez was brutally battered and unarmed when police arrived in the 3700 block of Hubbard and he was taken into custody. (Source: Britannica)