Richard Ramirez

Richard Leyva Ramirez (born February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas) is a convicted serial killer awaiting execution on California's death row. Prior to his capture, Ramirez was dubbed the "Night Stalker" by the news media as he terrorized California with a series of car and home abductions, rapes, and murders during the first half of 1985.

Trial and conviction

Jury selection for the case started on July 22, 1988, and on September 20, 1989, he was found guilty of 13 counts of murder, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries. During the close of the penalty phase of the trial on November 7, 1989, he was sentenced to die in California's gas chamber.

Related Topics:
July 22 - 1988 - September 20 - 1989 - November 7 - Gas chamber

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The trial of Richard Ramirez was one of the hardest and longest criminal trials in history. Nearly 1,600 prospective jurors were interviewed, and some of the over one hundred witnesses had a difficult time with memory recall four years after the crimes. However, others were quite certain of their identification of Richard Ramirez.

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On August 3, 1988, the Los Angeles Times reported that jail employees had overheard a plan by Ramirez to shoot and kill the prosecutor with a gun that someone was going to smuggle to him in the courtroom. A metal detector was installed outside the courtroom and even the lawyers were searched.

Related Topics:
August 3 - Los Angeles Times

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On August 14, the trial was interrupted because juror Ms. Phyllis Singletary did not arrive. That day she was found dead in her apartment. The jury was terrified; they could not help but wonder if Ramirez had somehow directed this event from inside his prison cell and if he might have something similar done to another of them. She had been shot and killed by her boyfriend, who later killed himself with the same weapon in a hotel. The alternate juror who replaced Singletary was so afraid she could not even walk to her place.

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By the time of the trial, Ramirez had many female fans who were writing him letters and paying him visits. Starting in 1985, freelance magazine editor Doreen Lioy wrote him nearly 75 letters during his incarceration. In 1988 he proposed to her, and on October 3, 1996, they were married in California's San Quentin State Prison.

Related Topics:
1996 - San Quentin State Prison

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