10 Scary Things To Know About The Night Stalker Murders

10 Scary Things To Know About The Night Stalker Murders

The night stalker murders were several murders which were carried out by Ricardo “Richard” Leyva Munoz Ramirez. Born on 28^th February 1960, Ricardo alias The Night Stalker committed these heinous acts between June 1984 and August 1985. He was a serial killer and sex offender who carried out his crimes in California.

The night stalker was born in El Paso to Julian and Mercedes Ramirez. His father who was of Mexican origin was a former Ciudad Juarez policeman who later lost his job and became a labourer. He became an alcoholic who had fits of anger that he directed to his family as he physically abused them.

At the age of 10, Ricardo began smoking marijuana and taking alcohol and got badly influenced by his cousin. His older cousin, Miguel Ramirez who was a decorated Green Beret greatly influenced Ricardo to become a serial killer as he was used to it while in Vietnam. The young Night Stalker was shown Polaroid photos of what his cousin used to do in Vietnam and also taught him how to military skills and what to do with his victims.

At the age of 20, the Night stalker committed his first murder on 10^th April 1984. He killed a 9-year-old Chinese-American girl Mei Leung who he lured to the basement of his apartment, raped and then stabbed to death. In his killing spree, the night stalker killed eighteen people before he was arrested.

The Night Stalker was arrested on 31^st August 1985 after he was spotted by people who recognised him from a newspaper that listed him as wanted. He attempted to escape but was apprehended and sentenced to death for 12 counts of first-degree murder, and other charges. However, he died while incarcerated and waiting for his death sentence on 7^th June 2013.

Here are the 10 Scary Things To Know About The Night Stalker Murders:

1. The Night Stalker Started Using Marijuana & Alcohol at 10 Years

Image by Donate PayPal Me from Pixabay

Ricardo Ramirez’s alias The Night Stalker was born into a family that was not always happy after his father lost his job as a policeman. After becoming a labourer, his father became an alcoholic who was physically abusive to his family.

This abuse that Ricardo received made him become a hard-core young child who became disobedient at a very tender age. At the age of 10 years, Ricardo began smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. These behaviours made him drop out of school.

Read about the 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Moab Murders

2. He was Taught How to Kill by a Cousin who was a Former Serial Killer as a Green Beret

Photo by Karolina Grabowska: www.pexels.com

At the age of 12, the Night Stalker was introduced into the world of serial killing by an older cousin who was a decorated Green Beret. His cousin had become a serial killer and rapist during his service in the US Army in the Vietnam War. Ramirez was shown Polaroid photos of Vietnamese women that Mike had murdered, dismembered, or decapitated while in the war.

Instead of being shocked, Ramirez was fascinated by the images and what he was being told by his cousin. The night stalker was taught military skills including how to kill with stealth and effectively as well as staying hidden in the dark. This influenced how he carried out his murders.

On 4^th May 1973, Ramirez witnessed his cousin fatally shoot his wife in the face using a handgun. He did not become traumatised by the incident but it motivated him and was fascinating.

3. The Victims of the Night Stalker were Majorly Elderly People

The Night Stalker was unique in what he did and had a specific target of victims during his killing spree. At the beginning of his killing spree, Ramirez had targeted younger people but it seems that they were hard because of their strength.

Later on, he started targeting older people whom he could overpower when he attacked them. The majority of his victims were aged between 40-year-old and around 85 years old.

Check out Top 10 Facts About the West Mesa Murders

4. The Night Stalker’s First Victim was a 9-year-old Who He Raped before Stabbing her to Death

Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay

After relocating to California, the Night stalker committed his first murder on 10^th April 1984. His first victim was a 9-year-old Chinese-American who was looking for a lost dollar bill with her 8-year-old brother in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco.

Mei Leung was lured by Ramirez to the basement to find the lost money, but things turned bad for the child. The night stalker beat her badly and then strangled her.

He later raped her before stabbing her using a switchblade. To show how vicious he was, the night stalker hanged Mei’s partially naked body from a pipe using her blouse. This murder was linked to the night stalker in 2009 when his DNA matched a sample from the crime scene.

5. His Second Victim was Nearly Decapitated by How Her Throat was Slit

On 28^th June 1984, the night stalker killed his second victim, 79-year-old Jennie Vincow who used to live in Glassel Park, Los Angeles. He made his way through her open window and found the victim sleeping in her bed.

The Night Stalker stabbed Jennie Vincow in the head, neck, and chest. He then Slit her throat severely that she was about to be decapitated.

After killing Jennie, the night stalker went ahead and stole some valuables to sustain his addiction to cocaine as well as pay his rent. His fingerprints were discovered on a mesh screen that was removed from the window he used to gain access to the home.

Read about the Top 10 Facts About Crime Rate And Murders In Baltimore

6. He Committed Two Murders & One Victim Survived which Attracted Media Attention

Photo by kat wilcox: www.pexels.com

On 17^th March 1985, the night stalker committed two murders and one victim survived which attracted media attention. He attacked 22-year-old Maria Hernandez as she was outside her home in Rosemead, California. Maria was shot in her face with a .22 calibre handgun but she survived as the bullet hit her key.

She then pretended to be dead until the night stalker left the scene. The night stalker entered the house and found Dayle Yoshie Okazaki (34-year-old) who hid behind the kitchen counter after hearing the gunshot. However, after she raised her head, Ramirez shot her in the head killing her instantly.

An hour after killing Dayle and Maria surviving the attack, the night stalker attacked 30-year-old Tsai-Lian Yu from her car in Monterey Park. He shot her twice and fled from the scene. She succumbed after arriving at the hospital. The two murders and one victim surviving attracted the attention of the media.

7. The Night Stalker Kept Eyes of a Victim he had Killed from a Home He Burglarized a Year Earlier

On 27^th March 1985 at 2:00 AM, the night stalker re-entered a home he had burglarized a year earlier. He found 64-year-old Vincent Charles sleeping and shot and killed him using his handgun. Maxine Levenia Zazzara (44-year-old) was awoken by the gunshot but was bound by the night stalker.

The night stalker went ahead to ransack the house for valuables not aware that Maxine had broken loose from being tied up. She retrieved a shotgun which was not loaded and turned to Ramirez who became shaken. After failing to shoot him, Ramirez shot her thrice killing her, but he did not stop there.

Using a large carving knife, he mutilated her body by making an inverted cross into her chest. The night stalker later gouged out her eyes and them in a jewellery box. He then attempted to rape the body but could not erect it because of how he escaped death by a whisker. The night stalker kept the eyes in the jewellery box which was found during his arrest.

Check out the 10 Chilling Things To Know About The Black Dahlia Murders

8. Ramirez Raped a Disabled Lady After Killing Her Husband

Ramirez returned to Monterey Park on 14^th May 1985 and entered the home of 66-year-old Bill Doi and his disabled wife, Lillian. The night stalker surprised Bill in his bedroom by shooting him in the face with a.22 semi-automatic pistol as he tried to reach out for his revolver.

After knocking the mortally injured man out, Ramirez entered Lillian’s bedroom and shackled her with thumb cuffs. He then raped her after searching the house for valuables. Bill Doi died in the hospital from his injuries.

9. The Night Stalker Drew a Satanic Pentagram on His 81-year-old Victim

On 29^th May 1985, the night stalker drove to Monrovia where he stopped at the house of two elderly women. The house belonged to 83-year-old Mabel Bell, and her 81-year-old disabled sister Florence Lang.

He used a hammer to bludgeon and bind Lang in her bedroom he then used an electrical cord to shock her. Be then raped Lang, and used Bell’s lipstick to draw a Satanic pentagram on Lang’s thigh and the walls of their bedroom. The two women were found in a bad state two days later, and Bell died from the injuries she got.

10. He Bludgeoned a Widowed using a Lamp and Stabbed her using a 10-inch Butcher Knife

Photo by NEOSiAM 2021: www.pexels.com

On the night of July 2, 1985, the night stalker drove a stolen car to Arcadia and chose at random the home of 75-year-old Mary Louise Cannon, a widowed grandmother. He entered Cannon’s house softly and found her asleep in her bedroom.

He knocked her out with a lamp and then stabbed her to death with a 10-inch butcher knife from her kitchen. Ramirez stabbed Cannon’s body repeatedly after she was already dead. She was discovered deceased at the scene.

The murder rampage by the night stalker continued as he left his crime scenes so gruesome. At some of the victims’ homes, he forced them to “swear by the name of Satan” as he committed the murders. Ramirez was later captured after more than one year of his killing spree as well as raping and other crimes.

Ramirez proved to be a made psychopath who promoted Satanism as his first time to appear in court, he raised his arm with a Satanic pentagram and yelled, “Hail Satan”. He was given a death sentence but he died of complications of secondary B-cell lymphoma on 7^th June 2013 as he awaited his death sentence.