The Killer Case
Richard Ramirez is one of the most notorious serial killers in the history of America. The documentary “Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer” examines the life of Ramirez as a serial killer. Ramirez is a serial killer who, in his life, killed a minimum of 14 people and tortured and raped many. Notably, it is stated in the documentary that Ramirez started with theft which he later turned into violence. His first murder was committed on June 28 1984 (Russell, 2021). The victim was a 79-year-old woman called Jennie Vincow. Ramirez sexually assaulted Vincow before stabbing and killing her on the spot in her home. This was the first of many such cases as Ramirez went ahead to commit more murders in Los Angeles (Daigle & Robinson, 2022). After this first incident, Ramirez struck again nine months later. On 1985 March 17, Ramirez targeted Maria Hernandez. However, Ramirez missed his target in this case as the woman escaped before being killed. However, Ramirez did not give up as he went ahead to kill Hernandez’s roommate, Dayle Okazaki (Russell, 2021). It is stated that Ramirez was not satisfied with these two assaults as his main target had escaped. On the same evening, he killed Tsai-Lian Yu. This sparked tremendous media attention, and Ramirez was labelled a dangerous person. The press then dubbed him the “Valley Intruder” as the search for this killer intensified. Ten days after this incident, Ramirez murdered Vincent Zazzara, a 64-year-old man, and Maxine, his 44-year-old wife. One notable thing in this assault is that it formed a pattern to be used in subsequent assaults. The husband was the first to be shot, while the wife was sexually assaulted and stabbed (Hangartner, 2021). Ramirez repeated this attack pattern in 1985 on William and his wife, Lillie Doi. His murder cases escalated, and dozens of people fell victims to his ruthless assaults. The Los Angeles Police Department then formed a task force to investigate these cases of assaults. The press then dubbed him the “Night Stalker” as most of his murder cases happened at night.
Difficulties in Investigating the Cases
After the police and the public launched a manhunt against Ramirez, the operation did not succeed in the short period as expected because of the complexities of investigating such cases. The critical problem in investigating cases of assaults like the ones committed by Ramirez is the inability to identify the suspect correctly (Russell, 2021). Notably, Ramirez formed many of his assaults at night; thus, it was difficult for the victims who survived to describe the assailant. Secondly, some cases of assaults are not reported in time for the investigators to move with speed to assess the scene. When a case is reported weeks after it was committed, it becomes hard for the police to track the assaulter (Hall, 2020). Thirdly, even when there is a serial killer suspect following a particular incident, the lack of enough forensic evidence complicates everything. Serial killing is a very sensitive case that the police cannot rely on inadequate evidence to make their judgements since this can land an innocent person in life imprisonment. The quest to gather adequate evidence that can be used to prove the suspect’s guilt is a challenging process that complicates investigations of serial killings.
How the Killer Was Caught
Despite the public outcry and the emphasis that the press put on Ramirez’s murder incidents, the police did not manage to identify and arrest him within a short time as expected. Ramirez continued his assaults while the police, on the other hand, continued their search. The investigation was complicated because Ramirez committed many of his assaults at night; thus, it was hard for the survivors’ victims to describe him (Russell, 2021). However, Ramirez’s actions on the night of August 24, 1985, resulted in his capture. First, Ramirez was seen in a Mission Viejo home, where he left a footprint. The witness managed to take note of his car’s license plate and present it to the police. Ramirez later sexually assaulted another woman and killed her husband. The victim later described the assaulter who had cornered her to declare her love for the devil. His abandoned car was later discovered, and enough fingerprints were obtained. This led to the police finally identifying him by his name and his arrest on August 31 of the same year.
Victims of the Killer
Many of this killer’s victims were women he sexually assaulted before stabbing or shooting them. Ramirez attached his victims at night and, in most cases, sexually assaulted them before killing them (Brennan, 2019). In some scenarios where he found the victims with their husbands, he would shoot the husband dead and then sexually assault the woman before killing her. This is a pattern that he formed after the murder of Vincent Zazzara and his wife.
In conclusion, Richard Ramirez is of the most notorious killers in the history of America. The man who started from theft became one of the most dangerous people in society. He raped countless women and young girls before stabbing them to death. The man was finally arrested and sentenced to death, having been found guilty of various counts.
References
Brennan, T. (2019). Identification Of Psychosocial Factors In The Development Of Serial Killers In The United States (Doctoral dissertation).
Daigle, C., & Robinson, B. A. (2022). Introduction—From the Shadows to Our Living Rooms: Serial Killers on Popular TV after 9/11. In Serial Killers in Contemporary Television (pp. 1-16). Routledge.
Hall, S. (2020). The World Encyclopedia of Serial Killers: Volume Three, M–S. WildBlue Press.
Hangartner, S. (2021). Filmkritik: Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer (True-Crime-Miniserie von Show-runners James Carroll und Tiller Russell). Filmbulletin: Zeitschrift für Film und Kino, (1), 79.
Russell, T. (2021). Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer.
write