Quote: "I love to kill people. I love to watch them die. I would shoot them in the head and they would wiggle and squirm all over the place, and then just stop. Or I would cut them with a knife and watch their faces turn real white. I love all that blood."

He was born in El Paso, Texas on February 28, 1960 Richard was the youngest of seven children He sustained a couple head injuries when he was young, which could have contributed to his future deviance His father was prone to fits of anger and physical abuse Richard was heavily influenced by his cousin Mike. Mike was a Vietnam war veteran. Mike would tell Richard all about what happened in the war. He would also show Richard pictures he took of himself raping women and killing men. Richard was in the room when Mike shot and killed his wife Richard dropped out of school in 9 th grade He took a job at a Holiday Inn and would rob sleeping guests Richard was placed in a juvenile facility in 1977 Background

Unspecified date in 1975: Unnamed woman (tied up and intended to rape, but was stopped) Summer of 1978: Unnamed woman (raped repeatedly, but not killed) 1984: April 10: Mei Leung, 9 (beaten, raped, and stabbed) June 24: Jennie Vincow, 79 (raped, stabbed repeatedly, and her throat slashed deeply) The 1985 murders: March 17: Maria Hernandez* and Dayle Okazaki: Maria Hernandez, 22 (shot with a.22 revolver; survived) Dayle Okazaki, 34 (shot through the forehead with the same gun) Tsia-Lian Yu (shot twice in the chest with the same gun) March 20: An unnamed eight-year-old girl (raped only) March 27: Vincent and Maxine Zazzara: Vincent Zazzara, 64 (shot once in the left temple) Maxine Zazzara, 44 (fatally shot, then stabbed repeatedly post-mortem) April 15: William and Lillian Doi: William Doi*, 66 (shot in the throat and beaten) Lillian Doi*, 63 (raped only) May 29: Malvia Keller, 83 (beaten with a hammer and raped) Blanche Wolfe, 80 (beaten with a hammer; survived) Crimes Committed

May 30: Ruth Wilson*, 41 (raped only) Carol Kyle, 41 (raped and robbed only) June 27: An unnamed six-year-old girl (raped only) June 27-28: Patty Elaine Higgins, 32 (sodomized and her throat slashed) July 2: Mary Louise Cannon, 75 (beaten and her throat slashed like the previous victim) July 5: Whitney Bennett*, 16 (beaten severely with a tire iron; survived) July 7: Joyce Lucille Nelson, 61 (bludgeoned with a blunt object) Sophie Dickman, 63 (attempted to rape, but gave up as he couldn't maintain an erection) July 20: The Kneidings Lela Kneiding, 66 (shot) Max Kneiding, 66 (slashed with a machete and shot) August 6: Christopher and Virginia Petersen (both shot in the head; survived) Christopher Petersen, 38 Virginia Petersen, 27 August 8: The Abowaths* Elyas Abowath, 35 (shot in the head with a.25) Sakina Abowath, 29 (raped only) August 18: Peter Pan, 66 (shot in the head with a.25) Barbara Pan, 62 (sexually assaulted and shot in the head with the same gun; survived) August 24: William Carns (shot three times in the head; survived) Renata Gunther*, 29 (raped repeatedly and left alive) Crimes Committed Cont.

One of his last victims, who Ramirez let live, gave the police a description of him Another victim, who Ramirez again let live, caught the license plate on his car and reported it to police The police found the car and Richard’s fingerprints on the car Evidence that Lead to Arrest

Books written about Ramirez: The Night Stalker: Life and Crimes of Richard Ramirez by Philip Carlo Movies based on Ramirez: Nightstalker Manhunt: Search for the Night Stalker Songs: “Night Prowler” by ACDC, though not written about Ramirez, it is now associated with him because it highly influenced him Cultural References

I think of the theories of deviance in which we have discussed in class, the Differential-Association Theory is the one that best explains Richard’s behavior. This theory is based on the company that someone keeps and their influence on that person. In this theory, criminal behavior is learned. Ramirez’s criminal behavior was strongly influenced by his cousin, Mike. Mike returned from Vietnam when Richard was a teenager. He often told Richard about the war life, men whom he beheaded, and women that he had raped. Mike even showed Ramirez polaroids of these crimes. The tip of the iceberg was when Mike shot and killed his wife from point blank range during an argument, all the while Richard was in the room. This theory states that an individual is likely to become a criminal if a person, who has the greatest influence on this individual, has values that strongly support criminal activity. So I believe Differential-Association Theory and Richard’s relationship with Mike best explain his deviant behavior. Sociological Theory of Deviance