Night Stalker Richard Ramirez tied to SF victim through DNA

[witchcurlgirl]

SAN FRANCISCO — After unexpectedly uncovering DNA evidence that “Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez may have murdered a 9-year-old girl in the Tenderloin in 1984, the San Francisco police department will begin digging through that year’s cold cases to see if others may also have been victims of the satanic killer.

“We are looking at all the homicides that occurred in that general time, place and those general areas … [looking for] any similarities between this homicide and others,” said Deputy Chief David Shinn of San Francisco Police Department’s bureau of investigation.

Ramirez is on death row at San Quentin State Prison, after being convicted of 13 murders that terrorized Californians in 1984 and 1985. He was dubbed the “Night Stalker” because he entered homes through unlocked windows and doors, and in some cases left satanic symbols at the crime scene.

The murders Ramirez was convicted for occurred in Los Angeles. However, just before his 1985 arrest, he was linked to the murder of 66-year-old Peter Pan and the torture of his wife Barbara in San Francisco. He was not tried for those crimes.

Police yesterday revealed new DNA evidence linking Ramirez to the April 10, 1984 death of 9-year-old Mei Leung, who was found murdered in the basement of the residential hotel her family lived in on O’Farrell Street in the Tenderloin.

Mei’s case has remained open since her death, but police are crediting cold case Inspector Holly Pera for taking a new look at it. Pera said the murder occurred in the neighborhood she served as a rookie on the force, and the horror of the case haunted her.

“It’s the type of case as a new officer, a case involving a little girl, that you don’t forget,” she said.

Matthew Gabriel, a DNA technician at the crime lab, said the DNA sample collected from the crime scene 25 years ago returned a “cold-hit,” matching Ramirez’ DNA profile.

On Wednesday police served Ramirez with a search warrant to verify the DNA match.

Investigators discovered Ramirez was living just blocks from the Leung family at the time of the murders. Ramirez is believed to have lived at two Tenderloin residential hotels, at 373 Ellis St. and 561 Mason St., in the spring of 1984. Both are within a mile of Leung’s home.

Mei’s family, who still live in the Bay Area, have been notified of the development, Shinn said. He said they were “very grateful” to hear the case may have some resolution.

Old evidence yields Ramirez’s DNA profile
San Francisco’s crime lab pored over numerous old items from Mei Leung’s murder scene before hitting forensic science’s version of pay dirt by finding serial killer Richard Ramirez’s DNA on a piece of evidence.

About five years ago, the lab began searching for DNA on a variety of old evidence from the case, all gathered and stored in 1984 — long before DNA profiling became a standard practice for forensic scientists.

In the end, one of the lab’s DNA criminalists “was successful in generating this profile from what I would describe as an extremely difficult item to analyze,” said Matthew Gabriel, the crime lab’s DNA technical leader.

Police have not identified the piece of evidence the DNA was discovered on.

The DNA profile was then run through CODIS — the Combined DNA Index System — a database with samples from 1.2 million people, including all convicted criminals in the state’s prison system. There was a hit — and it was with Ramirez’s DNA.

But the DNA specialists’ work is not over yet, Gabriel said. On Wednesday police inspectors served a search warrant to Ramirez to collect a new sample of his DNA to confirm the match.

Investigators Joseph Toomey and Holly Pera said Ramirez was cooperative with providing the sample.

“He made no comment,” Pera said.
The Night Stalker

Name: Richard Ramirez
DOB: Feb. 29, 1960 in
El Paso, Texas
Murder timeframe:
1984-1985
Convictions: 13 counts of murder, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries
Penalty: Death penalty
Signature: Drew satanic pentagrams in lipstick on walls and on a victim. Claims to be the right-hand man of Satan.
What led to his capture: Angry Los Angeles residents recognized him as he tried to carjack a woman in her driveway.
Timeline of the murders

April 10, 1984: Nine-year-old Mei Leung was found hanging over a pipe in the basement of her apartment building at 765 O’Farrell St.

June 1984: Jennie Vincow’s throat was slashed in her Los Angeles apartment.

March 17, 1985: Dayle Okazaki and Tsai-Lian Yu were shot.

March 27, 1985: Vincent and Maxine Zazzarra were both shot.

April 15, 1985: William and Lillian Doi were attacked in their sleep. Lillian survived.

May 29, 1985: Mabel Bell, 84, was violently beaten.

July 2, 1985: Mary Louise Cannon was found beaten and with her throat slit.

July 7, 1985: Joyce Nelson was beaten with a blunt object.

July 20, 1985: Lela and Max Kneiding were shot.

Aug. 8, 1985: Elyas Abowath was shot in the head while he slept.

Aug. 17, 1985: Ramirez traveled north to San Francisco and allegedly shot Peter Pan in his Lake Merced home.

Aug. 30, 1985: Los Angeles police release a photo of Ramirez to the media. It takes citizens 12 hours to find him, and he is arrested.

Oct. 1986: Ramirez pleads not guilty.

July 1989: 165 witnesses and 658 exhibits are introduced into evidence and the case is sent to the jury.

Sept. 1989: Ramirez is found guilty of 13 counts of murder, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries.

Today: Ramirez remains on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison.




‘Night Stalker’ tied to SF victim through DNA | San Francisco Examiner

[Lalique]

OMG. 9 years old? How long has this asshole been on deathrow? I would personally like to execute him and save the tax payers millions

[ManxMouse]

I want to know what he looks like now at nearly 50. Couldn't find an updated mug shot, though. I gotta admit, that if he WEREN'T a murderous freak, I would have found him attractive.

[Sarzy]

He's still not dead? Shame. Just seeing his photo gives me the creeps.

[MohandasKGanja]

I was just reading the story on another site. This guy seems to have legions of fans. I wonder how his new status as child molester/child killer will affect his "fans".

[Lalique]

Originally Posted by ManxMouse

I want to know what he looks like now at nearly 50. Couldn't find an updated mug shot, though. I gotta admit, that if he WEREN'T a murderous freak, I would have found him attractive.

Please tell me you're kidding

[Shinola]

Richard Ramirez is one of the scariest psychopathic killers I've ever read about. I agree that his features in some photos appear pleasant--he had/has good bone structure. Remember, though, that he had a mouthful of stinking, extremely rotten teeth.

That poor girl. It bothers me that Ramirez would prey on anyone in the Tenderloin, and a child no less.

[MohandasKGanja]

Originally Posted by ManxMouse

I want to know what he looks like now at nearly 50. Couldn't find an updated mug shot, though. I gotta admit, that if he WEREN'T a murderous freak, I would have found him attractive.

Including his legendary mouth full of rotten, yellow, atrocious-smelling teeth?

[january]

Pure Evil:

On June 28, 1984, his burglaries turned into something far more evil. Ramirez entered through an opened window of Glassel Park resident, Jennie Vincow, age 79. According to Philip Carlo's book, 'The Night Stalker,' he became angry after not finding anything of value to steal, and began stabbing the sleeping Vincow, eventually slitting her throat. The act of killing aroused him sexually, and he had sex with the corpse before leaving.
Savored Memories Fade:

Ramirez remained quiet for eight months, but the memory he savored of his last killing had run dry. He needed more. On March 17, 1985, Ramirez jumped 22-year-old Angela Barrio outside her condo. He shot her, kicked her out of the way, and headed into her condo. Inside, was roommate, Dayle Okazaki, age 34, who Ramirez immediately shot and killed. Barrio remained alive out of pure luck. The bullet had ricocheted off the keys she held in her hands, as she lifted them to protect herself.
The Thirst for More:

Within an hour of killing Okazaki, Ramirez struck again in Monterey Park. He jumped 30-year-old Tsai-Lian Yu and pulled her out of her car onto the road. He shot several bullets into her and fled. A policeman found her still breathing, but she died before the ambulance arrived. Ramirez's thirst was not quenched. He then murdered an eight-year-old girl from Eagle Rock, just three days after killing Tsai-Lian Yu.
Post-mortem Mutilations Become His Mark:

On March 27, Ramirez shot Vincent Zazarra, age 64, and his wife Maxine, age 44. Mrs. Zazzara's body was mutilated with several stab wounds, a T-carving on her left breast, and her eyes were gouged out. The autopsy determined that the mutilations were post-mortem. Ramirez left footprints in the flower beds, which the police photographed and cast. Bullets found at the scene were matched to those found at previous attacks, and the police realized a serial killer was on the loose.
Ramirez's MO - Kill the Man Quickly:

Two months after killing the Zazzara couple, Ramirez attacked again. Harold Wu, age 66, was shot in the head, and his wife, Jean Wu, age 63, was punched, bound, and then violently raped. For unknown reasons, Ramirez decided to let her live. Ramirez's attacks were now in full throttle. He left behind more clues to his identity, and was named, 'The Night Stalker,' by the media. Those who survived his attacks, provided the police with a description - Hispanic, long dark hair, and foul smelling.
Pentagrams Found at the Crime Scene :

On May 29, 1985, Ramirez attacked Malvial Keller, 83, and her invalid sister, Blanche Wolfe, 80, beating each with a hammer. Ramirez attempted to rape Keller, but failed. Using lipstick, he drew a pentagram on Keller's thigh and on the wall in the bedroom. Blanche survived the attack. The next day, Ruth Wilson, 41, was bound, raped, and sodomized by Ramirez, while her 12-year old son was locked in a closet. Ramirez slashed Wilson once, and then bound her and her son together, and left.
His Killing Spree Terrorized Los Angeles:

Ramirez's 1985 killing and rape spree continued:

• June 27 - Ramirez raped a 6-year-old girl in Acadia.
• June 28 - Patty Higgins, age 32, was beaten and her throat slit.
• July 2 - Mary Cannon, age 75, was beaten and her throat slit.
• July 5 - Deidre Palmer, age 16, survived being beaten with a tire iron.
• July 7 - Joyce Lucille Nelson, 61, was bludgeoned to death.
• July 7 - Linda Fortuna, 63, was attacked and Ramirez tried to rape her, but failed.
• July 20 - Maxson Kneiling, 66, and his wife Lela, also 66, were shot and their corpses, mutilated.
• July 20, Chitat Assawahem, 31, was shot and his wife Sakima, 29, was beaten then forced to perform oral sex. Ramirez then collected $30,000 in valuables, but before leaving, he sodomized the couple's eight-year-old son.
• August 6 - Ramirez shot both Christopher Petersen, 38, and his wife, Virginia, 27, in the head. Both somehow survived.
• August 8 - Ramirez shot Ahmed Zia, 35, and raped and sodomized his wife, Suu Kyi, 28, and forced her to perform oral sex on him.

On Aug. 24, 1985, Ramirez traveled 50 miles south of Los Angeles, and broke into the home of Bill Carns, 29, and his fiancée, Inez Erickson, 27. Ramirez shot Carns in the head and raped Erickson. He demanded she swear her love for Satan and afterwards, forced her to perform oral sex on him. He then tied her and left. Erickson struggled to the window and saw the car Ramirez was driving. A teenager wrote down the license plate number of the same car, after noticing it cruising suspiciously in the neighborhood.
The information from Erickson and the young man enabled police to locate the abandoned car, and get fingerprints from inside. A computer match was made of the prints, and identification of the Night Stalker became known. On August 30, 1985, the arrest warrant for Richard Ramirez was issued and his picture released to the public.

The Night Stalker - Richard Ramirez The Night Stalker

[Nevan]

Damn, I hope these guys were given medals and a parade ....

On August 31, Ramírez arrived in the downtown Greyhound bus station in Los Angeles, after coming back from his brother's home in Tucson, Arizona. As Ramírez was leaving the bus station, he noticed that the area was flooded with cops, but managed to slip away unnoticed, unaware that he was identified as the Night Stalker. As he walked into a corner store, the owners noticed his face from the mugshots, and one of them shouted out "El Matador" ("The Killer"). Ramírez turned to the side, saw the newspaper rack with his face on several front covers, grabbed La Opinión, and ran.

Ramírez ran two miles in 12 minutes, heading east from downtown Los Angeles. Ramírez then tried to steal Faustino Pinon's red Ford Mustang. Ramírez, who was wearing a black Jack Daniel's t-shirt, had been hopping fences between yards, searching for a car he could steal easily. He had been chased off the property next door to Pinon's home and wound up in Pinon's yard. Ramírez saw that the Ford Mustang parked in the driveway was unlocked and the keys were in the ignition. He jumped in and started the engine, but had not noticed that the car's owner was underneath it, working on the transmission. As soon as Pinon, 56, heard the engine starting, he rolled out from under the car. Angry that someone was touching his prized possession, Pinon reached through the window and grabbed Ramírez around the neck. Ramírez warned Pinon that he had a gun, but Pinon ignored him. Ramírez put the car into gear and tried to drive away, but Pinon would not let go of him. The car crashed into a fence, then into the garage.

Pinon got the door open, pulled Ramírez out, and threw him to the ground. Ramírez scrambled to his feet and ran across the street just as 28-year-old Angelina de la Torres was getting into her Ford Granada. He ran up to her car and stuck his head through the driver's window, demanding that she give him the keys, threatening in Spanish to kill her if she did not. She screamed for help, and her husband Manuel, 32, came running from the backyard. According to Nancy Skelton in the Los Angeles Times, he grabbed a length of metal fence post as he passed through the gate along the side of the house. In the meantime, Jose Burgoin, who had heard the struggle in Faustino Pinon's driveway, had called the police. He ran outside to help Pinon, and when he heard Angelina scream, he called to his sons (Jaime, 21, and Julio, 17) for assistance. As the brothers ran to help Mrs. De la Torres, they saw the stranger scrambling across the front seat of her car. Jaime recognized him from photographs in the newspapers and on television and yelled that this was the killer, and the men made a mad dash to catch him. Ramírez ran, but Manuel de la Torres caught up with him and hit him across the neck with the metal post he was still carrying.

Ramírez kept running, but de la Torres followed, hitting him repeatedly from behind. Jaime Burgoin caught up with Ramírez and punched him. Ramírez stumbled and fell but quickly got up and continued running with de la Torres and the Burgoin brothers on his heels. Finally, de la Torres swung hard and hit Ramírez on the head. The Night Stalker collapsed to the ground. Jaime and Jose Burgoin closed in on him to keep him down until the police arrived.

Source: wiki

From the original article:

Aug. 30, 1985: Los Angeles police release a photo of Ramirez to the media. It takes citizens 12 hours to find him, and he is arrested.

[msdeb]

i'm pretty much not creeped out by mass murderers, but Richard Ramirez has always given me the freaks.

[MohandasKGanja]

Originally Posted by msdeb

i'm pretty much not creeped out by mass murderers, but Richard Ramirez has always given me the freaks.

He's not even the creepiest by a long shot, but he was very prolific.

[Sarzy]

He raped a 6 year old? Eugh. I didn't remember that.

[Nevan]

I think the scariest of serial killers for me are the ones that stalk and enter your home. Outside of your "element," say, walking down the street, or walking to your car, or even being parked out in your car with your boyfriend or whatever .... I don't know, I just never have felt completely at ease in those situations (but I am paranoid and a true crime buff, so I've read a LOT about serial killers). But being in your home, the place you're supposed to feel your safest ... and someone breaks that sanctity ... that's what scares me the most about that style of a killer.

[MohandasKGanja]

Originally Posted by Nevan

I think the scariest of serial killers for me are the ones that stalk and enter your home. Outside of your "element," say, walking down the street, or walking to your car, or even being parked out in your car with your boyfriend or whatever .... I don't know, I just never have felt completely at ease in those situations (but I am paranoid and a true crime buff, so I've read a LOT about serial killers). But being in your home, the place you're supposed to feel your safest ... and someone breaks that sanctity ... that's what scares me the most about that style of a killer.

That's a good point. While Dahmer is probably one of the top creepiest serial killers in terms of his mode of behavior and general pathology, the general public's chance of being one of his random victims was very low.